2023 Formula One World Championship

The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars , the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship . It was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport , as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars . The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix , which were held around the world. It began in March and ended in November.

Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion respectively. The season was dominated by defending champion Max Verstappen , who cruised to his third consecutive Drivers' Championship title at the Qatar Grand Prix , winning a record 19 out of 22 Grands Prix held and finishing on the podium 21 times (also a record number for most podiums in a season) by the end of the championship. His team Red Bull Racing achieved their sixth Constructors' C...

Throughout the season, each team had to field a driver in one of the first two free practice sessions who had not competed in more than two races, on two occasions, once for each car. [ 2 ] : Article 32.4c The Grand Prix debuts of Oscar Piastri , Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries at the Bahrain Grand Prix each counted as one of the mandatory sessions for McLaren - Mercedes , Williams - Mercedes and AlphaTauri - Honda RBPT , respectively. [ 28 ] Liam Lawson 's debut at the Dutch Grand Prix did not...

Honda returned as a named engine supplier to Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri , with both teams badging the engines as Honda RBPT . [ 30 ] While Red Bull Powertrains had planned to take over assembly and maintenance of the engines from this season onward, [ 31 ] it was later agreed that Honda would continue its technical support of Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri until the end of 2025. [ 32 ]

Sebastian Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 championship , [ 33 ] ending his Formula One career after 15 full seasons. [ 34 ] His place at Aston Martin was taken by Fernando Alonso , who left Alpine after two seasons. [ 35 ] Alonso's replacement was initially announced as the 2021 Formula 2 Champion and Alpine reserve driver, Oscar Piastri . [ 36 ] Shortly after this announcement, Piastri stated that he had not signed a contract for 2023 and that he would not be driving for Alpine. [ 37 ] Th...

Daniel Ricciardo left McLaren after two seasons. Although he had a contract to drive for the team in 2023, it was terminated during the 2022 championship by mutual agreement. [ 42 ] Ricciardo's seat was filled by Piastri, who made his Formula One debut. [ 43 ] Nicholas Latifi left Williams after spending three seasons with the team. [ 44 ] His seat was filled by Logan Sargeant , who graduated from Formula 2 , making his Formula One debut and becoming the first American Formula One driver to comp...

Nyck de Vries was relieved of his driving duties for AlphaTauri after underperforming in the first ten races of his rookie season. [ 48 ] His seat was filled by Daniel Ricciardo starting from the Hungarian Grand Prix . Ricciardo had previously raced with the team in 2012 and 2013 , when it was known as Toro Rosso. [ 49 ] During second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix , his third race of the season, Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand in a crash. As a result, Red Bull Racing and A...

Following dangerous amounts of porpoising during 2022 , the FIA introduced changes to the regulations to limit the phenomenon. [ 64 ] Floor edges were raised and the throat of the diffuser was also raised. The diffuser edge stiffness was increased and an additional sensor was mandated to monitor the porpoising phenomenon more effectively. Lateral floor deflection tests also became more stringent. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] [ 67 ]

Following Zhou Guanyu 's crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix , a rounded top would be required on the roll hoop , which reduces the chance of it digging into the ground during an accident. Additionally, a change was made to ensure a minimum height for the point of application of the homologation test, and a new physical homologation test was introduced where the load pushes the roll hoop in the forward direction, in addition to the pre-existing tests in three other directions. [ 65 ] [ 67 ] The...

The allowed weight of cars was due to decrease from 798 kilograms (1,759 lb) to 796 kg (1,755 lb), but this plan was abandoned. [ 70 ] The rules around minimum fuel temperature were changed. In 2022, minimum fuel temperature was 20 °C (68 °F). For 2023, the minimum fuel temperature was the lowest of either 10 °C (18 °F) below the ambient temperature, or 10 °C (50 °F). [ 71 ]

The FIA initially altered the wording of the aerodynamic regulations after Mercedes produced a front wing that exploited a potential loop-hole in the regulations; Mercedes introduced slot gap separators on their front wings at the 2022 United States Grand Prix , although they did not intend to run them at the event. Rival teams argued that the new front wing was illegal, while Mercedes argued that the regulations allowed slot-gap separators as they were "primarily" there for "mechanical, structu...

