Verstappen again the man to beat in F1 in 2023
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was so far ahead last season that catching the Formula One champion may feel like scaling a mountain.
So that’s exactly what Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc did to get himself ready for the challenge, which starts next Sunday at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old from Monaco headed up to the Italian Dolomites for some “extreme training” that left him “fully recharged and ready for” another crack at Verstappen, his former junior karting rival.
Lewis Hamilton has long been a perfectionist when it comes to physical fitness. But this time the Mercedes veteran tried something new: a week in Antarctica whale-spotting.
“Winter was great, amazing, (the) highlight was Antarctica seeing the whales,” the 38-year-old said. “Definitely, if anyone has an opportunity to go, pack warm. But otherwise (it’s) pretty spectacular.”
Whether this makes any difference when it comes to stopping Verstappen remains to be seen, and if preseason testing is anything to go by, it might not.
Verstappen thinks his
RB19 may be even better than last year.
“Overall I think it’s definitely an improvement to last year,” he said during testing. “Very positive days for me.”
Ferrari will hope things improve under new leadership.
Frenchman Frédéric Vasseur replaced team principal, Italian Mattia Binotto, whose relationship with Leclerc had become increasingly tense.
New and old
Fernando Alonso is still confident in his ability to win a third world title even though he’s 41 years old. He joined Aston Martin after an acrimonious split with Alpine and the Spaniard likes what he’s seen so far.
“At Aston Martin for sure there is this energy and trying to become a contender for the future,” he said. “New factory coming together will be ready, new wind tunnel, a lot of investment. They look pretty good.”
New faces
The 21-year-old Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 22-year-old American Logan Sargeant and Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri) are the new faces.
De Vries raced once last season and impressed with ninth place at the Italian Grand Prix when he stepped in for Alex Albon when he had appendicitis.
“I’m getting the opportunity to live my dream,” the 28-year-old De Vries said.
F2 champion Felipe Drugovich could replace Lance Stroll for Aston Martin in Bahrain if Stroll fails to recover from a wrist injury sustained in a bicycle accident.
There’s also a rumor that Aston Martin could recall Sebastian Vettel as a one-off. The four-time F1 champion retired last season.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherland’s holds the trophy on the podium after he placed second in the Emirates Formula One Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina racetrack in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2019.