The 2023 Formula 1 season is here and the new campaign has seen Red Bull pick up where they left off in 2022. This year sees 23 races held in a record-breaking calendar, as Max Verstappen looks to make it three in a row following back-to-back World Championship triumphs. Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team have found further improvements so far this year following a disappointing 2022 season. Meanwhile Ferrari are struggling to match their strong start to 2022. There are new faces on the grid too - such as Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant - and all 20 drivers will be itching to get back on track after a three-month break with the official pre-season test in Bahrain before the first race of the season a week later. This year’s biggest shake-up so far came mid-season when AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries was dropped almost immediately after Silverstone as he failed to impress the higher-ups at Red Bull. He has been replaced by returning favourite Daniel Ricciardo. Here is everything you need to know. What is the 2023 F1 calendar? ROUND 1 —BAHRAIN Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir - 3-5 March ROUND 2 - SAUDI ARABIA Jeddah Corniche Circuit - 17-19 March ROUND 3 - AUSTRALIA Albert Park, Melbourne - 31 March-2 April ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN (sprint weekend) Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April ROUND 5 - MIAMI Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 5-7 May ROUND 6 - EMILIA ROMAGNA CANCELLED Imola Circuit - 19-21 May ROUND 7 - MONACO Circuit de Monaco - 26-28 May ROUND 8 - SPAIN Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 2-4 June ROUND 9 - CANADA Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 16-18 June ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA (sprint weekend) Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN Silverstone Circuit - 7-9 July ROUND 12 - HUNGARY Hungaroring, Budapest - 21-23 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS Circuit Zandvoort - 25-27 August ROUND 15 - ITALY Monza Circuit - 1-3 September ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE Marina Bay Street Circuit - 15-17 September ROUND 17 - JAPAN Suzuka International Racing Course - 22-24 September ROUND 18 - QATAR (sprint weekend) Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend) Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 20 - MEXICO Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 27-29 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend) Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS Las Vegas Street Circuit - 16-18 November ROUND 23 - ABU DHABI Yas Marina Circuit - 24-26 November When and where does the 2023 F1 season start? The first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 3 March - Sunday 5 March at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Qualifying on Saturday 4 March starts at 3pm (GMT) with the race on Sunday also at 3pm (GMT). When is pre-season testing? Pre-season testing takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit the week before the first race, from Thursday 23 February - Saturday 25 February. Running will take place between 7am and 4:30pm (GMT) on each of the three days. There will be an hour’s break midway through each session for lunch. Each driver will have one-and-a-half days worth of time in the car. How can I watch it online and on TV? The Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as pre-season testing, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Sky Sports subscribers can watch pre-season testing on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. What has been said? Max Verstappen has challenged Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to raise their game and provide him with the championship battle that Formula One needs. Verstappen ran away with last season’s title, winning 15 of the 22 races, to secure his second championship with four rounds to spare. In contrast, Hamilton, in his under-performing Mercedes, endured the worst year of his career as he failed to win a race and finished 214 points adrift. But when addressing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with Hamilton at Red Bull’s season launch in New York, Verstappen, 25, said: “In the interest of the sport you always want the teams to be super-close. “I do think it was close last year, but as a team we executed a lot of things better than the others and that was why the points gap was so big. I never felt, apart from two or three races, that we absolutely dominated. But for the general interest of Formula One, everyone wants a title battle with multiple teams involved.” What are the driver line-ups for 2023? RED BULL Max Verstappen Sergio Perez FERRARI Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz MERCEDES Lewis Hamilton George Russell ALPINE Esteban Ocon Pierre Gasly McLAREN Lando Norris Oscar Piastri ALFA ROMEO Valtteri Bottas Zhou Guanyu ASTON MARTIN Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll HAAS Kevin Magnussen Nico Hulkenberg ALPHATAURI Yuki Tsunoda Nyck de Vries WILLIAMS Alex Albon Logan Sargeant *italics represents new addition to the grid/change of team Read More F1 makes South African Grand Prix call for 2024 calendar George Russell sends stark warning to F1 bosses: ‘There will be crashes’ Eddie Jordan makes bold Max Verstappen prediction: ‘He will be the greatest’ Poignant Netflix film captures the many facets of legendary Schumacher What happened to Michael Schumacher and what’s latest health update? Schumacher’s F1 career highlights as Netflix documentary is released

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Spain and Sweden became the first sides to reach the World Cup semi-finals on Friday. The two sides will meet in the last four after Spain beat the Netherlands 2-1 and Sweden overcame Japan by the same margin. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at a tense day of action and what is in store in the remaining two semi-finals. Spanish history A controversial game in Wellington saw Spain reach the last four for the first time. VAR was a main talking point with Esther Gonzalez’s effort for Spain disallowed for offside on review. Referee Stephanie Frappart then overturned her decision to give Netherlands a penalty before VAR intervened again to give Spain a spot-kick for Stefanie van der Gragt’s handball. After all the controversy, teenage winger Salma Paralluelo came off the bench to score Spain’s 111th-minute winner. Super Sweden Sweden outplayed Japan to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fifth time. Amanda Ilestedt’s close-range finish and Filippa Angeldahl’s penalty put them in full control six minutes into the second half. Japan did mount a late revival with Riko Ueki sending a penalty against the crossbar and fellow substitute Honoka Hayashi firing home three minutes from time. But a Japan equaliser would have been an injustice and Sweden rightfully took their place in the last four once again. First-time winners guaranteed The exit of 2011 World Cup winners Japan means a new name will be carved on the trophy. Four-time winners the United States were also beaten by Sweden in the previous round, while two-time champions Germany failed to make it out of the group stage. Norway, the only other country to win the Women’s World Cup back in 1995, were beaten in the last 16. As well as Spain and Sweden, Australia, France, England and Colombia are still in the hunt for a first World Cup triumph. England – and Becks – expects The Lionesses head into their quarter-final clash against Colombia with the pre-tournament words of former England captain David Beckham ringing in their ears. Forward Alessia Russo revealed how “heartthrob” Beckham had boosted Sarina Wiegman’s squad before their departure for Australia and New Zealand. “He was really nice. It was a pinch-me moment in terms of what women’s sport nowadays has done,” Russo said of the pre-World Cup chat. “It was amazing actually. He has been one of my idols – and heartthrobs – ever since I was a little girl.” Post of the day Quote of the day It was a pinch-me moment in terms of what women’s sport nowadays has done England's Alessia Russo on meeting David Beckham What next? Quarter-final: Australia v France (0800)Quarter-final: England v Colombia (1130) Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Dewi Lake puts injury troubles behind him to lead out Wales at Twickenham Roberto De Zerbi insists Brighton retain their ‘soul’ despite star departures David Moyes: Man City bid for Lucas Paqueta was nowhere near our valuation

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