The new cars are unveiled: what's different this year?

Haas kicks off the new Formula 1 season later this Tuesday with the launch of its 2023 car. At least, the US team will show the design of the car that Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg will use to make a renewed assault on the middle order. Unfortunately, fans are unlikely to see much of how the F1 cars have been adapted to once again some new rules this day.

Following the sweeping 2022 rule changes, designers have mainly built on last year's cars. Still, there are some minor differences, the most important being the increase in ride height. By raising part of floor higher off the ground, the FIA wants to prevent teams from having to deal with porpoising again. Mercedes in particular suffered from this last season.

Changes for safety

This adjustment to the floor has been made for safety reasons, the FIA revealed when announcing the new rule. No doubt Red Bull Racing and Ferrari will be balking, as they - unlike Mercedes, that is - already had their act together in 2022 with a lower floor. A higher and stiffer floor should make the cars slightly slower and possibly reduce the differences between the teams.

Safety is and will remain a major issue anyway. That is also why the extreme front and rear wings - as Aston Martin (rear) and Mercedes (front) had last season - are no longer allowed. The safety cage in which the drivers sit has also been strengthened. This should prevent pieces of this cage from breaking off in a crash like the one Guanyu Zhou had at Silverstone.

Waiting for the tests

As indicated, on the car presented by Haas on Tuesday, there is likely to be little to see of the above changes. We will probably have to wait until next Thursday, when Red Bull presents the new car. Though it has to be said: Max Verstappen 's team too had a knack in the past of not showing the back of its teeth immediately at launch. Probably only during the tests in Bahrain will we really see what ingenious designs the teams have created.