Formula One is one of the most popular sporting events in the world not without reason. Apart from the fact that it is run by a bunch of extremely savvy people who have over the years managed to hold public attention for a sport where there have been spells with superdominant racers and/or teams, they have managed to develop technologies that have eventually made their way into everyman cars. The drama happens not only on the track, but off it as well. Here is a look at what’s going on this season after one could get a look at the cars and drivers in Pre-season Testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain till the time of going to press this weekend.

No to all-electric

A couple of days ago, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali told Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that Formula One “will never switch to electric”. That has, at least for the time being, ended speculation whether electrification would be the next logical step after the governing body of the sport decided to defer some changes that were supposed to be made to the engines last racing season and this to bring in much bigger changes in 2026.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur with Ferrari’s pilots Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with the Ferrari SF23 Formula One car

Leaving the technicalities aside, the biggest thing that will happen then would be that a much higher proportion of power used by the engine will come from an electrical source, namely, a kinetic energy recovery system, or KERS, which is a sort of equivalent to the brake energy regeneration system in road cars.

Domenicali’s statement also underlines the fact that going electric would put the leading motor racing system head to head with the more recent Formula E racing series for electric cars that is finding quite a following over the years.

What is still more interesting is the F1 boss’s enigmatic statement that “it’s possible to reach zero emissions without changing engines or throwing away existing cars” and that F1 was in the process of making a zero-emission fuel that “could be used by planes and vessels”. That has certainly piqued collective interest about what Domenicali has up his sleeve.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was near the top of the lap time tables in Pre-season testing

The driver bet

Over the last couple of decades, there have been long phases when no matter what the drama on the track and over the season, eventually the winner is the same. Think of Michael Schumacher’s five consecutive wins with Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton’s seven wins with Mercedes. But then, once the tables turn it suddenly looks like it is going to be all the way for a new face to emerge on top.

For the moment, though, Max Verstappen looks to be the clear favourite to win the 2023 season and steer Red Bull Racing to a third constructor’s championship this year. Nonetheless, one cannot completely rule out Hamilton’s potential to lead a charge to the finishing line with Mercedes given that he has the highest number of F1 Driver’s championships under his belt with seven.

After an early surge, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari seemed to have fizzled out last season leaving Verstappen to run away with the championship. Nonetheless, Ferrari has a knack for bouncing back at the oddest of times.

Pre-season testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain that was on as we went to press showed varying results. However, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen remained at the top on the first day and with tenths of a second shy of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanou’s time on the second.

Ferrari’s Leclerc improved his time and seems to be in contention as are Fernando Alonso in an Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz Jr in a Ferrari. It is early days yet, but Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes AMG Petronas still looks off the pace of the leaders. But that could change any time.

The cars to watch

For a couple of years now the specifications for aerodynamics have been changed to make it possible to create more overtaking opportunities for racers, thereby switching the lead and creating contests to keep viewers engaged in the outcome. And if the testing so far is any indication, that seems to be working somewhat.

While Red Bull is still pulling some of the fastest laps, so are Ferrari and Aston Martin. While Mercedes AMG Petronas seems a bit off the fastest pace, team boss Toto Wolff seems optimistic that it will have a few more tricks to show in the days to come as the season gets going in earnest. Ferrari and Aston Martin are pulling out some of the fastest laps this year and it remains to be seen whether the much-experienced Fernando Alonso can do some magic and get his team some much-needed points.

Everyone has been playing around with the way the cars are set up — to go fast in a straight line or quickly around corners — and fuel loads and so on. And the final soft tyres that increase grip and, therefore, speed, have not gone on the cars yet.

All that said, it might still be tough for those not among the top teams, the so-called minnows, to turn the tables. So, maybe, till 2026 comes along and marks the return of some of the names like BMW and Honda with new engine technology, things will be more the same than change.

Mercedes AMG Petronas’ Lewis Hamilton has his work cut out

Mostly invisible tech

Each Formula One car is a technical tour de force with each team trying to make the cars go fastest around bends and on straights and every little thing on the car’s surface counts. Nonetheless, most are not visible to the naked eye because they can essentially be measured with precision instruments.

One of the most important things that was reintroduced in F1 was underbodies, or the bottoms of cars, being shaped to suck the car down to the ground that was used very effectively by both Red Bull and Mercedes AMG a couple of years ago. This made a return after it was banned in the mid-1980s and has been achieved with very different designs of cars by the teams. This has made a big difference and is likely to do so this year as well.