2023 Formula One World Championship
It was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars.
His team, Red Bull Racing achieved their sixth Constructors' Championship title, their second consecutively, at the preceding Japanese Grand Prix.
[29] Liam Lawson's debut at the Dutch Grand Prix did not count, as Nyck de Vries had already taken the mandatory free practice slot for that car.
[50] During second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix, his third race of the season, Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand in a crash.
As a result, Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri's reserve driver Liam Lawson substituted for Ricciardo, making his Formula One debut.
The Azerbaijan, Austrian, Belgian, Qatar, United States and São Paulo Grands Prix featured the sprint format.
When the Qatar Grand Prix was first announced in 2021, the event was scheduled to take place at an undiscolosed location, with a new circuit in the planning stages.
It was originally meant to switch its venue from the Sochi Autodrom to Igora Drive, in Novozhilovo, located approximately 54 kilometres (34 mi) from Saint Petersburg.
[64] The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place on 21 May as the sixth round of the championship, was cancelled on 17 May due to flooding in the area.
[66][67][68] Following Zhou Guanyu's crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, a rounded top would be required on the roll hoop, which reduces the chance of it digging into the ground during an accident.
The wording of the regulation was altered so that the slot gap separator brackets must perform a structural role, and the sentence explaining that the primary purpose can not be aerodynamic was removed.
This change provided teams with more flexible strategy options after criticism towards the original C1 compound for a large drop in grip compared to the other tyres.
This caused confusion at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, where full points were awarded despite less than 75% of the scheduled distance being completed, as the race ended under green flag conditions.
[85] The FIA's International Sporting Code (ISC)[e] was updated to include stricter controls on drivers and teams making "political, religious and personal statements".
[92] Teams such as Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, and Aston Martin operated "applied technology" divisions which design for and consult on projects outside of Formula One.
Between the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, the FIA introduced a technical directive that prevented teams from transferring intellectual property from their "special project" divisions to their Formula One operations cost-free, closing a loophole.
[95] Red Bull Racing's Sergio Pérez set the fastest time of the test, while Scuderia AlphaTauri logged the greatest distance.
Charles Leclerc retired with a mechanical failure from third, with Alonso taking this spot, after a late race overtake on Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth.
The points paying positions were rounded out by Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Alex Albon (Williams).
[130] The British Grand Prix saw an improvement from McLaren, who brought car updates to the event, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified in second and third, respectively.
He was given a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix for exceeding the allocated number of gearboxes, so Leclerc was promoted to pole in his place.
Pérez was able to hold onto third on track but a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane promoted Pierre Gasly to his first podium since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Pérez would make contact with Magnussen on lap 12, resulting in another front wing change, before electing to retire the car due to collision damage.
At the start, the soft shod trio of Russell, Sainz and Leclerc managed to make their way past Verstappen and Norris, with Piastri able to hold the lead before a safety car intervention.
[168] Charles Leclerc took his fourth pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Sainz, Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Pérez.
[172] At the start of the sprint, Verstappen was able to take the lead, with Russell jumping up to second, with Norris third, with Pérez falling to fifth by the end of the opening lap.
At the start, Verstappen held onto the lead ahead Norris and Hamilton, whilst at the back, the Williams of Alexander Albon collided with both Haas cars, crashing into the barriers at turn 1 along with Magnussen, resulting in a red flag.
[190] Team principal Toto Wolff was critical of the car throughout the season describing is as a "miserable thing" and stating that its performance was "inexcusably poor".
[191] Both Leclerc and team principal Frédéric Vasseur highlighted that there were positive take aways from the season and that the had the momentum to challenge Red Bull into 2024.
There was optimism in the early stages of the campaign after they scored in three of the opening five rounds,[195] but poor race pace, which did not improve with upgrades, meant they were unable to capitalise on the strong qualifying performances the car was able to produce.
