F1 Pre-Season Test 2023: When Will Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen Drive in Sakhir Testing?

The 2023 F1 season is just around the corner, which means that the excruciatingly long season break is almost coming to an end. Over the last few years, we have seen all 10 F1 teams reveal their respective cars ahead of the new campaign, as they all head to Bahrain for the official pre-season test.

Pre-season testing is one of the most crucial times for an F1 team because it allows them to test the machinery they had been working so hard on over at the factories. Before a season starts, a team wants to know what its strengths and weaknesses are so that it can make tweaks to the car accordingly.

During a pre-season test, F1 teams test out various aspects of the car like its speed while entering and exiting corners, the straight line speed, and also the reliability of the power unit. For the rest of the season, they won’t get the opportunity to carry out tests as widespread and elaborate as this.

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What do drivers do during pre-season testing?

For a team, the main focus during the test is to have as many laps under their belt as possible. This allows them to gather data, which they analyze so that they can maximize the potential of the car when the season gets underway.

For drivers too, F1 pre-season testing is very important. All 20 drivers suit up for the test so that they can get used to the new cars that they hope will guide them to success in the coming campaign.

The drivers want to be out on track as long as they are allowed to.  They note down the strengths and weaknesses of the car and pass the message on to the team so that they can tune as per their convenience when the real action begins.

Also read: How To Watch the F1 Testing in Bahrain: Will the 2023 F1 Testing Be Televised?

When is the 2023 F1 pre-season test?

Usually, F1’s pre-season testing takes place right before the opening race of the season. Earlier, the test used to take place at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona because of the track’s proximity to team bases and its mixture of low and high-speed corners.

However, the opening venue of the F1 season was shifted to Bahrain in 2021 and since then, we’ve had pre-season testing take place in Sakhir. This year too, pre-season testing will take place at the Bahrain International Circuit. The 2023 F1 pre-season test begins on 23rd February and ends on 25th February.

Each day of the test will divided into a morning and an afternoon session. Most teams will divide their drivers among these sessions, so that everyone gets equal time behind the wheels of their new machinery.

Driver’s schedule for F1’s official testing

Team	Day 1 (Morning)	Day 1 (Afternoon)	Day 2 (Morning)	Day 2 (Afternoon)	Day 3 (Morning)	Day 3 (Afternoon)
Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Max Verstappen	Sergio Perez	Max Verstappen	Sergio Perez	Sergio Perez
Ferrari	Carlos Sainz	Charles Leclerc	Carlos Sainz	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	Carlos Sainz
Mercedes	George Russell	Lewis Hamilton	Lewis Hamilton	George Russell	George Russell	Lewis Hamilton
Alpine	Pierre Gasly	Esteban Ocon	Esteban Ocon	Pierre Gasly	Pierre Gasly	Esteban Ocon
McLaren	Oscar Piastri	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Oscar Piastri	Oscar Piastri	Lando Norris
Alfa Romeo	Guanyu Zhou	Valtteri Bottas	Guanyu Zhou	Guanyu Zhou	Valtteri Bottas	Valtteri Bottas
Aston Martin	Fernando Alonso	Felipe Drugovich	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Haas	Nico Hulkenberg	Kevin Magnussen	Kevin Magnussen	Nico Hulkenberg	Nico Hulkenberg	Kevin Magnussen
AlphaTauri	Yuki Tsunoda	Nyck de Vries	Yuki Tsunoda	Nyck de Vries	Nyck de Vries	Yuki Tsunoda
Williams	Alex Albon	Logan Sargeant	Logan Sargeant	Logan Sargeant	Alex Albon	Alex Albon