Formula 1 returns for a new season, with a 23-race calendar scheduled to decide this year’s championship.
Max Verstappen is hunting his third straight world championship, Lewis Hamilton is gunning for a record eighth, and Ferrari is looking to break their title drought.
Every journey begins somewhere and the 2023 championship will begin in Bahrain, at 2am AEDT on Monday.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of round 1 for the 2023 F1 championship.
Where is the race?
Located in the southern half of Bahrain near its western coastline, the Bahrain International Circuit is just outside the tourist village of Zallaq.
The race track is a 30-minute drive from Bahrain’s capital, Manama, which is located at the top of the tiny Middle East island nation.
Work started on one of F1’s younger tracks in 2002, with its first race being held in 2004, when Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher took the win.
What do I need to know about the track?
The Bahrain International Circuit is a 15-turn, 5.412km track that runs clockwise.
There are three DRS (drag reduction system) zones where tailing cars that are within a second of the competitor in front can open their rear wing for extra speed.
The main spots for overtaking are turns 1 and 11, at the end of the long straights.
Bahrain usually offers eye-catching racing, with plenty of room for drivers to execute overtakes.
What happened last year?
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made the perfect start to the 2022 season with victory in Bahrain, the open race of the year.
Red Bull had a night to forget in the desert, with defending champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez both failing to finish due to car issues.
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) were the star performers of the race, bringing their mid-field cars home in fifth and sixth respectively.
Fast facts about this track
- First grand prix — 2004
- Number of laps — 57
- Lap distance — 5.412km
- Race distance — 308.238km
- Fastest lap — 1:31.447 Pedro de la Rosa (2005)
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