Pirelli announced a change to the available tyre compounds for 2023, as a new compound was inserted between the old C1 and C2 compounds (the hardest two compounds of the 2022 range). This change provided teams with more flexible strategy options after criticism towards the original C1 compound for a large drop in grip compared to the other tyres. [ 76 ] Additionally, following criticism over the raceability of its full wet tyre in previous seasons, Pirelli has produced a new full wet tyre in the...

With the intention of making tyre usage more sustainable in the future, Formula One trialed a reduction in allocated tyre sets from 13 to 11 at the Hungarian and Italian Grands Prix. It was due to be trialed at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix before its cancellation. During qualifying for these races, teams were required to use the hard-compound tyres in the first segment of qualifying, the medium-coumpound in the second segment and the soft-compound in the third and final segment. Teams are usual...

The tyre rules for sprint shootout were modified for the second sprint weekend of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix , enabling drivers and teams who made it through to SQ3 to use any set of soft tyres, whereas they were previously required to use a new set of soft tyres. The change was made after Lando Norris could not run in SQ3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to exhausting his allocation of soft tyres. [ e ] [ 83 ]

The FIA's International Sporting Code (ISC) [ f ] was updated to include stricter controls on drivers and teams making "political, religious and personal statements". Article 12.2.1n was introduced stating that drivers and teams must receive the FIA's permission before conducting a political statement or protest and that any protest without permission would be considered a breach of the FIA's neutrality rules. [ 86 ] [ 87 ] The FIA stated the update to the ISC was done to move it in line with th...

Following concerns from drivers and teams on how these rules would affect freedom of expression and the ability of drivers and their teams to express views about what they believe to be a worthwhile cause, the FIA clarified in February 2023 that drivers would be prohibited on making political or religious statement on the following: politically sensitive persons living or dead, military or political conflicts, separatist movements, national governments, any statements referencing a key religious...

The budget cap was reduced to 135 million United States dollars . It was originally set at US$140 million in 2022 before being increased to US$142.5 million to account for inflation. [ 68 ] It was initially agreed by the F1 Commission to increase the cost cap by US$1.2 million to account for additional costs caused by the increased number of races. The commission subsequently agreed to adjust to the level of future cost cap increases to US$1.8 million per race when a calendar is over twenty-one ...

Teams such as Mercedes , Red Bull Racing , and Aston Martin operated "applied technology" divisions which design for and consult on projects outside of Formula One. Since these projects were not related to the teams' Formula One operations, their expenditure fell outside of the cost cap regulations. Between the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, the FIA introduced a technical directive that prevented teams from transferring intellectual property from their "special project" divisions to their Fo...

Red Bull Racing locked out the front row for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix , with the two Ferraris on the second row. The much-improved Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso started in fifth. [ 96 ] [ 97 ] Max Verstappen led most of the race comfortably, winning by eleven seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez . Charles Leclerc retired with a mechanical failure from third, with Alonso taking this spot, after a late race overtake on Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth. Lance Stro...

At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix , Pérez took pole position in qualifying. Championship leader Verstappen suffered a broken drive shaft in qualifying, leaving him in 15th for the start. Pérez lost first place on the first lap to Alonso, but regained it on lap four. Verstappen, starting fifteenth on the grid, reached second by lap 25, and remained there for the rest of the race. Alonso finished third - his 100th podium, with the Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton finishing in fourth and fifth re...

At the Australian Grand Prix , Verstappen took pole position, while Pérez's qualifying ended with a spin. He elected to take new power unit components and started the race in the pit lane. At the start of the race, Verstappen was overtaken by Russell and Hamilton. He regained the lead by lap 12 and led the race comfortably, as Russell retired on lap 18 due to a mechanical issue. Verstappen won the race, followed by Hamilton, Alonso and Stroll, with Pérez finishing fifth with the fastest lap. The...

