After the lengthy winter break, the Method 1 World Championship returns this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit.

The 2023 season would not convey a lot in the way in which of recent automotive designs, after final season’s full redesign, however there is a new race in Las Vegas to stay up for (considered one of three U.S. races this season), bringing this yr’s calendar to 23 rounds. The season additionally options three new drivers, in addition to a returning veteran.

The brand new drivers embrace Oscar Piastri at McLaren, Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, and U.S. driver Logan Sargeant at Williams. Nico Hulkenberg additionally returns to F1 as a driver for Haas. Fernando Alonso, who’s driving for Aston Martin for the primary time, also needs to be price watching. Alonso is driving alongside Lance Stroll, who missed the current check session on account of a wrist harm however is confirmed to race in Bahrain. Ferrari and Williams even have new workforce bosses—Fred Vasseur and James Vowles, respectively.

All eyes will probably be on reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who’s as soon as once more driving for Pink Bull Racing and is now chasing his third title. Mercedes-Benz AMG’s Lewis Hamilton additionally returns for an try at a document eighth title.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has taken over for the Australian Grand Prix as the standard season opener. The Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, positioned on a former camel farm within the desert space of Sakhir, is the place this yr’s pre-season testing occurred, so the drivers will probably be conversant in the most recent observe circumstances.

The three.36-mile observe is likely one of the most abrasive on the calendar. It consists of a mixture of high-speed straights and hairpins with heavy braking. Flip 10 is likely one of the trickiest corners as a result of it has a protracted, mixed nook entry that will get tighter towards the apex, on this case over a blind crest. Drivers start to use the brakes whereas additionally negotiating the extensive nook arc of Flip 9 and the observe drops away on the apex. All of those components trigger the front-left tire to go mild and improve the chance of a lock-up.

Engine efficiency, traction out of the corners, and stability beneath braking make up the technical problem right here. As well as, because of the abrasiveness of the observe, tire degradation additionally performs a vital position.

Pirelli has nominated its hardest tire compounds for the race: C1 because the White arduous, C2 because the Yellow medium, and C3 because the Pink comfortable. The C1 is a brand new compound this season. In keeping with Pirelli, it’s primarily based on final yr’s C2 compound to assist cut back the efficiency hole between the more durable compounds within the vary.

Climate circumstances seem like delicate for each Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race, with the height temperature on Sunday anticipated to hover round 83 levels F. Altering wind can even blow sand in from the encompassing desert and this will have an effect on grip ranges, although a sticky adhesive substance has been sprayed on the encompassing sand to assist decrease this eventuality.

Groups additionally should be aware of quickly altering observe temperatures. The race begins at 6 p.m. native time, so the observe temperature will probably be warmest at first and funky because the race progresses. Final yr’s winner in Bahrain was Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari.