F1 2023 Season in Review
And just like that, the longest season in Formula 1’s history is over! Perhaps made excruciatingly longer by championship winner Max Verstappen and his never ending victories.
Being far and away the most dominant driver in 2023, he not only beat his own record of most wins in a season, but significantly elevated his victory rate to 86%.
Which is absolutely insane if you put this statistic into perspective: previous record holders include Michael Schumacher at 72.22% (13/18 wins in 2004) and Alberto Ascari at 75% (6/8 wins in 1952). This has truly been a season that will go down in history for the Dutch driver.
Taking a closer look at his performance, Verstappen’s qualifying results left something to be desired with “only” 12 poles from 22 races. Much to the delight of Formula 1 fans, this season saw four other drivers including Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and even Sir Lewis Hamiliton start from pole.
Amongst these names, Ferrari’s number 1 driver Charles Leclerc claimed the most poles (5). A superbly impressive feat considering the terrible luck he’s had all season ( with the safety car in Las Vegas that cost him a win, 3 DNFs, 1 DNS combined with awful strategy, an engine failure, an engine penalty + the universe conspiring against him)
Not to mention the physical and mental challenges of driving the doddering SF-23. This is one car Ferrari fans certainly won’t miss!
Only two other drivers saw the chequered flags first: Sergio Perez who claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian GP, and Carlos Sainz Jr. who went on to take his and Ferarri’s only win of the season at the San Marina Bay circuit in Singapore.
The Abu Dhabi GP: A fitting end to the season?
“The Abu Dhabi Grid is probably as allowing for drivers to dive down the inside of turn one, as the country is allowing of women’s rights” ~ FP1Will
It wasn’t too hard to imagine how the last race of the season would pan out, especially after witnessing Leclerc’s feeble yet calculated attempt to somehow overtake Max on the first lap’s DRS straight.
Ferarri were tactically playing the long game, aiming for second place in the constructor’s championship and allowed Max all the room in the world to streak past, officially putting to death any hopes of a non Redbull victory.
Luck was not on Oscar Piastri’s side either, as the McLaren plummeted like a stone from P3, whereas the Mercedes managed to miraculously revive their pace, with George Russel finally waking up and snatching third place from Lando Norris — aided by McLaren’s embarrassingly slow pitstop.
All of which finally culminated in Mercedes snatching 2nd place in the constructor’s championship by a mere 3 points.
Among the rare highlights of this race, was Yuki Tsunoda’s masterful drive leading the race with the most laps in the history of Japan. Over the weekend, the AlphaTauri driver achieved a career best qualifying result, and after opting for a one stop strategy he secured an astonishing P8.
As for the rest of the drivers on the grid, they’ve faced a season of more lows than highs with Esteban Ocon and Logan Sargeant suffering the most retirements this season (7). Ocon and Magnussen had four crashes each, joining Sargeant and Russel with the most mechanical failures.
As we fondly bid farewell to this tumultous season, it is time to turn our gazes towards the upcoming year. Who knows what surprises are lying in store for us? Could Max Verstappen finally be challenged in the driver’s standings? Or will he instead choose to rest on his laurels?
The latter seems highly unlikely, I’m betting on the RB20 completely and utterly annihilating the grid next year, unless either Ferarri, Mercedes or McLaren manage to pull off a miracle.
Here’s hoping. 🤞
