F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Bahrain F1 pre-season test: Schedule and Driver line-ups

The Formula 1 2023 season will kick into gear on Thursday in Bahrain where teams are on site for three days of testing ahead of next week's opening round of racing at Sakhir.

Once F1's team presentations were in the rearview mirror, the sense of anticipation ramped up within the F1 community and among the sport's fans.

Now, the time has come for each outfit to put its new design through its paces.

There will be surprises, both good and bad, setbacks and struggles up and down the pitlane, and the odd chance of one big team getting it wrong and one lower tier contender getting it very right.

But there will also be those that will be reluctant to show their hand, with sandbagging the name of the game.

On the driver front, F1 welcomes among its ranks three apprentices – Oscar Piastri at McLaren, Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri and Logan Sargeant at Williams – and one returnee, Nico Hulkenberg at Haas.

Schedule:

The action at the Bahrain International Circuit will start every day at 07:00 GMT (08:00 CET) and drivers will run until 11:00 GMT (12:00 CET), after which teams will enjoy a one-hour lunch break with the running resuming at 12:00 GMT (13:00 CET) and concluding at 16:30 GMT (17:30 CET).

Where can I watch?

Fans in the UK and in Ireland will be able to watch the entire Bahrain test on Sky Sports F1, while F1 TV will stream the action in countries where the online platform is available.

Provisional Driver line-ups for Bahrain F1 pre-season test:

Thursday February 23	Friday February 24	Saturday February 25
Red Bull
AM Max Verstappen PM Max Verstappen	AM Sergio Perez PM Max Verstappen	AM Sergio Perez PM Sergio Perez
Ferrari
AM Carlos Sainz PM Charles Leclerc	AM TBA PM TBA	AM TBA PM TBA
Mercedes
AM George Russell PM Lewis Hamilton	AM Lewis Hamilton PM George Russell	AM George Russell PM Lewis Hamilton
Alpine
AM Pierre Gasly PM Esteban Ocon	AM Esteban Ocon PM Pierre Gasly	AM Pierre Gasly PM Esteban Ocon
McLaren
AM Oscar Piastri PM Lando Norris	AM Lando Norris PM Oscar Piastri	AM Oscar Piastri PM Lando Norris
Alfa Romeo F1
AM Zhou Guanyu PM Valtteri Bottas	AM Zhou Guanyu PM Zhou Guanyu	AM Valtteri Bottas PM Valtteri Bottas
Aston Martin F1
AM Felipe Drugovuch PM Fernando Alonso	AM TBA PM TBA	AM TBA PM TBA
Haas
AM Nico Hulkenberg PM Kevin Magnussen	AM Kevin Magnussen PM Nico Hulkenberg	AM Nico Hulkenberg PM Kevin Magnussen
AlphaTauri
AM Yuki Tsunoda PM Nyck de Vries	AM Yuki Tsunoda PM Nyck de Vries	AM Nyck de Vries PM Yuki Tsunoda
Williams
AM Alex Albon PM Logan Sargeant	AM Logan Sargeant PM Logan Sargeant	AM Alex Albon PM Alex Albon

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.