2023 Formula One season: Drivers who stood out and those who came out with damaged reputations Premium

Max Verstappen dominated the 74th F1 season, while Fernando Alonso, Alexander Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, Oscar Piastri, and George Russell impressed. Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll underperformed, and Logan Sargeant failed to beat his teammate.

The 74th Formula One championship ended in Abu Dhabi last week, with Max Verstappen finishing the season in style with another dominant show. Though the Dutchman faced no real challenge as he wrapped up his third straight driver’s title, there were some exceptional performances across the grid, with drivers in less competitive machinery shining.

In contrast, some drivers in strong cars failed to realise the full potential of what was available to them. The Hindu takes a look at drivers who stood out and those who came out with damaged reputations.

Max Verstappen (1st): Formula One is well and truly in the Verstappen era. With 19 out of 22 races, including ten consecutive race wins, the third world championship title was never in doubt during the season. After winning a close title in 2021 shrouded in controversy, Verstappen had an easier path last year, but not before battling Charles Leclerc in the first half of the season. This year, though, Verstappen’s battle was more with the record books than his competitors. With a Red Bull machinery that had no real competition on the grid, Verstappen only needed to beat his teammate Sergio Perez, which he did devastatingly. His 575-point haul was more than what Mercedes (409), which finished second in the championship, managed.

Fernando Alonso (4th): If there is a living example of the adage Old is Gold, it will be the 42-year-old Spaniard. Last year, the two-time champion caused a flutter when he moved to Aston Martin from Alpine, which triggered a churn in the driver’s market. In the first half, Aston Martin was the second-quickest car on the grid, and Alonso was metronomic in his consistency, taking six podiums from the first eight races. Though the team’s form nosedived in the later part of the season before stabilising towards the end, Alonso finished fourth in the drivers’ standings with 206 points.

Alexander Albon (13th): At the end of the 2020 season, Albon’s career was at a crossroads after a tough season in Red Bull. He couldn’t adapt to the car’s characteristics, which is engineered to suit Verstappen’s driving style and Red Bull dropped him in favour of Perez. After a year on the sidelines as a reserve driver for the same team, Albon joined Williams in 2022 and came of age as a driver this year. Williams was not the most competitive car, but on select tracks it was good enough to fight for points, and the British-Thai driver delivered, scoring 27 of the 28 points and helping his team finish seventh in the constructors’ standings. It is the team’s best finish since 2017, and having taken the wooden spoon in four out of the last five years, it marks a change of tide and, more importantly, worth tens of millions of dollars in extra prize money for the former champions.

Yuki Tsunoda (14th): It was the third season for the Japanese driver, and he needed to show he could lead the team after Pierre Gasly moved to Alpine. Unfortunately, the AlphaTauri came up with the slowest car on the grid, and it was a tough first two-thirds of the year for the Red Bull sister team. A late-season upgrade helped the team target points more regularly, and Tsunoda delivered. In the first half, he comfortably shaded Nyck de Vries, who was booted out mid-season in favour of eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo. Tsunoda then outscored the Australian as well and got his team to eighth in the constructor’s standings, just three points behind Williams.

Oscar Piastri (9th): No driver had more pressure to deliver in his rookie year than Piastri. The Australian was Alpine’s reserve driver in 2022’ and was caught in a contractual dispute last year when the team unilaterally announced him as a driver to replace Alonso, only for him to rebuke them. He had already signed for McLaren to replace the underperforming Ricciardo. He was subject to unfair attacks, and other team bosses questioned his loyalty with knives sharpened and ready to attack if he failed. To make things worse, McLaren, too, had a poor car until a mid-season upgrade transformed its fortunes dramatically. Once he got the hang of the vehicle, Piastri was among the most impressive drivers in the year’s second half. Though the 22-year-old scored less than 50% of his teammate Lando Norris’ tally, the Aussie had more misfortunes. His two podiums and one sprint win showed his capability, and he started out-qualifying Norris more regularly in the last part of the campaign. The fact that McLaren quickly locked him down till 2026 is an indication of his long-term potential.