Welcome to today’s blog, where we dive into the 2023 F1 season, where records were redefined, and sensational performances across the globe were showcased. Across five continents and 22 tests, the ten teams navigated an exhilarating journey that delivered moments of triumph and unexpected turns.
Max Verstappen won his third World Championship whilst breaking numerous longstanding records. The battle for first place in the driver’s and constructor’s championship was decided very early in the season, but the battle for both second places was intense and exciting to see. In a nail-biting finish at Abu Dhabi, the last and final F1 weekend of 2023, Mercedes edged out Ferrari by a mere four points, securing second place in the constructor’s championship. Mercedes came out on top after the chequered flag was waving for the last time in 2023.
Aston Martin emerged as a revelation, surprising fans with a strong-performing car that propelled Fernando Alonso to multiple podium finishes. Noteworthy, with the grid’s oldest driver, Fernando Alonso. McLaren had a great season with their rookie Oscar Piastri, who met and perhaps even exceeded all expectations. We’ve seen record-breaking pitstop times: the McLaren pit crew noted a blazing fast pitstop of only 1.80 seconds that made headlines.
Not every Dutch driver enjoyed a stellar season in 2023. The other Dutchie on the grid, Nyck de Vries, faced challenges convincing his team, which caused a mid-season drama when Alpha Tauri decided to drop Nyck de Vries and give the seat to Daniel Riccardo. Speaking of drama… we’ve also seen a big drama in the newly introduced Las Vegas GP: we’ve seen a drain cover causing major issues for Carlos Sainz and Ferrari — a weekend to forget for both Ferrari and the organisation of the Las Vegas GP.
Red Bull Racing’s 2023 season almost charted a perfect course, triumphing in 21 out of 22 races, with their sole stumble occurring in the Singapore GP.
Max Verstappen – 1st in Bahrain, Australia, Miami, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Qatar, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi; Sergio Perez – 1st in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
The team’s remarkable performance amassed a record-breaking 860 constructor’s points, setting a new benchmark in F1 history. Red Bull also scripted history with a streak of 15 consecutive race wins, counting the final races of 2022, and achieved a momentous 1-2 finish for the first time in their 19 years of competition.
Verstappen’s phenomenal season statistics rewrite the record books—his 86.3% win rate in 2023, comprising 19 out of 22 races, solidifies his place in history. With 54 career wins, he now ranks third in the list of F1’s most successful drivers, trailing only Schumacher (91 wins) and Hamilton (103).
His unwavering consistency was unparalleled; Verstappen was the only driver who managed to complete every lap of every race, leading for an astonishing 1,003 out of a possible 1,383 laps. No other driver came close to the 1,000-lap barrier (Vettel held the record before Max with 739 laps). Notably, the number 1,003 echoes the laps led by the McLaren team in the legendary 1988 season.
Setting another milestone, Verstappen secured a staggering ten successive victories. His colossal 290-point lead over teammate Sergio Pérez stands as the largest title-winning margin in F1 history, surpassing Pérez’s total points for the season (290 – 285 points).
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