The 2023 F1 Season Is Almost Here, This Is How All 10 Team Launches Went

To spice things up a bit, Season 5 of Drive to Survive is also set to start around the same time, and it's almost shocking to see Max Verstappen taking center stage, given his previous reluctance regarding the series. As you probably know by now, Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo have lost their seats at Haas and Mclaren but are now reserve drivers at Mercedes and Red Bull, respectively. Meanwhile, Nicholas Latifi and Sebastian Vettel are both out of F1, with Vettel claiming four F1 titles during his career.

This means there are four new drivers to look out for this season: Nyck de Vries, Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, and Nico Hulkenberg. Only four teams haven't made any changes to their driver's line-up: Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG F1, and Alfa Romeo. F1 regulations have been adapted for the new season, to avoid some of the 2022 issues and also increase driver safety. There's a good chance they will be slightly slower overall, given the aerodynamic adjustments brought into play. But without further ado, let's review the official F1 launches for 2023 in chronological order.

10. Haas F1

Haas was the first team to reveal the new livery for the 2023 F1 season. This is a repeat performance for the American team, but their eagerness to show off the new project seems to have left them without a presentation on the Championship's official Youtube channel. The new VF-23 car was released several days later at Silverstone. The team has been part of the sport since 2016, and we all know that it has been struggling to keep up with the competition for a few years now.

Last year's start of the season sponsor and driver troubles didn't help much either, and some fans are still upset over the Schumacher decision. Black is the dominant color for the new livery, which reminds us of the old VF19. The increasing influence of F1 in the USA has probably helped Haas secure two new sponsors: MoneyGram and Chipotle Mexican Grill, the latter having triggered some comic online responses from fans.

At first glance, the VF-23 seems to be using the same suspension setup as last year, but it now has an updated radiator arrangement with a Ferrari-inspired take on cooling. But it will still take a strong performance from both Hulkenberg and Magnussen for the team to make a breakthrough this year and climb further up the rankings.

9. Red Bull

Red Bull Racing presented the "RB19" F1 challenger in New York and took the whole world by surprise by announcing the new partnership with Ford. This is bound to have a big effect on the sport once the ball gets rolling, and we can't even imagine how intense the championship will be a few years from now.

You'll have a tough time telling the difference between the 2023 car and the 2022 model, and even Max Verstappen seemed to be puzzled by the whole thing. We're probably going to see the updated design a week from now during the official testing session in Sakhir, and an additional three liveries will be created for the three GPs set to take place in the US.

Red Bull has been dominating the championship for two years now, and it's hard to think that things will change anytime soon. Red Bull's evolution in F1 over the past two decades has been formidable, to say the least, and their brilliant management has set them on the path to many more victories in the next few years.

8. Williams

F1 newcomers might not remember the glory days of Team Williams, but a short history lesson will clear that up in a second. The British squad hasn't won the Constructors Championship since 1997 when the FW19 was powered by a Renault V10 engine. The past five years have been particularly difficult, with unsuccessful efforts to move away from the bottom of the constructor rankings. With Latifi departing from the Grove-based team, that also meant the Sofina deal was gone.

Still, bringing Logan Sargeant on board was a pretty good idea and will be attracting more interest from North American companies. Although Gulf only has a small presence on the new FW45 car, there's no telling how this new partnership might develop in time. We also can't help but notice the brilliant positioning of the Duracell logo, where Lavazza used to be last year.

The official car rollout happened at Silverstone, and the team's rookie driver was surprised at how much faster the F1 machine was compared to his old F2 ride. The FW45 seems to feature some changes that are similar to what Red Bull used in 2022, which may very well help the team rise from the ashes and charge for the midfield.

7. Alfa Romeo

While the driver line-up at Alfa Romeo hasn't changed during the off-season, there are other things to consider here. First off, Fredric Vasseur is no longer the Team Principal, as he has taken up that responsibility at Ferrari. Alunni Bravi will be working with Andreas Seidl to guide the racing program for 2023, but it's still early to say if this breath of fresh air will help Alfa Romeo to continue moving up through the rankings.

As opposed to other teams, the Swiss-Italian squad launched both the new car and new livery at the same time, and in two different locations we might add. Orlen is no longer the major sponsor here, as that position has been taken over by Team Stake. As a result, the new livery has lost most of its white part and now closely resembles Ferrari's SF23.

The C43 also makes use of a new Ferrari power unit, different from the 2022 variant. The new car also has a heavily redesigned rear suspension, and there's a good chance that the wheelbase is slightly longer than it was last year. With all the new changes for 2023, the team's aerodynamic struggle might become a thing of the past. Bottas might still have some aces up his sleeve, but the gap to Mclaren might be too big to overcome just yet.

