An F1 Review of the 2023 FIA Awards Ceremony: Lewis Hamilton Takes a Stand
By Kate Krause
I am re-publishing this article with my own edits.
On December 8th, the FIA hosted its annual awards ceremony for the recently completed motorsport 2023 season. This year, it was held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, for the first time since its inception. The annual ceremony, a tradition since 1996 after strikes caused its cancellation in 1995, stood out this year due to many events.
Pre-Awards Show
Before the prize giving commenced, an interesting and unique presentation happened on stage. This concert included traditional instruments and music from the country Azerbaijan, as well as original art and a historic racing car with the FIA logo on the side. Each musician was also dressed in gorgeous Azerbaijani clothing, adding another cultural aspect to the show.
Action of the Year
This prize is awarded based on fan decision, to the racer who performed the most significant act during a race in all motorsport categories covered by the FIA. This year, it was awarded to none other than Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion and driver for Aston Martin. In early November, after a disappointing sprint race with Alonso landing just outside of the points, the Brazil Grand Prix did not seem optimistic. However, the Spaniard was able to keep his qualifying position of fourth for most of the race, leading fans to believe he would finish just short of the podium. This was until the final lap, where Alonso managed to overtake Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, landing him in third by 0.053 seconds and finishing the race on the podium. This overtake absolutely deserved to win the award, as not only did it give Aston Martin an incredible result after many difficult races, but also showed how Alonso’s astonishing racecraft managed to beat a Red Bull, the obviously dominant automobile of the season, giving him the points to further push his position in the driver’s standings.
Rookie of the Year
This FIA award is given to the best new driver in their category. For 2023, the rookie of the year prize was anointed to Oscar Piastri, Formula 1 rookie driver for McLaren. Piastri started his motorsport career in Formula 4 and navigated his way through successive Formula categories, even winning the 2021 Rookie of the Year in Formula 2. This accomplishment helped lead to his signing with McLaren Racing F1 Team. Throughout the entire year, Piastri showed immense talent, finishing in second place at the Qatar Grand Prix, ahead of his teammate Lando Norris, a result many seasoned drivers have not achieved. Piastri also managed to win the Qatar sprint race, another incredible feat for a driver in his first year in F1. Clearly, based on race results, improvement, racecraft and other aspects, Oscar Piastri was the obvious choice for this award, as his raw talent combined with his ability to perform when necessary has already begun to make him into one of the most prominent racers of today.
Formula 1 Drivers and Constructors Championship
Like every year, the Formula 1 drivers and constructors’ world championship prizes were awarded to the winners, along with second and third place. In 2023, Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the championship, winning by more than 300 points in both facets. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Verstappen accepted the first place trophies along with personal speeches to commemorate their wins. Horner also emphasized their 22 out of 21 race wins, and how special such a feat is for him and the Red Bull team. Second and third place world championship prizes were also awarded to Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton expressed his anticipation for the winter break, terming it as “much needed”, and promising to close the gap between Mercedes and Red Bull next year. Perez also voiced his love for Baku, and thanked his team for their efforts, as well as describing part of the season to be similar to a “roller coaster”.
Lewis Hamilton
However, many fans did notice some interesting tension regarding Hamilton at the ceremony. To start, Hamilton showed up in what many considered quite a casual outfit for an annual awards ceremony, a matching houndstooth sweater and pants. He later changed into a long trench suit when receiving his award. In addition, during his time on stage, while the host’s were asking him a question, it appears he is making a pointed gesture with one of his fingers while holding his third place trophy. Many people noticed this, as he does not seem to be disguising his actions. Finally, according to some fans attending the event, following the end of the ceremony Hamilton left his trophy at the venue, handing it off to someone in the audience. This person ended up posting the trophy online on his desk, recalling the incident. However the Mercedes F1 team released a statement saying this is untrue. All of these developments seem to have stemmed from the earlier events regarding Susie Wolff (Check out this article: The FIA and the Wolffs to read more about it), with Hamilton clearly stating his support for Wolff during the turmoil. Potentially, Hamilton was unhappy with many decisions the FIA made regarding her character, and wanted to make his distaste known during their ceremony.
All in all, the FIA awards ceremony was very compelling, coupled with cultural influences and influential people, and for the most part, not a dull moment to be seen. It was certainly unique that Formula 1 drivers got many of the possible awards, and hopefully we can see the same passion and determination we saw from every team in the 2023 season again next year.
