FIA confirm 2023 Formula 1 season entry list, driver numbers and start times

Jamie Woodhouse
The start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi, November 2022.

Max Verstappen leads the pack at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi, November 2022.

The confirmed entrants and start times are in as the 2023 Formula 1 season takes shape, Las Vegas set to be an early-morning race in the UK.

With the 2022 campaign now in the books, attention is starting to turn towards the new season, which will feature the debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Qatar’s return to the calendar, these part of some 23 rounds set to be contested.

Las Vegas is of course the most unique of these events, with the race starting on Saturday night at 2200 local time, which will mean a 6am start on Sunday in the UK.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will kick-off proceedings meanwhile with lights out scheduled for 1800 local time on March 5, where all 10 teams and 20 drivers are confirmed to get the season underway.

Max Verstappen said that he would keep the number one on his Red Bull challenger for as long as he is World Champion, and having taken his second title in 2022 in dominant fashion, he has stayed true to his word with ‘1’ confirmed on his Red Bull for 2023.

Elsewhere, Logan Sargeant will be closest on the track to Verstappen in terms of car number as he has selected number ‘2’ as his race number. Oscar Piastri will have ’81’ on his McLaren and Nyck de Vries’ AlphaTauri will sport the number ’21’.

Nico Hulkenberg, who returns to Formula 1 with Haas for the 2023 campaign, will resume use of the number ’27’ on his car.

Also interesting to note from the entry list is the return of the Honda name in the power unit division, Red Bull and AlphaTauri to be powered by ‘Honda RBPT’ (Red Bull Powertrains) units as of the new season.

Honda made their official exit from the series at the end of the 2021 campaign, though continued their technical support for Red Bull into 2022, this later extended until the end of 2025.

At the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Honda’s branding returned to the Red Bull and AlphaTauri challengers as the partnership ramped up further, the return of Honda’s name on the power unit marking a significant next step in that regard.

2023 race local start times

5 March Bahrain Grand Prix: 1800 local
19 March Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: 2000
2 April Australian Grand Prix: 1500
29/20 April Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Sprint – 1730, Race – 1500
7 May Miami Grand Prix: 1530
21 May Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: 1500
28 May Monaco Grand Prix: 1500
4 June Spanish Grand Prix: 1500
18 June Canadian Grand Prix: 1400
1/2 July Austrian Grand Prix: Sprint – 1630, Race – 1500
9 July British Grand Prix: 1500
23 July Hungarian Grand Prix: 1500
29/30 July Belgian Grand Prix: Sprint – 1630, Race – 1500
27 August Dutch Grand Prix: 1500
3 September Italian Grand Prix: 1500
17 September Singapore Grand Prix: 2000
24 September Japanese Grand Prix: 1400
7/8 October Qatar Grand Prix: Sprint – 1730, Race – 1700
21/22 October United States Grand Prix: Sprint – 1700, Race – 1400
29 October Mexican Grand Prix: 1400
4/5 November Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Sprint – 1530, Race – 1400
18 November Las Vegas Grand Prix: 2200 (Saturday)
26 November Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 17:00

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