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The German X-raid Team, who has factory backing from Yamaha, will bring a seven-YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype fleet to the 2023 Dakar Rally to compete in the T3 category. Of the fourteen drivers taking part, five are women in what the team regards as a breakthrough for female drivers in rally raid.

Two of the cars have all-female duos: the #307 with Annett Fischer as driver and Annie Seel as co-driver, and the #323 for Mercé Martí and Lisette Bakker. Camelia Liparoti returns as the driver of the #311.

“I am very proud of our line-up,” said team director Sven Quandt. “I especially want to highlight that a total of five female pilots and one female mechanic are going to the Dakar. I am very pleased about this, as cross-country rallying has tended to be a male domain up to now. The team also includes João Ferreira, who won the European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas in the MINI JCW Rally. Ricardo Porém is also no stranger to us. Many eyes will certainly be on Ignacio Casale, who won the Dakar several times on the quad. We are also happy to see Ahmed Al-Kuwari, who was affected by technical problems last year, back.⁠

“Hopefully at the Dakar we will see good fights for top positions and some surprises.”

Fischer has raced at Dakar since 2019, finishing fourteenth in her début with Andrea Peterhansel (wife of Dakar winner Stéphane) before beocming Liparoti’s co-driver for the 2020 and 2021 editions. She returned to the driver’s seat in 2022 with Seel by her side and placed fifteenth in class.

Nico Hülkenberg ran in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi Tuesday, marking the start of his return to the F1 ranks with Haas F1 Team. Hülkenberg said that he gained a significant amount of knowledge through the program, all of which will be analyzed in the coming weeks.

“It was a good day of work, good running, collected many impressions and a lot of data – which was the target. We successfully went through our program. There’s a lot of things to pick through, digest and analyze now and over the next couple of weeks with the team. 

“Today was about learning the tires for 2023, learning their characteristics and with these test days you have a bit more time to try stuff.”

Having completed 110 laps of Yas Marina Circuit, Hülkenberg said he was pleased by his ability to cope with the physically strenuous task of driving VF-22. He said that the winter break will be key in preparing for the season ahead as he comes back into the sport after three years off the grid. 

“I’m satisfied and happy with the day. There was a bit of human degradation towards the end day, but I coped better than expected to be honest – so that’s good. There’s now three months of hard-core preparation to get ready, I have a plan and I know what I have to do.”

Despite initial fears due to a hand injury in September, Yasir Seaidan announced Monday that he will contest the 2023 Dakar Rally and begin a pursuit of the World Rally-Raid Championship in the T4 category. He also intends to race in the T1+ class in the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and Saudi Toyota Desert Rally Championship.

“Dakar is around the corner, and, God willing, I will be ready to participate in the Dakar World Desert Rally Championship,” said Seaidan. “I have decided to participate in the World Desert Rally-Raid Championship, the strongest championship next season, in the T4 category because I wanted to achieve my dream of winning all car categories. I will also participate in the Middle East Baja Championship and the Saudi Baja Championship in the T1+ category.”

Seaidan finished runner-up in the 2021 FIA Bajas World Cup to fellow Saudi Yazeed Al-Rajhi with two wins at the Sharqiyah Baja and Jordan Baja. In March, he ran the Middle East Cup’s Qatar International Baja and placed third behind reigning Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and Al-Rajhi.

However, his season was upended in September when he underwent surgery for a torn ligament in his right hand that resulted in hospitalisation and wearing a cast. Although this ended his 2022 racing and sparked concerns about running the 2023 Dakar Rally, he was able to recover in time for the latter and will race the #410 SSV in T4.

He made his Dakar debut in 2014, where he drove an SSV. Two years later, he finished third in the T2 class. A three-year absence ended when the Rally began racing in Saudi Arabia, where he finished ninth in 2020, thirty-ninth in 2021, and retired due to a wreck in 2022. He had finished as high as fourth in the 2022 Rally in Stage #4 prior to his crash.

