The stopwatches have stopped, the 2023 Formula 1 season is history, time for a review. Together with F1 expert Christian Danner, sport.de issues a certificate to all drivers and teams. Let’s start with the top 10 of the Drivers’ World Championship – not all of which fare well.
10th place: Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 74 points
The Canadian was clearly in the shadow of stablemate Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin. While the Spaniard scored huge points in the first phase of the season, Stroll made mistakes again and again – sometimes hair-raising and inexplicable. “It was of course a complete, catastrophic disappointment throughout the whole year,” says Danner: “With the exception of the last races, when the car was able to drive reasonably well again.”
9th place: Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 97 points
Piastri got along straight away in his first year of Formula 1 and set his garage neighbor Lando Norris on fire in the second half of the season. The Australian’s highlight: his victory in the Qatar sprint. “A rookie of this quality only comes along every ten years in Formula 1,” said Danner, praising the 22-year-old: “Potentially an absolute world leader.”
8th place: George Russell, Mercedes, 175 points
“He came back down to earth a little bit this year when he realized that the old man Hamilton could drive quickly. He, on the other hand, made a lot of mistakes,” is how the Formula 1 expert sees the young man’s performance British critical.
In contrast to his first year with the Silver Arrows, Russell clearly lost out in the internal stable duel with record champion Hamilton in 2023. “But I think he’s intelligent and capable of improvement enough that next year we’ll see a Russell who sets the bar a little higher,” says Danner.
7th place: Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 200 points
The Spaniard can pin the award “only non-Red Bull winner 2023” on his lapel, triumphing at the night GP in Singapore. Overall, Sainz’s performances fluctuated, and in the end he narrowly lost out compared to Scuderia rival Charles Leclerc. “He drove some very combative, aggressive, great races, of course also in Singapore,” praises Danner on the one hand. On the other hand: “Especially towards the end of the season he looked old again against Leclerc. He didn’t have an incredibly stable form, drove with a lot of enthusiasm, but also with a lot of complaining.”
6th place: Lando Norris, McLaren, 205 points
“In combination with McLaren, he’s an extra expert,” says the former Formula 1 driver. “He managed to squeeze an extra tenth or two out of what he had at his disposal. That’s something that not everyone can do, but he can. He’s just on the verge of despair that he can finally win, “That’s psychologically problematic.”
In fact, it will really bother the Brits that rookie Piastri has already won a sprint, while Norris also came away empty-handed in the racing quickies.
Nevertheless: Six second places at the Grands Prix are an extremely strong result.
5th place: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 206 points
Leclerc was Verstappen’s first pursuer in the last few races. However, the ambitious Monegasque will not be satisfied with his year, especially since it was not he but stable rival Sainz who took advantage of the only weak Red Bull weekend in Singapore.
“I think Leclerc had some mental problems because he questioned himself: ‘Am I even in the right team here?'” Danner suspects. “When he put that aside, he was his old self again and was really strong. Not only his pole positions, he was also very intelligent in the race – an absolute top driver.”
4th place: Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 206 points
The old champion started the season brilliantly with six podiums in a row and was ultimately ahead of Leclerc on the podium thanks to his nine visits. What Alonso delivers, even at the age of 42, is impressive; he reduced his teammate Stroll to an extra.
“Fernando is a ‘racing animal’,” Danner bows to Alonso: “He has managed to combine two components: Firstly, he still drives with the same passion, the same energy and the bite as ever. Secondly, has “He managed to bring the car to the finish line with clarity and with a racing intelligence that is absolutely admirable.”
3rd place: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 234 points
For long stretches of the season, Hamilton struggled with his Mercedes diva, which sometimes drove quickly and sometimes inexplicably slowly over the track. The 38-year-old did not let this deter him and impressed as a constant point collector.
“Even if the Mercedes wasn’t pleasant to drive, Lewis has re-established himself as what he always was: Lewis the special. I give him credit for that. Because it’s much easier to get back to normal with a top car than with something like this one thing,” says the F1 expert.
Hamilton also has the advantage of having a stable rival in Russell, “who gives him a lot of tinker. He doesn’t get sleepy.”
2nd place: Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 285 points
“You just have to imagine if Verstappen hadn’t driven or if a Nyck de Vries or someone else had been in his place: Then Perez would be world champion! So he didn’t drive that badly. If he relaxes a little more and doesn’t make any unnecessary mistakes, a a little bit, then he is the ideal number two for Red Bull and will be runner-up again next year,” says Danner.
After a slump over several races with sometimes disastrous qualifying results, the Mexican caught himself towards the end of the season. Thanks to the runner-up title, speculation about his future should be off the table.
1st place: Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 575 points
The third title in a row, 19 wins this season, records broken or set endlessly – anything other than a “1 with an asterisk” for the Dutchman would be a joke. “It’s almost tragic that he can hardly be seen on TV anymore,” jokes Danner. “He’s gone at the start and then the direction focuses on the midfield and he’s back in the picture briefly on the last lap or at the pit stop.”
What particularly impresses the Formula 1 insider about Verstappen is “this serenity at such a young age: he drives as serenely at 26 as Alonso did at 42. He also has endless grit and wanted to win right up to the last race. He has a keen understanding in the cockpit, who is second to none, always has everything under control. That’s extremely dominant. And he has a team that fulfills his every wish and provides him with the car as he needs it. He has a relationship with his team, with them Engineers, mechanics like Michael Schumacher back then. He is understood. That’s a dream.”