The 2023 Formula 1 season is upon us and while some driver pairing have changed, others remained the same, but who will prevail in each teammate war this season?
This feature will be one of several which GrandPrix247 will be running in 2023, with one also coming after pre-season testing is over, as another will be run on the eve of the season opener in Bahrain in March.
We start with Formula 1 teammate wars in 2023, an aspect that may prove interesting to gauge in the upcoming season with some teams keeping the same driver pairings, while others fielding revised ones.
Red Bull will be running an unchanged driver lineup, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, and while it was a successful partnership, what happened in Brazil in 2022 – Verstappen’s mutiny against team orders which won’t be erased from Perez’s memory in 2023, so interesting to see the dynamic there.
Ferrari and Mercedes will also have the same driver lineup, and the former’s new team boss Fred Vasseur insisted the Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will be free to race, while the latter has always allowed their drivers to race, but it would be worth monitoring how Lewis Hamilton responds to being beaten by George Russell in 2022.
Defeat wouldn’t have gone down well with Hamilton, but Russell will come back even more confident.
The revised driver pairings
As for the changed lineup, we have McLaren with Lando Norris and newcomer Oscar Piastri, the latter so highly rated the team went to war with Alpine to secure his services. Will the young Australian prove worth the trouble? Even beating Norris?
What of Alpine and its “All-French” lineup, with Esteban Ocon and new arrival Pierre Gasly not getting on well historically. Who will beat the other? And will sparks fly between the two?
Gasly replaced Fernando Alonso who jumped ship to Aston Martin where his teammate is the boss’ son Lance Stroll. Alonso, theoretically should keep the Canadian in check, but will there be any intra-team politics to support Lance, son of Lawrence? Keep any eye on this one, Alonso doesn’t have a good track record in these situations…
Nyck de Vries was the revelation of 2022 after his eye opening performance at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix when he replaced the ill Alex Albon. How will the new Dutchman in town fare against the erratic Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri?
Speaking of Albon, he has done a decent job on his comeback with Williams, but will American rookie Logan Sargeant give him any trouble?
How will Nico Hulkenberg perform against the superb Kevin Magnussen at Haas? And will Zhou Guanyu beat Valtteri Bottas in his second season in F1?
These are some highlights of what to look out for in terms of “who beats who” at every team, and the season is still a way off but please let us know what you think and participate in the below survey. We will do a follow up survey after testing.