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Season 23 is here! A brief F1 preview!

F1 season is here! After Rocco Rapido's dramatic 3rd title (and McLaren's constructor title) in S22 and his surprising retirement from F1, S23 brings us plenty of new stuff to look for!

Before my season preview, here are some of the changes that are in effect for season 23:

- The racing simulator is now in full effect not just in F1 but for everyone. How much that will affect your driver's performance is still unknown but it will certainly be interesting to watch…
- A 3rd dry tyre compound has been introduced in F1. Now drivers have the possibility of choosing between Hards, Mediums and Soft tyres. However, they still have to use 2 different types of tyres during the race . Plus, just 2 sets of Softs, 3 sets of Mediums and 3 Sets of Hards are available for the whole weekend. So tough decisions are expected in the tyres department.
- It is now also possible to use different tyre agressivity for each stint. That opens a completely new set of race strategies. This applies to all series and races in MRC.

Now a brief and very faulty season preview! As always, in-season improvements can play a huge part on how teams perform!

The Top Tier!

McLaren

S22: 1st (519p)
S23 outlook: After winning the drivers and team championship McLaren is looking for a repeat season! The car looks very balanced and very reliable. It may lack the top speed of other teams but they're better than most at everything else.
The drivers: Despite defending Champion's Rapido retirement from F1, the driver line-up is also top notch with former champion Novikok joining the team from Jordan. He joins Spaniard Morales Garcia who's looking for more consistency to improve on his 3rd place in the standings. He won 5 races to Rapido's 2 but also failed to score in 6 events in S22.
Best case scenario: Champions
Worst case scenario: 2nd place

Red Bull Vaillante

S22: 2nd (498p)
S23 outlook: Having lost the constructors Championship to McLaren despite winning more races, Red Bull is looking to regain their status as the best team in MRC. They are neck a neck with rival McLaren in every department and it may depend on the in-season improvements to separate the 2 giants.
The drivers: The team keeps their drivers with S22 runnner-up De Monteferrand and former champion Grosjean.
Best case scenario: Champions
Worst case scenario: 2nd place

The Persuer's!

Williams

S22: 3rd (258p)
S23 outlook: Williams continued their rise in standings and reached a team best 3rd place in the championship last season. The goal is to repeat in S22 and , if possible, close the gap from McLaren and Red Bull. The car remains the fastest in the field in the top speed department but still lacks polish in other areas to be considered a championship contender. Still, the gap seems to be closing.
The drivers: The team retained the driver line-up with Frenchman Briand looking to improve on his 5th place in his rookie season and Finnish Allas hoping for more consistency.
Best case scenario: 3rd place
Worst case scenario: 4th place

Jordan

S22: 4th (240p)
S23 outlook: Jordan enters the season with high hopes after a disappointing S22 (for their ambition) and in a bit of transitional period having lost Novikov to McLaren. The car looks solid and very much a top 4 outfit despite a slightly below average top speed.
The drivers: Much of Jordan's success will depend on how well new recruit Nebesky Jr (Ex-Ferrari) and the returning Wolf can perform this season. The talent is there…
Best case scenario: 3rd place
Worst case scenario: 4th place

The Pack! (In alphabetical order)

Audi

S22: 6th (100p)
S23 outlook: Audi is a team on the rise and are looking to improve! For S23 Audi shift it's focus to top speed and now is the number 2 team in that department. Other areas are now weaker but the team seems confident on their approach and are hoping to emulated Williams' success. Reliability is still an issue but if they can improve their engine...
The drivers: The drivers remain unchanged with veteran Galimov leading the way and the ever improving Miller in the other car.
Best case scenario: 5th place
Worst case scenario: 8th place

BMW

S22: 9th (68p)
S23 outlook: BMW had a rough start in S22 (just 3p in the first 9 races) but a strong 2nd half of the season. For S23, the car looks strong and reliable. It could use a little more top speed but the team should be in hunt for points as soon as the season starts.
The drivers: BMW lost Mihaylov to Mercedes and replaced him with promising youngster Lutiy. Veteran Kalinin returns with his skills still intact in the other car.
Best case scenario: 5th place
Worst case scenario: 8th place

Lamborghini

S22: 11th (17p)
S23 outlook: Coming from a 11th place finish in S22, Lamborghini starts the season in the lower echelons of the pack for S23. However the team is hoping to introduce a new DRS soon and perhaps an engine upgrade. When that happens, they could very well be back in the hunt for major points.
The drivers: German Mark Winter is a talented driver and returns for another season. 29 year old Italian rookie Lavabo Jr. replaces Cannas in the other car.
Best case scenario: 7th
Worst case scenario: 11th

