The tests will last three days, as in 2021, and not six as in 2022, and the teams will only have one car for their two drivers, so each one will have only one and a half days to test it.
The challenge is even more complicated for the Dutchman Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri), the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and the American Logan Sargeant (Williams) -, who will contest their first full season in the premier class of motorsport.
But some veterans will also have to get used to their new team, such as the Spanish double world champion Fernando Alonso.
“I am aware that I will not be 100% in Bahrain, nor in Jeddah and perhaps not in Australia either,” acknowledged the 41-year-old Spaniard, who will drive Aston Martin.
He will be the teammate of Canadian Lance Stroll (24 years old), who will miss the trials after suffering a bicycle accident.
The French Pierre Gasly also begins a new adventure and joins his compatriot Esteban Ocon in the Alpine team.
“It’s a big change, there was a lot of work this winter,” said the 27-year-old, who tries “to do what is necessary to reduce my adaptation time.”
German Nico Hulkenberg returns to Formula 1 with Haas, four years after his last full season.
Tune up for the Titans
For its part, Ferrari is seeking glory after a promising 2022 season that was twisted by reliability and strategy issues.
They finished runner-up in the constructors’ and drivers’ world championships last year, with Monegasque Charles Leclerc behind the incredibly competitive Red Bull of defending champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands.
With only a few days of testing, “it will be difficult to react in case of problems” in the car, said the new director of the Italian team, Frenchman Frédéric Vasseur.
Testing will also be crucial for Mercedes, third last year, looking to get rid of the car’s aerodynamic problems.
It will be difficult to know at the moment if the German constructor managed to get rid of the problems that so complicated the 2022 season for the British George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who is seeking his eighth world title.