The 2023 Formula 1 season has officially come to a close. After 22 races in five continents and of course plenty of drama both on and off the track, for non-F1 fans, this year probably doesn’t look that different to any other year of motorsport. They could not be more wrong! Max Verstappen has not only won his third World Championship but broken numerous records whilst doing so, the number of sprint races in a season doubled, and we saw the debut of the Las Vegas track.
Whilst some people may argue that this Formula 1 season has been boring, I’d have to disagree. Coming up to the final weekend in Abu Dhabi, there were only four points between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place as the two teams battled it out, with Mercedes ultimately securing the silver. There have also been many exciting battles for podiums and point-scoring places, as well as mid-season drama when Alpha Tauri dropped Nyck de Vries and brought back fan-favourite Daniel Ricciardo.
McLaren have had a great season with their rookie Oscar Piastri, as have Aston Martin with the grid’s oldest driver Fernando Alonso; both drivers performed consistently across the season and scored multiple podiums. Christian Horner did say on Drive to Survive Season 5 that “[f]rom a selfish point of view, you’d want a really boring championship”, which I do think Red Bull had this year, but this shouldn’t take away from the efforts and ability of Max Verstappen.
This isn’t the first time that Verstappen has broken records, and it probably won’t be his last; he became Formula 1’s youngest ever competitor at just seventeen years old, and he was the youngest ever race winner when he won the Barcelona GP barely 6 months after his 18th birthday. From there, he has gone on to secure his third World Championship, putting him only one victory away from sitting with the greats, Vettel and Prost, as four-time winners.
He has won 19 out of 22 races this season – Red Bull therefore winning 21 out of 22 races – which is an incredible achievement. To put Verstappen’s stats into context: in 2016, Mercedes won 19 out of 21 races with an almost even split between Rosberg’s nine victories to Hamilton’s ten.
This year, he led the Drivers’ Championship by nearly 300 points – the largest winning margin, which up until then was Vettel’s lead of 155 points in 2013. Although Perez did come second in the Drivers’ Championship, given the speed of the RB19, the sheer gap of 290 points between him and Verstappen really drives home Verstappen’s talent as a Formula 1 competitor.
So, what’s next for Formula 1?
Some argue that Red Bull domination could lead to a decline in viewership, but personally I find that hard to believe. Hamilton won four consecutive titles by 2020 adding to his previous three Championship wins, yet the sport continues to hold a strong and passionate fan base.
Given how close the other teams were in the midfield, if they can develop cars as high performing as the RB19 then I believe that we will see some real contention for the Drivers’ Championship in the next few years. McLaren nearly doubled their points from last year (159 vs 302) and Williams went from last to seventh this year as Alex Albon outqualified his teammate rookie Logan Sargeant in every single race.
It was only announced on the first of the month that Sargeant would keep his seat for the next season. However, most of the grid have contracts lasting until the end of 2024, meaning that no one is safe next year.
There have already been speculations that Ricciardo may take Checo’s Red Bull seat following a lacklustre second half of the season, but this theory may be a bit of stretch. The latest rumour from Ferrari’s French news team @ScuderiaFerrariFRA is that Leclerc will be imminently signing a contract lasting until 2029 however this has not yet been officially reported by Leclerc or Ferrari.
Overall, the 2023 season won’t be known for being one of twists and turns, but that doesn’t take away from it being a historical year for Red Bull and Max Verstappen. No one could have predicted the domination they achieved this season, so who knows what will happen in 2024. We can only assume that the other teams will come back after the winter break hungrier and more determined than ever.
In terms of news for the 2024 season, the biggest development is Formula 1’s collaboration with F1 Academy – the all-female racer series. As of next year, each of the 10 Formula 1 teams will have one driver and their livery on one car. This doesn’t encompass all of the F1 Academy drivers, however, as they have 15 drivers in total.
The calendars will be aligned for seven of the races and Formula 1 are subsidising each car with a budget of 150 000 euros. This marks an admirable stepping stone in the sport’s strive for equality. Betty Glover (sports reporter and co-host of The Fast and the Curious podcast) pointed out that despite Red Bull appearing on the podium 21 out of 22 times this year, not a single woman went up to represent the team, which many fans found to be extremely disappointing. Let’s hope further improvements are made next year.
There will be 24 races next year – the most in a single season ever – which start in Bahrain on February 29. In the meantime, there are plenty of documentaries and highlights for die-hard fans who are experiencing Formula 1 withdrawals, and, of course, Michael Mann’s Ferrari will be released on December 25.
The winter break is also the perfect time to brush up on your knowledge of Formula 1 and F1 Academy before the season starts. Finally, don’t forget that Season 6 of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive usually airs a week or so before the first race – February can’t come around quick enough!