Mercedes

S22: 7th (90p)
S23 outlook: After a surprising S22 with their 7th place overall and 1st ever race win, Mercedes looks to repeat in S23. The S23 looks again as a speed demon ranking as the 3rd best overall in the top speed department. As other teams with similar speed, they are not as strong in other other areas but that didn't stop them last season. Still, it will be tough to repeat last season's points total.
The drivers: The team resigned the ultra talented Beskov and snatched another fine driver in Mihaylov (BMW) who replaces veteran Petrov.
Best case scenario: 6th place
Worst case scenario: 10th place

Porsche

S22: 8th (74p)
S23 outlook: Porsche had a fine S22 with it's 8th place finish and 15 races in the points. If S22's car was all about speed, the S23 car is all about balance. It's a risky gamble but if they can improve their airbox and engine, they could again surprise other teams. Still, reaching last season's points total seems tough to achieve but impossible.
The drivers: The line-up has a new face with Spaniard rookie Dominguez replacing Sinisalo. Talented Atrumins returns and is hoping to improve on his excellent rookie season.
Best case scenario: 5th place
Worst case scenario: 9th place

Scuderia Ferrari

S22: 5th (105p)
S23 outlook: Ferrari is coming from a dream season having scored 2 race wins and a 5th place in the constructor championship. The S23 car doesn't look as strong, at least not for the beginning of the season, with the team still working on their airbox and a subpar gearbox. Can they solve those issues? If it's a yes then they can move back to middle of the pack. If not, look for a big drop in the standings.
The drivers: Ferrari took a huge hit with Nebesky Jr's departure for Jordan. The team signed rookie Lenny Baralair to take his place with Sklenarikova returning in the other car.
Best case scenario: 6th place
Worst case scenario: 11th place

WAR

S22: 10th (49p)
S23 outlook: WAR had a good start of S22 scoring in the first 8 races only to fade the rest of the way. The S23 looks good for the beginning of the season should be very competitve in downforce tracks. But it lacks a bit of top speed and a better steering to challenge for the top 5.
The drivers: WAR has signed F1 veteran Vanderpuije to replace the retiring Macieira with Da Costa Jr. returning for another season in the other car.
Best case scenario: 7th place
Worst case scenario: 11th place

The question mark!

Trabant

S22: 12th (2p)
S23 outlook: After scoring 2p in S22, Trabant is hoping to improve. The team starts the season with an unfinished car with 5 parts still needing an upgrade: airbox, KERS, diffuser, sidepods and vanes. If they somehow can upgrade those parts sometime during the season, they could very well surprise. But as it stands, it looks a lot of work needs to be done and not enough time.
The drivers: Trabant retained a very capable driver line-up with Sahat II and Solberg returning for another season.
Best case scenario: 10th place
Worst case scenario: 13th place

Not quite there yet!

Ford

S22: 13th (0p)
S23 outlook: Ford continued to close the gap in S22 but a lot of work is yet to be done. Ford's S23 looks like an improvement from S22 but it's still not enough to contend for the points in a regular basis. However, they should be closer to the pack.
The drivers: The team replaced talented Woerger with rookie Jackson Storm and kept veteran Bruce Wayne in he other car for another season in the top flight.
Best case scenario: 12th place
Worst case scenario: 14th place

Lost opportunity!

Sempre Senna

S22: 14th (0p)
S23 outlook: After a disastrous S22, Sempre Senna was looking to rebound in S23 but everything went sideways when the team failed to sign their suppliers on time. The result is what looked like a very good car running with a subpar electronic control unit, suspension and brake parts. It's really a shame as I was expecting a big comeback from the team. Still, the car has an excellent top speed and will try to surprise in some teams in high speed events.
The drivers: In driver's department the team return their drivers with Maurer and Berger at the wheel.
Best case scenario: 11th place
Worst case scenario: 14th place

Better but not enough!

LKR

S22: 15th (0p)
S23 outlook: S22 was tough on LKR and although the S23's car is a vast improvement, they should still be in the bottom of field. Still, LKR is in the middle of the pack in the top speed department but just lacks refinement in all other areas.
The drivers: The driver line-up is also improved with veteran Petrov coming from Mercedes and joining Bremser.
Best case scenario: 14th place
Worst case scenario: 15th place

Good luck to every team! I'm expecting a highly competitive season!