This F1 season has been full of different experiences. Max Verstappen, with the RB19, took the world by storm, going undefeated for most of the season, and people started to expect those 1st place Red Bull wins. Other teams also had defining moments, like McLaren’s record-breaking pitstop with Lando Norris of 1.8 seconds or fan favorite Yuki Tsunoda leading a race for the first time in his career in Abu Dhabi. The in-house driver drama between Daniel Ricciardo, Nyck De Vries, and Liam Lawson, along with the rumored tension between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, were some characteristics of the season. Along with McLaren’s rough start and amazing end and Aston Martin’s amazing start but rough end, the 2023 season had interesting highlights.
Let’s take a quick look back at all of the teams in the 2023 season. Red Bull had an amazing season, with Max Verstappen winning his third world championship and breaking many records. While Sergio Perez had a less exciting season, he was still consistently in the top 5 finishers for most races. Thanks to Red Bull’s efforts, the RB19 is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, Formula One car has ever seen. Ferrari entered the season very confident with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. They were the only team to beat out Red Bull in Singapore.
However, it was a messy season, which included not only some botched strategy calls but also pole positions for both of them. Mercedes entered with seven-time world championship winners Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. However, the Mercedes season could be split into two different periods: the one before the upgrades and the one after. With the upgrades, we saw Mercedes fighting with Ferrari to be the third-best car on the grid after both Red Bull and Aston Martin had made improvements. McLaren Racing entered the season with Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri and had started their season off in a disappointing way, with Lando Norris only topping off at 17th.
Towards the end of the season, McLaren made some changes, including a change in team principal, and their team was fighting for second and third. If they keep this momentum up, they could be competing with Mercedes and Ferrari in the next few seasons. Aston Martin entered 2023 with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Aston Martin entered the season in the opposite way of McLaren, starting the season off great and then tapering off in the end, which left them unable to beat out McLaren in the Constructors Championship. This could have to do with Lance Stroll’s performance compared to his teammate, Alonso, as there has been talk speculating that Stoll is kept around due to his dad owning the team. Alpine entered the season with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who were reported to dislike each other. The Alpine team had major problems with a horsepower deficit compared to their rivals like Aston Martin. They are currently in a stage of transition, as they are still powered by Renult. They hope to harness their drivers strengths and overcome the technical difficulties of their car for the upcoming season. Williams Racing entered with Alex Albon and rookie Logan Sargeant. Their car was expected to be fast, and at high-speed tracks like Canada, they delivered. While Logan Sargeant started off his season well, it ended in a disappointing way.
Williams is looking towards the future after ending the 2023 season with their highest Constructors finish in six years. Alpha Tauri entered the 2023 season with Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries. However, drama occurred when they decided to drop de Vries and replace him with Daniel Ricciardo mid-season. Ricciardo broke his hand and was replaced with Liam Lawson, who showed impressive stats for the races he participated in. AlphaTauri continued to make changes to their car all the way up until Abu Dahbi, and they are excited for the 2024 season with new leadership under Laurent Mekies. Alfa Romeo entered the season with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu and had a disappointing season, finishing 9th in the Constructors Championship. While they both had similar times, it was obvious that change was needed, and that is what is occurring for the 2024 season as they depart from their 6-year relationship with Sauber and come into 2024 with a new name and new car.
The last team on the 2023 grid was the American team HAAS, which entered with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. There were many things that the HAAS car had difficulties with, including race pace on their tire. Their car was burning through more rubber than any other team, and their tires were getting way too hot, causing them to take the corners slowly. Change is definitely needed for the HAAS car in 2024, but we may not be seeing them win any podium places in the next few seasons, as they have been struggling to stay in the F1 Paddock financially.
The entire F1 season ends with the Constructors Championship. That is what every team is gunning for, and every point won in a race goes towards it. In F1 races, the top ten finishers get points towards the Constructors Championship and the top eight in the sprint races. With Max Verstappen on his winning streak, it was evident who would be claiming first place. The attention was turned towards second and third place as it was a season-long battle between Ferrari and Mercedes that ended quite dramatically in Abu Dhabi, with Mercedes pulling in front with 4 points. In Abu Dhabi, Sergio Perez had been given a five-second penalty that would be added to his time at the finish line. In the final laps of the race, Charles Leclerc allowed Perez to pass him, hoping that he would create a distance greater than five seconds that would place Sergio in second, Leclerac in third, and push George Russell into fourth, effectively beating them out of second place. However, this did not happen, and when Sergio crossed the finish line, he did not have a big enough gap. When his penalty was awarded, he was bumped down to fourth place. This, in turn, allowed Mercedes to take runner-up in the Constructors Championship and Russell to take 3rd place in the race.
Now there is always one question in the back of racers minds when their contract is up for renewal. Will I get re-signed to the same team? A different team? At all? For this past season, most of the teams had put in their two racing drivers before Abu Dahbi. We all knew the line-up that we would be seeing come March. However, for Logan Sargeant and the Williams team, it was a different story. Alex Albon’s contract had already been confirmed, so Williams only had one open seat left to fill. With the disheartening rookie season Logan Sargeant had endured, we were all on the edge of our seats, as they had not confirmed his spot before the final race. As Logan Sargeant had been pulled up from F2 unexpectedly, he may not have been as prepared as his fellow rookie Oscar Piastri, and in turn, he could be deserving of a second chance to prove himself, which he then was given when Williams confirmed him for the 2024 season on their Instagram. Logan Sargeant was a lone wolf in the contract wars; however, come the end of the 2024 race season, there will be others in the mix.
At the end of the 2024 season, 14 drivers’ contracts will be coming to an end, including favorites like both Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda. This will make creating new contracts an interesting part of the end of the season, as there could be drivers switching teams or new rookies being pulled up. Thankfully, we will get to see what develops real soon.
