ANALYSIS: Every new F1 car for the 2023 season
Red Bull
The RB19 has been kept as secretive as possible - even a shakedown was not announced publicly.
The wind tunnel penalty, incurred for breaking the F1 cost cap, is obviously significant because it will have affected the RB19's development. To what extent? We don't yet know.
Mercedes
- Mercedes find ‘estimated’ 0.3s with weight saving for 2023?
- Mercedes set to change unique sidepod concept in future upgrades
Reducing the overall weight of the W14 is why the livery is predominantly black, shorn of silver paint.
The distinctive "zeropod" sidepod remain - but team principal Toto Wolff has already hinted that they could be redesigned in early-season upgrades. However, sticking with the "zeropods" for now suggests Mercedes do not blame that idea for a poor 2022.
“The narrow sidepod design is not something we believe was fundamentally the reason why we didn’t perform,” Wolff said.
“There are no holy cows in our concept. It’s not that we don’t want to follow anybody’s ideas.”
Ferrari
- How Ferrari “completely redesigned” their 2023 F1 car
- Explained: Why Ferrari can run Mercedes’ banned front wing design in 2023
Ferrari’s head of chassis Enrico Cardile said about the SF-23: "On the aerodynamic side, our aim was twofold, to increase vertical downforce, to make up for what was lost due to the new aero regulations and then to achieve the balance characteristics we had set ourselves.
“The suspension has also been completely redesigned, on the one hand to help the aerodynamicists get the results they were looking for and on the other, to increase the range of adjustments that can be made to the car at the track.”
Alpine
The A523 was the final livery released and remains mysterious.
Pierre Gasly said after shaking down his new car: "Today was about getting an initial feel for the car and it felt very good on the laps I drove.
"I know everyone at the team has worked tirelessly to develop the car over the winter and it’s a proud moment to drive it today and see everyone’s faces in the garage.”
McLaren
Team principal Andrea Stella admitted they were unhappy with the progress of the MCL60 after "realising a little late" some teething problems.
“The good news is that pretty much all of them have been addressed,” Stella said. “I wouldn’t want to be too specific, but certainly they have to do predominantly with the aerodynamics.
“Aerodynamics is the name of the game in F1, so no mystery. But there’s some areas, for instance, interaction with the tyres, there’s some work that we needed to do and this was done over the winter.”
Aston Martin
The AMR23 is designed by Dan Fallows, formerly of Red Bull, and is inspired by the title-winning RB18. It is described as "bold and aggressive".
Technical director Fallows said: “The sideboards are quite a big area of difference.
“I wouldn’t say that’s been our majority focus, I think there are improvements and changes throughout the whole car.
“There’s obviously quite a lot that you can’t see, underneath the skin there’s quite substantial engineering improvements to a lot of the mechanical components as well as the aerodynamics.”
Alfa Romeo
The C43 appeared for a shakedown without the floor edge design shown in its digital livery launch.
Alfa Romeo expect to bring “a major change to the architecture” of the rear end of their car.
Haas
The VF-23 has a redesigned their sidepod and engine cover. The engine cover is wider, meaning some radiators have likely been moved. This is to extract more aerodynamic performance from the underfloor.
Haas have tried to create extra cooling with a fatter engine cover and a slimmer sidepod front.
The Haas does not appear to be as similar to the Red Bull as, for example, Alfa Romeo's new car.
AlphaTauri
The AT04 remains shrouded in secrecy until the Bahrain tests. Notably, new sponsor Orlen brings a dash of red to the traditional blue and white look.
Williams
The FW45's sidepod is the most distinct difference from last year. This was an idea from last year which couldn't be implemented because of where the coolers were.
The addition of the Gulf sponsor is also significant.
Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson said: “Quite large chunks of the car’s systems have been tested independently and now the whole car is currently coming together, getting ready to run it very soon. So the car build is going well.
“In terms of differences compared to the FW44, the whole car is an evolution in terms of its physical appearance. There’s obviously a few changes from the regs.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
