weirdly I get $80 per year…on the app
but on the web def the special price - will do it as soon as I get paid
So weird… months without motorsport and then this weekend we have:
- Formula 1 Testing
- Cape Town ePrix
- Kyalami 9 Hour
Spoiled for choice we are.
F1 Test Driver Lineup*
Thurs AM | Thurs PM | Fri AM | Fri PM | Sat AM | Sat PM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red Bull | VER | VER | PER | VER | PER | PER |
Ferrari | SAI | LEC | ||||
Mercedes | RUS | HAM | HAM | RUS | RUS | HAM |
Alpine | GAS | OCO | OCO | GAS | GAS | OCO |
McLaren | PIA | NOR | NOR | PIA | PIA | NOR |
Alfa Romeo | ZHO | BOT | ZHO | ZHO | BOT | BOT |
Aston Martin | DRU | ALO | ||||
Haas | HUL | MAG | MAG | HUL | HUL | MAG |
AlphaTauri | TSU | DEV | TSU | DEV | DEV | TSU |
Williams | ALB | SAR | SAR | SAR | ALB | ALB |
* Provisional, may be adjusted by teams as needed.
FIRST LOOK! Every 2023 F1 Car On Track | F1 Pre-Season Testing - YouTube
Zoom, zoom.
Bahrain F1 2023 Testing Results – Day 1
- Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m32.837s – 157 laps
- Alonso, Aston Martin, 1m32.866s – 60 laps
- Sainz, Ferrari, 1m33.253s – 72 laps
- Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m33.257s – 61 laps
- Norris, McLaren, 1m33.762s – 40 laps
- Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m33.508s – 81 laps
- Albon, Williams, 1m33.671s – 74 laps
- Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1m33.723s – 67 laps
- Russell, Mercedes, 1m34.174s – 69 laps
- Sargeant, Williams, 1m34.324s – 75 laps
- Hulkenberg, Haas, 1m34.424s – 51 laps
- Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m34.558s – 71 laps
- De Vries, AlphaTauri, 1m34.559s – 83 laps
- Drugovich, Aston Martin, 1m34.564s – 40 laps
- Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m34.671s – 46 laps
- Gasly, Alpine, 1m34.822s – 60 laps
- Ocon, Alpine, 1m34.871s – 52 laps
- Piastri, McLaren, 1m34.888s – 52 laps
- Magnussen, Haas, 1m35.087s – 55 laps
Zhou on top!! Alfa for the win!! 2023 World Champions for sure!
Bahrain F1 2023 Testing Results - Day 2
- Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo, 1:31.610, C5 tyres – 133 laps
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:31.650, C3 – 47
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:32.205, C3 – 130
- Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri, 1:32.222, C5 – 74
- Nico Hulkenberg, Haas, 1:32.466, C4 – 68
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1:32.486, C3 – 70
- Logan Sargeant, Williams, 1:32.549, C5 – 154
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:32.725, C3 – 68
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:33.175, C3 – 74
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:33.186, C3 – 59
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:33.442s, C3 – 67
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 1:33.490, C3 – 49
- George Russell, Mercedes, 1:33.654, C3 – 26
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 1:33.751, Prototype – 76
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:33.954s, C3 – 72
- Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:35.522, C2 – 65
- Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1:35.708, C2 – 85
Why must you tease me so Ferrari? Why?!
Luckily we don’t have to wait long too see how much of a fluke the pre season testing is going to be… because…
IT’S RAWE CEEK BOYOS!!!
Indeed, it is already RAWE CEEK!
F1 stats and F1 history buffs: Has there been any Grand Prix run a week after Testing before? There are normally a few weeks after Testing before the season starts that teams use to make changes and tweaks based on their Testing data.
Either way, it is Round 1 Race Week for the 2023 Formula 1 Championship season. Here’s a nifty calendar (thank you r/Formula1) for the year showing all the races this year, and the gaps in between them all. It shows just how packed the 9 months of racing this season will be. Other than the “no Chinese GP” break in April and the short Summer Break in August, there is going to be very little respite for the teams, drivers, and cars this year.
