Red Bull has once again won the Constructors Championships thanks to driver Max Verstappen, who is a three-time world race-car driving champion.
Alpha Tauri had multiple drivers, and sprint races were a hotly debated topic during the Formula One 2023 season. With the last race held on November 26 in Abu Dhabi, the season has finally come to an end. Now, drivers can relax and enjoy their break, while their teams continue working on the cars for next year’s races. The most dominant season in F1 history has come to an end with Verstappen being the reason why.
There was no surprise from fans when Max Verstappen became the reigning champion of 2023 before the season had even finished, thanks to a sprint race in Qatar. This Dutch driver has dominated the season, winning 19 of the 22 races. He has broken record after record while his teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez was left in the dust. Verstappen led over 1000 laps of the 22 race season, an unprecedented record, which is just one of many he’s broken throughout 2023.
Alpha Tauri has had four drivers, Yuki Tsunoda, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Riccardo, and Liam Lawson. Tsunoda is the only driver to have stayed consistent throughout the season. It was Nyck de Vries Formula One debut, making this his rookie season. It was shocking when Alpha Tauri announced that he would not be returning to the team after the summer break. Instead, Daniel Riccardo, a fan favourite, would be returning to the grid. Unfortunately, at the Dutch Grand Prix, Riccardo crashed the car at Turn 3 to prevent hitting another driver (Oscar Piastri of McLaren) which resulted in a broken hand. He was then replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson. The young rookie thrived in his role on the team, scoring points in his third ever race in F1 at the Singapore Grand Prix on September 17. Sadly, his role as a driver only lasted until Riccardo healed in time for the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (which I witnessed in person).
Ferrari: where do I even start with this team. They’re my favourite, and yet, they are just not having a good season. Charles Leclerc has had a string of unbelievably bad luck. His Las Vegas race, passing Checo on that last turn, had to be one of his best races of the season. Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s teammate, was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this season. He won the Singapore Grand Prix, preventing Red Bull from winning every race this season. Hopefully, next year is a better year for them.
Williams Racing has really grown on me this season. After getting the chance to watch the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and visiting the Williams Fan Experience Zone, they have my respect. With the only American driver, Logan Sargeant, on the grid, Williams made sure that they marketed towards the American fans, such as partnering with Duracell Batteries. Sargeant managed to score his first points at COTA due to the disqualifications of both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. He also has now officially been re-signed for another year, making 2024 the first season in F1 history where the drivers who ended the previous season are the same at the start of the next season. James Vowles now has stepped up as the new Team Principal this year.
AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, and Aston Martin are also all having their names changed ahead of the 2024 season, either due to title sponsors or other obligations and contracts. It is rumoured that AlphaTauri could become Racing Bulls to further align it with the Red Bull brand as AlphaTauri is partly owned by Red Bull and promoted the AlphaTauri clothing brand. AlphaTauri was renamed from Toro Rosso in 2020. Alfa Romeo will also be facing its second name change since 2019, when it went from Sauber to Alfa Romeo. Aston Martin has not announced their new name but it can be theorised that it is simply a change in the title sponsor.
Next year, there will be an unprecedented 24 races held over the season, compared to the 23 that were supposed to be held this year. Due to flooding and safety concerns at the Imola Grand Prix, the 2023 season consisted of 22 races instead. The first race of the 2024 season will be March 2 in Bahrain. Until then, I will be keeping an eye out for the newest season of Drive to Survive being released on February 23 on Netflix, as well as an eye on the official Formula One YouTube page for any extra driver content, such as Grill the Grid or Secret Santa. Disney Plus has also released a documentary on Brawn GP, an underdog F1 team from 2009 that by all accounts seemed impossible but it became an underdog fairytale.
There is no shortage of F1 resources. If you want to keep updated on the news; motorsport.com, the official Formula One website, autosport.com, wtf1.com, and Sky Sports are credible sources to follow for updates. There are also plenty of podcasts for any and all podcast lovers. Just search Formula One on streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts and see what you find!