The 2023 Formula 1 season officially kicks off at the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend in Sakhir.
After pre-season testing gave a glimpse into what the pecking order will be, there is still some unknowns heading into the first race.
Will Aston Martin surprise us all and be on par with Mercedes and Ferrari? Are the top teams hiding some pace from Red Bull? Has Sergio Perez finally found a way to challenge Max Verstappen and create another vintage inter-team battle?
The answers to these questions are surely going to be fascinating once the cars get underway for their first competitive sessions on track.
When is the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix will be held across the weekend of 3-5 March.
It will be the traditional race weekend format, with both hour-long practice sessions on Friday, a third on Saturday morning followed by qualifying, then the Grand Prix on Sunday.
How many laps is the Bahrain GP?
The race will be 57 laps off the 5.412km Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, with a maximum race time of two hours if there are any stoppages or delays.
What time does the Bahrain GP start?
Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix will start at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) during twilight hours, as the sun sets and the circuit flood lights switch on for the night race.
Below are the start times for the race for various time zones across the world.
2023 F1 Bahrain GP Start times
| Time zone | Race start time |
|---|---|
| Pacific Daylight Time | 08:00 |
| Central Daylight Time | 10:00 |
| Eastern Daylight Time | 11:00 |
| Brasilia Time | 12:00 |
| Greenwich Mean Time | 15:00 |
| Central European Time | 16:00 |
| Gulf Standard Time | 19:00 |
| India Standard Time | 20:30 |
| Western Indonesian Time | 22:00 |
| China Standard Time | 23:00 |
| Korea Standard Time | 00:00 (Monday) |
| Australian Eastern Standard Time | 01:00 (Monday) |
| New Zealand Time | 04:00 (Monday) |
Also interesting:
Ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, RacingNews365.com journalists Dieter Rencken and Michael Butterworth analyse where each of the F1 teams stands after pre-season testing.
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