When Kevin Hansen was signed by Veloce Racing ahead of this weekend’s Energy X Prix in Uruguay, JBXE needed a new male driver to partner Hedda Hosås. They did not need to look far for a replacement as Extreme E‘s Championship Driver Fraser McConnell was more than happy to fill the role.

As the Championship Driver, McConnell’s responsibilities include being an advisor and test driver for the series, as well as a substitute if necessary. He took up the role in June after previous reserve Timo Scheider joined XITE Energy Racing, though Scheider will return to his original post for Uruguay.

“As the Championship Driver for the last three rounds, I have been able to get a closer look at how all of the teams operate, and I am very pleased to be jumping into the yellow and white JBXE machine alongside Hedda,” said McConnell. “I’m looking forward to meeting the team and getting some work done.”

Outside of Extreme E, McConnell competes in Nitro Rallycross‘ Group E class, where he is third in points and scored his first victory at Glen Helen in October. JBXE owner Jenson Button has also raced in the series, as have XITE owner Oliver Bennett and current XE points leader Johan Kristoffersson.

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Fraser in action recently and I couldn’t be happier to have him join JBXE for our final race of the season,” commented Button. “Knowing how quick he is, I can’t wait to see him battle it out in JBXE colours alongside Hedda.”

When the 2023 Dakar Rally begins on 31 December 2022, 218 vehicles will comprise the five FIA classes. The number is a decrease from the 260 in 2022.

Seventy-two are in the T1 and T2 categories for cars, with the latter being for production vehicles like the Toyota Land Cruiser duo of Akira Miura and Ronald Basso fielded by Toyota Auto Body that has won T2 for the last nine years. As the defending overall winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah will sport #200. T1 and T2’s number assignments range from 200 to 299.

The Light Prototypes of T3 boast forty-four entries led by Francisco López Contardo. T3’s car numbers are in the 300s.

Forming the 400s are the SSVs in T4, with Rokas Baciuškas holding #400. While the lowest number is typically run by the reigning class victor, Austin Jones has moved up to T3. Baciuškas finished third in T4 at the 2022 Rally before winning the category’s World Rally-Raid Championship.

Trucks in T5 have numbers that range in the 500s. Last year’s winner Dmitry Sotnikov is not taking part as his KAMAZ-master team is barred due to their involvement with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kees Koolen finished thirteenth in 2022, but he will hold #500 as the defending class W2RC winner.

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola discussed the significance of varied tyre strategy in deciding the result of the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Pirelli brought in their softest step of tyre compounds. 

“Abu Dhabi provided a worthy finale to this exceptional Formula 1 season. The finishing order at Yas Marina was determined by the choice of different tyre strategies; a further demonstration of how Pirelli’s work has contributed to making this year’s championship so compelling and competitive.”

Abu Dhabi saw a mixed of tyre strategies, with many also electing to do a two-stop. Isola said that degradation was lower than previously expected on Sunday, which allowed for the opportunity to only take one pitstop and the hard tyre to shine. 

“As we expected, we saw both one-stop and two-stop strategies today. Generally speaking, degradation was lower than it had been on Friday, which allowed for longer stints. The compound of the race was undoubtedly the hard, which took most of the drivers to the chequered flag.”

Winner Max Verstappen took home the win after implementing a one stop strategy, completing twenty laps on his starting set of mediums and thirty-eight laps to the end on the hard tyre. 

The first season of the new aerodynamic regulations has officially drawn to a close, with the post-season young drivers test and Pirelli tyre test having been completed at the Yas Marina Circuit. Despite the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix having only happened on Sunday, attention quickly switched to 2023, as switching drivers were seen driving for their new team for the first-time.

The test, as per usual, saw a large number of drivers complete lap-times, twenty-four competitors in total. It was Scuderia Ferrari who ended the year, though, how they started it, on top. Carlos Sainz Jr led a Ferrari one-two-three, with Charles Leclerc having claimed second and Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman in third.

