The race featured the Grand Prix debut of Liam Lawson, substituting for AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo when the latter broke a metacarpal bone during a practice session.

[3] The drivers and teams were initially the same as the season entry list with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards.

[4][5] However, Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand in a crash in the second practice session, and was subsequently replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson who made his Formula One race debut.

[10] The second free practice session was held on 25 August 2023, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2) and was topped by Lando Norris, with Verstappen the second-fastest and Alexander Albon third.

The session was red-flagged three times for Kevin Magnussen's crash and spins of Zhou Guanyu and Liam Lawson.

[20] Heavy rainfall and Zhou Guanyu's crash eight laps from the finish meant the race was suspended for three-quarters of an hour before resuming.