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw the season's first sprint event. Leclerc secured pole position for both the sprint, and the Grand Prix. [ 107 ] [ 108 ] Leclerc lead the sprint from pole until Pérez took the lead on the main straight on lap 7, courtesy of the DRS ; Pérez kept the lead until the end of the sprint. Leclerc held on to second, Verstappen finished in third, Russell fourth. [ 109 ] In the Grand Prix, polesitter Leclerc led the early part of the race. The DRS was enabled on lap three, wit...

At the Miami Grand Prix , Pérez secured pole position ahead of Alonso, Sainz and Magnussen. Verstappen started ninth after failing to set a representative lap time during the final segment of qualifying; Verstappen made an error on his first attempt, his second attempt was curtailed by a red flag, following a crash by Leclerc. [ 112 ] In the race, Verstappen was able to quickly overtake cars to bring himself into second, behind Pérez, by lap 17. Verstappen took the lead when Pérez made his pitst...

At the Canadian Grand Prix , Verstappen secured pole position in rainy conditions ahead of the Haas of Nico Hülkenberg and Alonso; Hülkenberg was demoted to fifth following a penalty. Pérez failed to accuratly assess the conditions, qualifying in 12th. Verstappen went on to dominate the race, taking Red Bull Racing's 100th victory in Formula One ahead of Alonso and Hamilton who had a tight battle for the final podium position. Russell was fourth. [ 124 ] Verstappen's 41st victory moved him to j...

Verstappen also took pole at the Austrian Grand Prix , both for Sunday's Grand Prix and for Saturday's sprint. Pérez briefly took the lead at the start before Verstappen successfully overtook him at turn 3 on the opening lap. Verstappen would led every lap to take victory. Pérez dropped to third behind Hülkenberg, before overtaking him around the halfway point on his way to second. Sainz was third. [ 127 ] In the race, Verstappen led away from Leclerc and Sainz. Leclerc would briefly lead the ra...

The British Grand Prix saw an improvement from McLaren , who brought car updates to the event, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified in second and third, respectively. Verstappen took his fifth consecutive pole position, whilst Pérez qualified 16th, failing to make it into the final part of qualifying for the fifth consecutive race. [ 130 ] Norris made the most of a good start and overtook Verstappen into the first corner. Verstappen re-passed Norris on lap 5 and held on to take his sixth ...

The Hungarian Grand Prix saw Nyck de Vries replaced with Daniel Ricciardo due to poor performances. [ 134 ] Hamilton took pole position, his first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix . It marked his ninth pole position in Hungary, a record for most poles at a single circuit. Verstappen qualified second with Norris third. [ 135 ] Hamilton lost out at the start to Verstappen, and was passed by the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri. Verstappen won to become the fifth driver to win seven races ...

The Belgian Grand Prix saw the return of the sprint format, with Verstappen being the fastest qualifier for both the Grand Prix and sprint race. He was given a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix for exceeding the allocated number of gearboxes, so Leclerc was promoted to pole in his place. A rain shower postponed the start of the sprint by 30 minutes, with the sprint starting behind the safety car and all drivers on the full-wet tyres. Most of the field changed to the intermediate-wets wh...

Sainz made it back-to-back pole positions at the Singapore Grand Prix , qualifying ahead of Russell and Leclerc. Red Bull Racing struggled all weekend, with Verstappen and Pérez lining up eleventh and thirteenth, respectively. [ 146 ] This was the first time Red Bull Racing failed to make the final segment of qualifying since the 2018 Russian Grand Prix . [ 147 ] Sainz held the lead at the start, as Leclerc passed Russell at turn 1. A safety car was brought out after Logan Sargeant crashed his W...

Verstappen returned to pole at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix , qualifying ahead of Piastri and Norris. Norris and Piastri both attacked Verstappen at the start, with Piastri going up the inside of turn one, and Norris attempting to go around the outside, with Verstappen able to hold onto the lead. Verstappen was able to pull away from the McLarens to win the race. At the start, Norris was able to take Piastri for second place. Piastri would regain second place by undercutting Norris before ...