6. AlphaTauri

It will be a bit strange seeing Orlen logos on the AlphaTauri cars this season, but these kinds of moves happen all the time in motorsports. Red Bull's sister team launched the new AT04 machine in New York, which comes as no surprise given the increasing attention coming from the USA in recent years.

It's hard to think that the team will emerge from the lower part of the Constructor rankings anytime soon, but then again, that might not be its main target, for now, either way. Instead, it may serve as a sort of incubator for young drivers on their way to the big team. And bringing in Nyck de Vries for 2023 is certainly an interesting move.

It might take a keen eye to notice how the livery has changed since last year, but seeing both cars next to each other might help clear that up. It's not a radical redesign at that, and we'll just have to wait and see how the AT04 handles the first test of the year before getting a better understanding of how it has evolved since the AT03.

5. Aston Martin

As Sebastian Vettel has retired from F1, Aston Martin has filled the gap with another legendary driver: Fernando Alonso. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how he gets along with Lance Stroll this season, but something tells us that his racing experience will have a strong say in it all.

Aston Martin finished seventh in the Constructors Championship in both 2021 and 2022, albeit with fewer points scored last year. The British manufacturer is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, and that has been made visible through the new livery. So the pressure is on for both drivers to score the team's first podium finish in the AMR23 F1 machine.

The color scheme for 2023 seems to be almost identical to the one used last year, but at least the AMR23 has several newly-designed elements, such as the front wing, engine cover, and side pods. The team's new F1 campus is set to be ready next year, but at least Silverstone is always nearby for live testing.

4. Mclaren

After Andreas Seidl's departure to Alfa Romeo, Zak Brown brought in Andrea Stella to lead the team to victory in 2023. Stella is no stranger to F1 success, with multiple World Championships under his belt. Despite Daniel Ricciardo's best efforts last year, he is no longer part of the team, having been replaced by the much younger Oscar Piastri.

We won't go into the whole Alpine-Piastri drama this time, but we're sure it's still going to be the talk of the trade throughout the season. Both teams were engaged in a fierce battle for P4 in the Constructors Championship last year, and the MCL60 won't have it easy this year either. The name of the new car is meant to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the team, thus honoring Bruce Mclaren's legacy at the same time.

The orange theme is still there, as you'd expect, and there are only minor visual differences to last year's design. Lando Norris has proven himself several times in recent years, and if he can get along with the new MCL60, there's a good chance we'll see him on the podium a lot more often.

3. Ferrari

Ferrari has been struggling to get back on top of things for many years now, and there's newfound hope that Fred Vasseur might be the answer the Italians were looking for. Both drivers have what it takes to become World Champions, and they could get there if the team's strategy department can correct some of last year's mistakes.

The F1-75 had its fair share of problems last year, but it still managed to bring 12 poles, 20 podiums, and four wins despite the fierce opposition coming from Red Bull and Mercedes. We think we're not wrong to say that Ferrari had the best launch this year, with the new SF-23 being revealed at Fiorano in front of a large audience of Tifosi and team officials.

Static presentations should become a thing of the past, and it would certainly be nice to see all the cars on the grid doing demos for their first time out. A brighter shade of red is one of the main differences from last year's livery, but it seems that the SF-23 is something entirely new compared to the old F1-75. With improved reliability, a redesigned suspension, and improved aerodynamics, Ferrari might just emerge victoriously at the end of 2023.

2. Mercedes

Mercedes is back in black for 2023, and somehow this simple design feels like the best-executed one on the grid. You could almost think that this move has superstitious implications, as it reminds us of the 2020 and 2021 livery. Back then, it felt like no one could stop Hamilton and Bottas in their tracks, and the Silver Arrows had been dominating the sport since 2014.

Lewis struggled with the W13 more than George did in 2022, and the overall rankings revealed a 35-point gap between them. Last year's car suffered from extreme porpoising on multiple occasions, but that may not be a problem with the new W14. Toto Wolff was nowhere near satisfied with his team's performance in 2022.

But a difficult lesson can always propel you forward if you can accurately read the results. The zero-pod design might change by the end of the year, and we can't help but feel that George Russell is a strong contender for the 2023 title.

1. Alpine

The last F1 launch for 2022 also took place in the United Kingdom, as strange as that might sound, considering we're talking about Alpine here. The A521 climbed to P5 in the Constructors Championship in 2021, and the A522 further improved on that result, albeit by a small margin.

Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer will be working with two French drivers this year, as Esteban Ocon is joined by Pierre Gasly for the upcoming challenge. During the launch video, both drivers could be seen driving road-going Alpine vehicles over to London for the official unveiling, which wasn't quite as exciting as what we saw over at Ferrari.

The team's approach for this launch was to have two different yet complementary liveries, but we expect to see both the A523 machines reaching a common design in a few races from now. Silverstone was used for the first shakedown, but it's too early to tell at this stage how the Sakhir testing will go.

This article is also available in video format below.