The FIA has released the official entry list for the 2023 Formula 1 season – including a surprise name next to Red Bull on the documents.
Every year, teams and drivers must sign up to take part in the championship. The paperwork is a formality, but often it can throw up some interesting little nuggets of information and that is the case again ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Once again, Oracle Red Bull Racing has entered the championship under that name, with their title sponsors. But while last year their make of engine was listed simply as RBPT, for the upcoming season the Honda manufacturer name has returned alongside the Red Bull Power Trains moniker.
It acts as official confirmation that Honda are indeed looking to play a bigger role in F1 again, despite announcing they would leave after the 2021 campaign. Red Bull built their own engine factory in Milton Keynes and looked to be going ahead on their own – especially after the collapse of their planned deal with Porsche.
Honda seemed to be quietly going back on their decision to leave F1 last year amid Red Bull's success. The carmaker's logo returned to the liveries of the Red Bull machines at the Japanese Grand Prix as a special nod to the team's long-time collaborator – but then it remained for the final few races of the season as well.
The entry list also revealed race numbers for the three new faces on the grid. Nyck de Vries has one race under his belt after standing in for Alex Albon at Williams in Italy this year. He will carry the number 21 for his debut F1 campaign with AlphaTauri.
Meanwhile, the other two racers joining the grid are complete rookies. Oscar Piastri, who won the 2021 F1 championship before spending a year as reserve at Alpine, will have the number 81 on his McLaren. At Williams, F1's first American race seat-holder in 15 years, Logan Sargeant, will race with the number two.
Some race information was also published, confirming the dates of each grand prix. The 2023 season starts in Bahrain on the first weekend of March, while the finale in Abu Dhabi will be on November 26. There will be two triple headers – Emilia Romagna-Monaco-Spain on consecutive weekends in May and early June and, later in the year, United States-Mexico-Brazil from October into November.
