The winter testing for the 2023 F1 season has begun, with teams testing their cars on the track without any restrictions for the first time. The previous car launches provided limited information on the new cars so this test will reveal the true strength of the teams before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Unlike the previous year, there is only one three-day test in Bahrain, making it crucial for teams to see how their preparations from last winter have paid off. Any issues discovered during this test will need to be addressed quickly, as the first race of the season is only a week away.
Timetable
The test days for the upcoming event will occur between Thursday, February 23, and Saturday, February 25. There will be two sessions each day, with the first commencing at 10:00 local time and concluding after four hours.
After this, there will be a one-hour break before the second session starts at 13:00, which lasts for 4.5 hours and continues until after sunset.
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Technical
The 2023 F1 season has introduced several technical rule changes that every car must adhere to, with one of the most crucial and contentious being the higher ride height. Mercedes strongly advocated for this rule change, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s team faced difficulties with porpoising throughout the season.
Most F1 teams initially disregarded the issue, but Mercedes continued to struggle with it for a long time. However, towards the end of the season, the German team seemed to have largely resolved the problem. Despite this, Toto Wolff emphasized the significance of the new rule change.
While the FIA claimed that the changes to the floor were made for safety reasons, most F1 teams questioned this argument. However, there was one rule change that was undoubtedly implemented for safety purposes: the roll bars were modified and strengthened after Guanyu Zhou’s Alfa Romeo was involved in a severe crash at Silverstone.