All the teams were allowed to use both cars in the post-season test, with one having been used to let a young driver gain mileage, whilst the other was for testing the 2023 compounds. All of the moving drivers were seen behind the wheel in their new colours during the test, with Pierre Gasly having been driving for the BWT Alpine F1 Team, Nyck de Vries for Scuderia AlphaTauri, Nico Hulkenberg for the Haas F1 Team, Oscar Piastri for the McLaren F1 Team, Logan Sargeant for Williams Racing, and Fernando Alonso for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.

Due to still being under contract with Alpine, Alonso drove a sponsorless AMR22, which looked absolutely beautiful! Out of the moving drivers it was Gasly who got to grips with his new team the fastest, after ending the day’s test as fourth best; however, the leaderboard is effectively meaningless given that the day is purely about gathering data.

World Champion Max Verstappen sealed the top five with Alex Albon and Sargeant claiming sixth and seventh respectively. De Vries was by far the busiest of the drivers in eighth, having completed an astonishing one-hundred fifty-two laps, whilst having also spun once. A number of drivers found themselves spinning in the test, with a couple red flags having also been needed.

Guenther Steiner says the Haas F1 Team achieved their aim at finishing eighth in the Constructors’ Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, and the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season was one of many ups and downs for the team.

Neither Mick Schumacher nor Kevin Magnussen were in contention for the points in the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but the failure for either Pierre Gasly or Yuki Tsunoda to score at least two points for Scuderia AlphaTauri meant Haas secured eighth ahead of their Faenza-based rivals.

After two very lean years fighting at the back, Haas adapted to the new regulations well in 2022 and were able to score thirty-seven points, with Magnussen’s fifth place in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix their best result.  They also scored points with both drivers in consecutive races in Great Britain and Austria.

Perhaps the biggest high point came in the São Paulo Grand Prix when Magnussen secured his maiden pole position, and Steiner, the Team Principal at Haas, says the aim next year is now build on what they have achieved in 2022 and move even further up in the Constructors’ Championship.

“We finished the Constructors’ Championship in P8 which this morning was the objective,” Steiner said after Sunday’s Grand Prix.  

Mick Schumacher admitted the Haas F1 Team did not have the pace to challenge for points in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and he ended his stint with the team with a sixteenth-place finish.

The German, who will be replaced by Nico Hülkenberg for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, survived a late collision with Nicholas Latifi at the hairpin to take sixteenth, although he earned a five-second time penalty for the clash as well as two penalty points.

After getting through to Q2 during Saturday’s Qualifying session, Schumacher knew fighting for the top ten was always likely to be difficult in Abu Dhabi, and so it proved to be.  However, the team had done enough to secure eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, finishing two points clear of Scuderia AlphaTauri.

“We didn’t quite have the pace today, one lap pace was there yesterday, but we knew it would be tough to stay in position,” said Schumacher, who leaves Haas after two seasons having scored twelve points for them in 2022.

“We were hoping for a bit more but at the end we kept eighth in the Constructors’ Championship and that was the focus.

Dave Robson says Alexander Albon finishing thirteenth in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a reward for the great effort put in by the Williams Racing team, particularly after starting on the back row of the grid.

Albon started nineteenth and Nicholas Latifi twentieth after a disappointing final Qualifying session of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship season on Saturday, and while the Canadian was forced to retire late in the day, the Thai driver made early gains and was on course for twelfth until he was relegated to thirteenth on the final lap.

Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams, says Albon’s result was prove of what they could do if they pushed to the limit.

“From the back of the grid, this was a very good race by the team,” said Robson.  “The tyres required careful management and knowing when to push and when to manage was not always obvious, but Alex did an excellent job, helped by advice from his engineers.

“Losing a place right at the end was a shame but at least showed that we pushed things to the limit in pursuit of the best possible result. It was another example of an aggressive but disciplined drive by Alex, which bodes well for the future.”

Nicholas Latifi said goodbye to Williams Racing and the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in Abu Dhabi, but the Canadian was unable to see the chequered flag after a late retirement at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Latifi had already survived contact with Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher that saw him spun around into the barriers at the hairpin, but an electrical issue denied him the opportunity of finishing his last race, although he had completed enough laps to be classified.

