2023 Bahrain F1 test preview: Who is driving and when

Due to relatively stable technical regulations, F1 winter testing has reverted to just a single three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Testing starts on Thursday 23 February at 10:00 local Bahrain time and runs until Saturday. All three days follow the same schedule, with the running taking place from 10:00 until 14:15 and from 15:15 until 19:30, pausing for a lunch break. It will be broadcast by F1 TV and most local rights holders.

Changes for 2023 include a raised floor in an effort to combat the dreaded porpoising effect that plagued several teams throughout last year, the first season of all-new technical regulations.

But with testing limited to just three days, teams will face an uphill battle to work through their run plans and get on top of how their new machinery behaves on track. Any reliability issues will be very costly, and therefore most teams have already used up one or more filming days to shake down their cars and get early gremlins out of the way.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 W14

Photo by: Mercedes AMG

That means drivers will only receive one-day-and-a-half to adjust to their new cars, with the likes of George Russell and Fernando Alonso urging F1 to increase testing again for next year.

All eyes will be on top teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, with the latter playing down its chances to match its rivals early on despite making vast progress towards the end of a troubled 2022 season.

Lance Stroll is the notable absentee this week after the Canadian got injured during a bike accident in training. Aston Martin will replace him with reserve driver and reigning Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich alongside Fernando Alonso, while it is not yet known if Stroll will recover in time to take part in next week's Bahrain Grand Prix.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Williams driver Logan Sargeant and AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries are the three full-time rookies in 2023, who will be looking to hit the ground running in Sakhir.

Who will drive at F1 pre-season testing?