The Qatar Grand Prix saw an opportunity for Verstappen to win the title. Verstappen could win the title by finishing in the top six for the sprint, regardless of where Pérez finished. [ 154 ] Oscar Piastri took the sprint pole, ahead of Norris, Verstappen and Russell and the Ferrari pair. [ 155 ] The sprint saw split strategies amongst the drivers; Piastri, Norris and Verstappen elected for the medium compound tyres, while Russell, Sainz and Leclerc elected for the soft compound tyres. At the st...

Charles Leclerc took his fourth pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix , ahead of teammate Sainz, Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Pérez. [ 168 ] Verstappen took the lead at the start. Pérez collided with Leclerc giving the pair of them damage. Pérez returned to the pitlane, where his damage was deemed to be terminal. Leclerc was able to continue with a damage front wing; he was investigated for driving in an unsafe condition but was not penalised. Following the collision, Leclerc was in se...

The São Paulo Grand Prix saw the final sprint of the season. Norris took pole for the sprint race ahead of Verstappen and Pérez. [ 171 ] At the start of the sprint, Verstappen was able to take the lead, with Russell jumping up to second, with Norris third, with Pérez falling to fifth by the end of the opening lap. Pérez would soon regain fourth, and Norris regained second by lap 4. By lap 10, Pérez would regain third. Verstappen and Norris would pull away from the rest of the field and Verstappe...

The first Las Vegas Grand Prix saw the Las Vegas Strip was repurposed into a temporary street circuit, the Las Vegas Strip Circuit . Early runs on track in first practice were curtailed when Carlos Sainz Jr. 's car struck a loose metal cover, severely damaging his car. [ 175 ] He had to take a new engine component, resulting in a ten-place grid penalty for the race. [ 176 ] Charles Leclerc took pole position ahead of teammate Sainz and Verstappen. [ 177 ] At the start, Verstappen was able to tak...

The season came to a close with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a week later. All three qualification sessions were topped by Max Verstappen , who would take the pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri . Verstappen led a majority of the Grand Prix, excluding in the pit stop phase where Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda briefly led. Pérez finished second on track, but was demoted to fourth due to a penalty for a collision with Norris, promoting Leclerc to second and Russell to third. [ 180 ] [ 1...

Verstappen's and Red Bull's season's were described as "phenomenal" [ 182 ] and "remarkable" [ 183 ] as they broke records as the most dominant season performance in Formula One history: [ 182 ] Verstappen won a record 19 Grands Prix in a season, also breaking the record for the highest Grand Prix win percentage for drivers, with a win rate percentage of 86.36%, beating the previous record set by Alberto Ascari in 1952 , Verstappen's 21 podiums was also a record. [ 156 ] [ 184 ] Red Bull Racing ...

Mercedes' season was labeled as "disappointing" despite finishing second in the Constructors' Standings, and Hamilton finishing third behind only the Red Bull duo in a car that struggled with consistency. [ 188 ] Russell described his season of being one of "missed opportunities" as he finished eighth. Although Russell achieved less than he had in 2022, he personally reflected that he felt he was a stronger driver, but that the team had more competition from Aston Martin and McLaren. [ 189 ] Tea...

McLaren had started the season poorly, as one of the slowest cars in the field, before an upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix propelled them up the field. [ 192 ] [ 193 ] [ 194 ] McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella was lauded by McLaren CEO Zak Brown as a "tremendous leader" in his first season directing the team, [ 195 ] and Piastri won the FIA Rookie of the Year for a season which was described as "phenomenal". [ 182 ] [ 196 ] Aston Martin started the season as Red Bull's closest challenger...

Williams' season, in which they finished seventh in the constructors standings, was described as "promising" based on their improvement from 2022, when they finished tenth. [ 199 ] Newly hired team principal James Vowles was praised for giving the team a sense of purpose which allowed their improvement. Albon was also praised for his performance across the season, and Sargeant criticised, with the latter only able to score one point to Albon's 27. [ 192 ] [ 183 ] [ 199 ] AlphaTauri's eighth-plac...