The Canadian felt the contact with Schumacher had already put him on the back foot and left him at the back of the pack, and retiring was not the way he wanted his time in Formula 1 to end.

“The incident with Mick [Schumacher] really put us out and then we suffered an electrical issue that forced us to retire,” said Latifi.  “It’s not how I wanted to end my last one, but it is what it is.”

Latifi thanked Williams for giving him the chance to compete in Formula 1, but he felt there was a lot more he wanted to achieve during his three-years racing at the highest level of single-seater racing.

Frédéric Vasseur says finishing sixth in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship surpassed the pre-season expectations of the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN outfit, but it was a deserved result based on an impressive season for the Hinwil-based team.

Lewis Hamilton’s late retirement from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix meant it was closer between Alfa Romeo and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team than they were hoping for it to be – they both scored the same amount of points at the end of the season – but Vasseur’s team took sixth spot by the virtue of a fifth place finish for Valtteri Bottas in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix back in April, a result that Aston Martin could not match.

Starting the final race of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit with both cars outside of the top ten, Vasseur admitted it was always going to be tough to break into the points on Sunday, and so it proved as they ended twelfth and fifteenth for Zhou Guanyu and Bottas respectively.

But Aston Martin’s failure to score more than five points ensured Alfa Romeo secured the important sixth spot, and Team Principal Vasseur says it meant a lot to everyone for them to do so.

“Tonight is the crowning of an incredible job by everyone in the team, both trackside and in Hinwil,” said Vasseur. 

Zhou Guanyu was pleased to see his Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN outfit secure sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship in 2022, and the Chinese driver felt it was just what the Hinwil-based team deserved.

Zhou concluded his rookie FIA Formula 1 World Championship season with a twelfth-place finish at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, even if the team sacrificed his strategy in order to attempt delay the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, who they were fighting with in the championship.

Despite Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel finishing inside the points for Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo secured sixth spot on countback, much to delight of Zhou.

“I am so proud of this team, not just for tonight but for the whole season,” said Zhou.  “We gave everything in the race and, despite not scoring points, we achieved our target, which was finishing P6 in the Championship.

“We had to sacrifice my strategy to hold on through the last laps, and I think we did a good job with that. We truly gave it all out there, it was an amazing fight on track and I think also the best overtake I’ve done all season.

Scuderia AlphaTauri ended the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season without adding to their points tally in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly finishing eleventh and fourteenth respectively.

Both drivers tried different strategies in a bid to end the year with a top ten finish, but Jody Egginton, the Technical Director at AlphaTauri, admitted it was not possible to achieve the results that could have moved them into eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Tsunoda was forced into an earlier than planned switch to the soft tyre that ended up with him running out of performance before the end, while Gasly started on the softs but could not take advantage of fresher tyres later in the day to advance higher than fourteenth.

“Yuki put in a solid and consistent race today, fighting for the final points positions,” said Egginton. “Unfortunately, the timing of the last stop from [Alexander] Albon forced us onto the soft tyre a bit earlier than planned.

“This compound did not quite have enough left in it to keep the pressure up on [Sebastian] Vettel and [Daniel] Ricciardo for a top ten finish.

Pierre Gasly felt the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix performance and result was not the way he would have wanted to leave Scuderia AlphaTauri, with nothing seemingly going his way at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday evening.

The Frenchman will make the switch to the BWT Alpine F1 Team in 2023 but struggled throughout the weekend in his final race with the team, finding himself eliminated in Q1 on Saturday and finishing only fourteenth in the race on Sunday.

Despite the disappointing in Abu Dhabi, which he felt did not reflect the time Gasly spent at the team and heralded one race victory and two further podiums, the Frenchman says they can celebrate the good times and look back with pride at their achievements.

“I don’t have many things to say about the race, we tried something different today, but it didn’t seem to work,” said Gasly. “It was my last with Scuderia AlphaTauri, and sadly tonight didn’t reflect our time together.

“I will remember everything I have experienced over the years with the team, my first race in Formula 1, first podium and first win. I know that I am a better driver today because of them and I am so grateful for all these achievements.