F1 2023 calendar: Car launch dates, pre-season testing, TV schedule

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Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, follows an Alpine. Mexico, October 2022.

Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren follows an Alpine on the track. Mexico, October 2022.

The new regulations did not quite fully deliver in 2022, but no matter, F1 2023 gives new hope as the teams put that learning to use.

Working in tandem with the budget cap, the fresh Technical Regulations that were rolled out for 2022 are designed to make the cars easier for another driver to follow, thus boosting overtaking opportunities. And with less design freedom and budget disparities, the goal is for a tight, overtaking-mad grid.

The 2022 cars did seemingly allow for better overtaking action, though the grid spread out from what we saw in 2021. Nonetheless, that was to be expected at the start of such an extensive new regulatory cycle, so the hope is that 2023 will see the pack start to converge once more.

Red Bull and Ferrari aced the new rules, Red Bull making best use of that achievement to record a comfortable title double, but with their even more restricted wind tunnel time as a result of a budget cap breach in 2021, this could well prove a tricky season in their bid to cling on to top spot.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the F1 2023 season…

When are the F1 2023 car launch dates?

The new Formula 1 season always feels a lot more real when the teams start unveiling the challengers which they will contest it with, or at least the liveries! With the regulations now a year old, we should see more teams revealing their actual cars on launch day.

Aston Martin stepped up to the plate as the first team to confirm their F1 2023 car launch date, with seven more launches in the books since then:

Haas: January 31 (Livery launch)
Red Bull: February 3
Williams: February 6
Alfa Romeo: February 7
AlphaTauri: February 11
Aston Martin: February 13
McLaren: February 13
Ferrari: February 14
Mercedes: February 15
Alpine: February 16

What are the F1 2023 cars called?

The car names chosen by teams are often rather predictable, the trusted pairing of the chassis abbreviation and number, that goes up by one each year, doing the trick.

We can expect some variations to that though, Alfa Romeo gave us the C42 last season, and Ferrari the F1-75 as they celebrated their 75th anniversary. It was a car very much worthy of that iconic badge.

Mercedes: F1 W14
Aston Martin: AMR23
Haas: VF-23
AlphaTauri: AT04
Alpine: A523
Alfa Romeo: C43
Red Bull: RB19
Ferrari: SF-23
McLaren: MCL60
Williams: FW45

When is F1 2023 testing and is it on TV?

With testing action amounting to six days last season as the teams got a feel for these all-new rules, the 2023 schedule will see that allotted time slashed in half with only three days set to take place.

Bahrain is place to be for the sole pre-season F1 2023 test, that taking place from February 23-25, the week prior to the season getting underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the same venue.

It is expected that the usual style of two four-hour intervals per day will be used for the test, with teams allowed to run just the one car on the track at any given time.

Confirmation has not yet arrived on whether the test will be televised, but last season the Bahrain test was shown in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports F1, and in territories where access to F1TV Pro is available.

The Bahrain test schedule is as follows:

Thursday, February 23 – Day 1 – Bahrain International Circuit
Friday, February 24 – Day 2 – Bahrain International Circuit
Saturday, February 25 – Day 3 – Bahrain International Circuit

What is the full F1 2023 schedule?

March 3-5: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
March 17-19: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah
March 31-April 2: Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne
April 28-30: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku
May 5-7: Miami Grand Prix, Florida
May 19-21: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola
May 26-28: Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco
June 2-4: Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona
June 16-18: Canadian Grand Prix, Montréal
June 30-July 2: Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg
July 7-9: British Grand Prix, Silverstone
July 21-23: Hungarian Grand Prix, Mogyoród
July 28-30: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
August 25-27: Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort
September 1-3: Italian Grand Prix, Monza
September 15-17: Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay
September 22-24: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
October 6-8: Qatar Grand Prix, Lusail
October 20-22: United States Grand Prix, Austin
October 27-29: Mexico City Grand Prix, Mexico City
November 3-5: Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Interlagos
November 16-18: Las Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas
November 24-26: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi

Where can I watch the F1 2023 season?

In the UK, every session, from the start of FP1 to the end of the race, is available via pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports. A live stream of their coverage can also be accessed via Now TV.

Highlights of both qualifying sessions and the race will be shown on free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4.

If you have F1TV Pro, you can watch all the action live, too, but please check to see if F1TV Pro is available in your country.

PlanetF1 will carry live timing and expert commentary on every session of the weekend. Coverage begins 15 minutes before each practice and qualifying session, and one hour before the race.

The F1 2023 season will be shown live on TV on the following stations in these key markets:

United States: ESPN and ABC (Miami, Canadian, U.S and Mexico City GPs)
Canada: RDS (French), TSN (English)
Australia: Fox Sports, Network 10 (Aus GP only)
France: Canal+, C8 (Bahrain, Monaco, U.S and Mexico GPs)
Italy: Sky Sport F1, TV8 (Emilia Romagna, Spanish, Italian and U.S GPs)
Germany: Sky Sport F1, RTL (Emilia Romagna, Spanish, Italian and U.S GPs)
Spain: DAZN, Telecinco (Spanish GP only)
Netherlands: Viaplay, NOS (Dutch GP only)
Brazil: Band, TV Bandeirantes
Japan: DAZN, Fuji TV Next

What is the F1 2023 driver line-up?

While plenty of familiar names will take their place on the F1 2023 grid, there are also a few glaring omissions, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel having retired at the end of the 2022 campaign, while Daniel Ricciardo exited McLaren and is set to spend the season recharging, but still involved with Formula 1 as a Red Bull reserve driver.

In a further boost for Formula 1 in the United States, Florida native Logan Sargeant will take to the grid with Williams, while there are many pair of eyes on Ricciardo’s McLaren replacement Oscar Piastri.

Not because of the contract saga on the way to getting him into that seat, but because of his illustrious junior record. Winning the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in consecutive seasons, he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Charles Leclerc and George Russell with such success.

Pierre Gasly meanwhile takes his first steps outside of the Red Bull fold as he replaces Fernando Alonso at Alpine, the Spaniard pressing on with the next stage of his career at Aston Martin.

Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
Alpine: Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly
McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll
Haas: Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg
AlphaTauri: Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda
Williams: Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant

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