This is what scares me, Mclaren hasnt had time to fix any issues…
Not yet… patience.
Got a different thing I’m busy with now. I expect to see your team names first on the list soon…
Race preview later in the week.
Excellent profile on Jody Scheckter on the F1 site. The first of a new series of articles.
Lights To Flag is a new series that explores the challenges that drivers overcame to reach Formula 1, how their careers unfolded and ended, and – crucially – what retirement from F1 held in store for them. Jody Scheckter, 1979 world champion, tells us how he went from racing Renault saloons to taking on the likes of Gilles Villeneuve, before finding his feet in the world of firearms and farming.
Very good question!
2023 Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain International Circuit | Sakhir | 5 March
2023 Season - Round 1/23
Vital statistics
- First Grand Prix – 2004
- Track Length – 5.412km
- Lap record – 1m 31.447s, Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren MP4-20, 2005
- Most pole positions – Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel (3)
- Most wins – Lewis Hamilton (5)
- Trivia – Turn 1, ‘Michael Schumacher’, is the only corner on the circuit with a name
- Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 353 metres
- Overtakes completed in 2022 – 131
- Safety Car probability – 63%
- Virtual Safety Car probability – 38%
- Pit stop time loss – 22.56 seconds (including 2.5s stationary)
Last 5 Bahrain GP pole-sitters
- 2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2019 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2018 – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Last 5 Bahrain GP winners
- 2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2018 – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
The Schedule
Time, time, time is on our side, yes it is, for this weekends’ events. With Sakhir just one hour ahead of us, the evening race start should coordinate perfectly with the Sunday braai.
The Circuit
When was the track built?
Ground was broken for the Bahrain International Circuit in December 2002. Like the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, the developers had a blank, sandy canvas to work with, and with that fashioned the technical, 5.4km track designed by Hermann Tilke.
When was its first Grand Prix?
It was 2004 when the drivers first lined up under an unusually cloudy sky for the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix. The race was dominated (like many in 2004) by the two Ferraris, with Michael Schumacher winning out from Rubens Barrichello, while the crowds were also treated to a fantastic dog-fight between the Jaguar of Mark Webber and the Renault of Fernando Alonso.
What’s the circuit like?
You can usually expect great racing and decent amounts of overtaking in Bahrain, while the drivers have to contend with wind, racing under floodlights and the difficulty of finding a decent set-up with the wide temperature fluctuations between sessions. The track’s most challenging point is the tight, downhill, off-camber Turn 10 left-hander, while the fast run through Turn 12 is another highlight, allowing the racers to really feel their cars coming alive.
The Weather
I’m going to go out on a limb with a forecast of sunny, clear, and dry.
The Tyres
- The new C1 makes its debut at the first race of the season in Sakhir. This year, Pirell has expanded the range of available compounds to six, with three still chosen for every race. The brand new C1 compound fills the gap between the hardest C0 (used as the C1 in 2022) and the C2, which is unchanged from last year.
- At the Bahrain Grand Prix, C1 will be the P Zero White hard, C2 will be the P Zero Yellow medium and C3 will be the P Zero Red soft. The teams will have at their disposal two sets of hard tyres, three sets of mediums, and eights sets of soft per car, as well as the usual allocation of Cinturato intermediate and full wet tyres.
- The Bahrain International Circuit features some of the most abrasive asphalt of the year while the track – consisting of low to medium speed corners – mainly places traction and braking demands on the tyres. The layout also requires a good level of stability at the rear of the car.
The Digital Race Programme
Make like a fancy eco warrior and stay carbon-neutral with the tree-loving digital race programme. Save yourself the bother of flying to Bahrain, buying a GP entrance ticket, and going into the circuit just to get a hardcopy for kthyraan Dinaar.
Race on!