Champions Travel

2023 Formula 1 Season: 8 Races To Go - The Story So Far

The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship has been all about one man and one team.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have absolutely blitzed the field this season, with Verstappen currently in the midst of a 10-race winning streak and Red Bull having won every single race on the calendar so far this term.

Whilst everything has been going swimmingly for Christian Horner and co, every other team has huffed and puffed this term and the final weeks of the 2023 campaign look as if they will be following a similar pattern to the early weeks of the season.

Following yet another impressive win at Monza, Max Verstappen now sits a remarkable 145 points clear of his closest rival and team mate Sergio Perez and his 3^rd drivers title looks to be very much within his grasp.

Perez is the only other driver on the grid to have managed to win a Formula 1 race in 2023 – meaning that Red Bull are also flying ahead in the Constructor’s Championship too and they look to be in no mood for relinquishing their hold on all of the honours available this term.

With 15 races done and a mere 8 remaining, the home straight of the 2023 Formula 1 season is very much upon us and there have been plenty of thrills and spills so far.


Max takes it to the Max

Nobody has been able to compete with Max Verstappen this season and the Dutchman looks to be in no mood for giving up his hold on the Formula 1 Driver’s Championship.

Having pinched the title in dramatic fashion back in 2021, Verstappen’s dominance really came to the fore in 2022, with Perez his main competitor and the attempts of Ferrari and Mercedes fading into obscurity as the season transpired.

However, Max Verstappen has been able to take it to a whole new level in 2023, managing to win 12 of the 14 races completed this term, with teamate, Sergio Perez, the only other man to get past the chequered flag ahead of him.

Next up are the races in Singapore, Japan, and Qatar, and Verstappen seems poised to clinch the championship in the upcoming events. The remaining races of the campaign appear to be a celebration of victory for the Dutchman.

Perez leading the fight

For all the superlatives that have come the way of Max Verstappen in recent times, the consistency and grit of Sergio Perez has somewhat gone under the radar.

The Mexican picked up early season race wins at Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia and he is consistently the closest challenger to Verstappen on race days.

Catching Verstappen in the race for the title is going to be a fruitless task but Perez can take heart from his impressive rides this season and he is currently the perfect foil for a Red Bull team that looks set to dominate the F1 landscape for many years to come.
 

Who else could trouble Red Bull?

Whilst the dominance of Red Bull has clouded the season for many, the consistent brilliance of Christian Horner’s team cannot be underestimated, and the mantle has now been passed over to the other teams to bridge the gap.

Mercedes had long been the dominant force in the sport, with Lewis Hamilton’s stream of world titles at the back end of the 2010’s but they have lost significant ground and are looking to Hamilton and George Russell to bring about a change in fortunes.

It has been a good decade since Ferrari mounted a serious challenge at the top end of Formula 1 and that too doesn’t seem to be something that will change anytime soon. In Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, they do have two of the most exciting drivers on the grid, but they are yet to see that fully translate into points on the board and podium finishes.

Elsewhere, McLaren look to have bedded in two young talents successfully, as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have enjoyed some excellent showings this season, with podiums registered for both men. Whether they have the car to really kick on throughout 2023 and into 2024 remains to be seen but both youngsters have a bright future ahead of them in the sport and they could be part of a revolution at McLaren.

As the 2023 F1 season passes the halfway point, Max Verstappen, and Red Bull look to be in cruise control as they seek a third successive world title.

Whilst stopping Verstappen and Red Bull will be a bridge too far this season, the rest of the grid will be doing all they can to get their houses in order and to prepare to mount a stronger challenge in 2024.

F1 2024 Packages Now on Sale HERE

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Imola
The Spanish Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix - Monza


 

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