The start of the Formula 1 season is upon us, and the first official event on the calendar is pre-season testing. This weekend of testing will take place in Bahrain, similar to previous years. This will be a weekend for the teams and drivers to get accustomed to the new spec of cars and tyres before the start of the season.
In this blog, we are going to run you through some of the details about the new spec of cars, what we can expect to come out of this weekend of testing, and some interesting outright odds on who is favorite to win both the constructors and drivers championships. All this and more on LV BET Sports Blog.
Dates and times for the weekend testing
Testing will be carried out between Thursday, 23rd February 2023, until Saturday, 25th February. The track to be used will be the Bahrain circuit which is also the location for the first race of the year. The previous venue was the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, but it was recently changed to Bahrain. It will be a very interesting viewing to see how various cars perform, the reliability of the package brought forward, and mind games from big teams to avoid giving away what they have been working on during the winter break.
The timing will be the same for all three days, testing will start at 8:00 AM and will go through 17:30 PM. Make sure to check your respective time zone for accurate times.
Technical tweaks coming into play this year
This season will be the second year into the next generation of cars after the major overhaul done last year. This normally makes for a very tight battle for both championships as teams up and down the paddock learn from the team that won it all, i.e. Red Bull, and try and mimic what they have done.
Formula 1 is a sport in which teams reflect on the events that occurred during the last season and try and improve. These changes put forward are to address some of the issues that cropped up during the season and to add more competitiveness to the sport.
Floor edges have been raised by 15mm;
The diffuser through height has been raised as well; the diffuser edge stiffness has been increased; and an additional sensor has been mandated to monitor the porpoising phenomenon. Something that the FIA will keep a closer eye on this year.
A reduction in the minimum car weight:
The weight last season was at 298kg limit without fuel; this year, there will be another reduction of 2kg, meaning the limit will go down to 296kg. This will be a headache for the designers to shave off that extra weight while keeping the stability and agility of the car intact.
Revised Mirrors to improve driver visibility:
The rearview mirror on F1’s 2023 spec cars will have a wider reflective surface, from 150mm to 200mm. These changes were introduced and tested in various races last year, and will be written into the regulations for this season. This is to aid in the visibility for the drivers especially when driving in wet conditions.
Double the number of sprint events
We have a whole blog dedicated to Sprint Races in Formula one; make sure to check that one out for information.
Qualifying format and DRS trails
A Revised Qualifying Format will take place at up to two events in 2023, for the purpose of evaluating whether the revisions are suitable for subsequent championships. This will mean that drivers and teams need to use a specific tyre for each qualifying session: Hard Tyres only in Q1, Mediums for Q2, and finally, soft tyres only for Q3. Intermediates and Wets will be allowed if the RQF sessions are declared wet.
The changes to the current DRS activation after the start, race restart or Safety Car will be evaluated, with the F1 Commission exploring the possibility of bringing this forward by one lap at the start of a race or Sprint or Safety Car restart.
Penalty Confusion
The wording of the regulations has been updated to give a clearer representation of how the drivers are classified. The wording will now be as follows: ‘’Classified drivers who have accrued more than 15 cumulative grid position penalties, or who have been penalised to start at the back of the grid, will start behind any other classified driver. Their relative position will be determined in accordance with their qualifying classification’’.
Outright betting on F1 2023 Constructors and Drivers
The F1 2023 calendar will be the longest one to date – 23 races currently scheduled, including one new circuit and one returning to the calendar. Other than circuits and technical regulations, we have a host of new rookie drivers gracing the grid. That will add to the dynamic of the grid as we see who makes the most of the chance afforded to him.
Looking at who the strong favorites might be; it’s difficult not to put Red Bull at the top of the list after enjoying an amazing season. The driver lineup is unchanged, giving the team stability in order to progress together, although not without their hiccups, as we saw late last season. LV BET is pricing Red Bull to win the constructors championship at 9/10 (1.90). In terms of drivers, two-time World Champions Max Verstappen looked unstoppable in his machine, winning a record amount of races and setting the bar high for his teammate. Sergio Perez has played a great role in Max Verstappen winning both Championships but is yet to consistently push the Dutchman in qualifying pace or race pace. We are pricing the chances of Max Verstappen winning his third Drivers Championship at 5/7 (1.72).
Many people will debate about who will be the second favorite team this season, with most pushing for Ferrari again. Mattia Binotto, who was the team principal for three years, was removed from the position due to various reasons and was replaced by Frederic Vasseur, who served as Alfa Romeo’s team principal. That is a major change in a team, and it could well work in their favour; Vasseur is a great leader and certainly not new to the job; he knows what needs to be done. We are pricing the chances of Vasseur striking gold in his first season with Ferrari at 11/2 (6.50). The driver that looked like he was up to the task of rivaling Max Verstappen last year was Charles Leclerc, but costly mistakes and reliability issues hampered his push for the title. This time around, there is renewed hope that reliability demons have been extinguished and the car is on pace once again. We are eager to witness more wheel-to-wheel action between the once-childhood friends and racers.
Unsurprisingly, Mercedes are priced at 11/8 (2.37) to win the constructors championship after a strong end to the season last year. In the last five to six races, they looked like the second-best car on the grid. When you have the pairing of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, one cannot underestimate their chances of springing a couple of surprise wins early in the season and lifting the hopes of team boss Toto Wolff in guiding his team to the top of Formula 1 once again. The first year with Mercedes was a very good one for George Russell, performing better than Lewis Hamilton in equal machinery and won the only race for Mercedes in Brazil. Both drivers are priced as having a chance at the title this year, with Lewis Hamilton at 3/1 (4.00) and George Russell at 8/1 (9.00).
Drivers to look out for
As we have stated earlier in the blog, there will be some new faces on the grid this year. Notably, Oscar Piastri joined McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg returned to F1, Logan Sargeant joined Williams, and Alpha Tauri’s latest acquisition, Nyck de Vries.
One of the hot prospects this season will be Nyck de Vries, who last season managed to get points in his maiden race, after surgery ruled out Alex Albon from the race. We are pricing the Dutchman at 13/20 (1.65) to score more points than teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Oscar Piastri will be the other driver who will steal the headlines after he snubbed Alpine in favor of McLaren. The learning curve for the young Australian driver is going to be steep but testing will be a great chance for him to get acquainted with the new machinery and hone his skills. We are pricing Oscar Piastri to score more points than Lando Norris at 7/2 (4.50).
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*Odds subject to change. Odds correct at time of publishing