The 2023 Formula One season is racing towards us, with car reveals in just under a months’ time, and pre-season testing not long afterwards.

For avid F1 fans like me, the off season between December and February is the most depressing of the year: no racing, Netflix’s Drive to Survive already binged, Ted Kravitz in permafrost, and a long, agonising wait for the electrically powered Formula E to kick off in mid-January.

My off-season generally consists of watching old F1 onboards from the 90s and 00s, often lusting to be born earlier to experience the V10 engines with my own ears… but what have the drivers been up to? Let’s get jealous as we have a look together.

Lewis Hamilton established himself as the coolest driver on the grid by going surfing in Malibu in December, before flying down to Antarctica with Jared Leto in January. However, Lewis caused a scare before New Year’s, posting pictures of his recent skiing trip to Instagram, with followers quickly pointing out the fate of the last Mercedes 7-time world champion to go skiing in the off season… Stay away from the ski’s, Lewis!

Other drivers with a love for the snow were Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, 2x champion Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda and Ferrari faithful Charles Leclerc.

Charles also had his shot at basketball over the off-season with French compatriots Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, courtesy of the NBA. Later, the trio sat court side to watch the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons game in Paris.

Meanwhile, reigning World Champion Max Verstappen had a much quieter off season compared to his racemates. The Dutchman had New Year celebrations abroad with his family and partner Kelly Piquet, and also participated in a Red Bull car show in Milton Keynes.

His teammate, Mexico’s “Minister of Defence” Sergio Perez, has been a library in comparison. He’s been, and only been to the gym. That can only mean good things, right?

2022 Rookie of the Year Zhou Guanyu recently celebrated Chinese New Year, whilst Alpha Tauri’s latest recruit Nyck De Vries also hit up the snow with MotoGP legend Marc Marquez and stunt man superstar Fabio Wibmer.

After spending 2021 and 2022 as Formula One’s go-to to replace Covid stricken drivers, Nico “HulkenBACK” Hulkenberg finally nailed down a full time seat with Haas for this season.

He’s spent his offseason like the rest of us: sitting in green bins full of ice cold water and taking his daughter on tractor rides. His Danish teammate Kevin Magnussen was meant to take part in the Daytona 24 hours on the 29 January with his father Jan, but a recent hand injury unfortunately ruled him out from competing.

Part time driver, full time streamer Lando Norris visited the restaurant of chef Nassim Zeta, who then willingly trusted him with a blowtorch. Lando also spent some time in the snow and can be seen having a cuppa in front of a firepit. I don’t know who’s giving him fire, I personally wouldn’t let him near a birthday candle!

His rookie teammate for this season, Oscar Piastri went back to his racing roots over the winter, going karting with Lando. Other than that, it’s been a relatively quiet off-season for the Australian.

The other rookie in the field, American Logan Sargeant makes his debut for Williams this year. He went to a Florida Panthers ice-hockey game with NASCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood, before going to a Miami Dolphins NFL game.

Alex Albon starts his second year at Williams in 2023. He jetted off to Thailand with his girlfriend at the start of the year, and has since been golfing and cycling, and on a date with George Russell.

Going full circle, Lewis Hamilton’s teammate George Russell would want to continue the form he had at the end of 2022, after picking up his first win in Brazil. He started the off-season recording a podcast, before exploring Italy, rallying in the snow with Mercedes, and hitting the gym with his Mercedes team boss, Toto Woff.

And that wraps up the pre-pre season round up for the 2023 season. We’ll meet again soon enough for a rundown of the pre-season testing in Bahrain!

Meet our new Formula One columnist!

Local student Sam Stopford is an expert in all things F1, and he now brings us a new column as we progress through the 2023 season. 

The aspiring sports journalist has been following F1 for almost a decade, and often watches old races to learn more about the sport. 

Stay tuned as he shares his inner thoughts and talks us through the upcoming season. 

🏃 Tour of Tameside 2023 🏃

We're proud to be delivering this year's four-day running festival, which takes place from 15 to 18 June. 

Find out more and book your place here. 

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