2023 F1 Season
22 races · Red Bull RB19
The 2023 season is, in absolute numbers, the most dominant in Formula 1 history. The Red Bull RB19, another masterpiece of the Newey era, proved virtually unbeatable in any conditions and at any circuit.
Max Verstappen took it to a superhuman level: he won nineteen of the twenty-two races of the year and strung together ten consecutive victories, an all-time record no one had achieved in more than seven decades of the championship. The title fight ceased to exist very early.
The only crack in the red armour was opened by Carlos Sainz, who with Ferrari took the year's only non-Red Bull win in Singapore, the single weekend where Red Bull couldn't find its rhythm. It was Verstappen's third consecutive world title, and the definitive seal on an era of dominance.
Drivers' Champion
Max Verstappen
Red Bull RB19
Constructors' Champion
Red Bull Racing
22 races
Key moment
"Verstappen achieves 10 consecutive wins, the absolute F1 record."
The 2023 grid, car by car
The 10 teams that raced in 2023, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull | 99 | Max Verstappen · Sergio Perez |
| 2 | Mercedes | 88 | Lewis Hamilton · George Russell |
| 3 | Ferrari | 87 | Charles Leclerc · Carlos Sainz |
| 4 | Aston Martin | 85 | Fernando Alonso · Lance Stroll |
| 5 | McLaren | 82 | Lando Norris · Oscar Piastri |
| 6 | Alpine | 76 | Pierre Gasly · Esteban Ocon |
| 7 | Williams | 70 | Alexander Albon · Logan Sargeant |
| 8 | Alfa Romeo | 69 | Valtteri Bottas · Zhou Guanyu |
| 9 | Haas | 68 | Nico Hulkenberg · Kevin Magnussen |
| 10 | AlphaTauri | 68 | Daniel Ricciardo · Yuki Tsunoda |
How 2023 actually ended
The official final standings, from Bahrain Grand Prix to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Max VerstappenRed Bull | 575 | 19 | 21 | 12 |
| 2Sergio PérezRed Bull | 285 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 3Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 234 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 4Fernando AlonsoAston Martin | 206 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 5Charles LeclercFerrari | 206 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| 6Lando NorrisMcLaren | 205 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 7Carlos SainzFerrari | 200 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 8George RussellMercedes | 175 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Verstappen took it by 290 points, which at that distance stops being a fight and becomes a formality. 3 different drivers won across 22 races, and the champion finished every race he started.
And was it the most dominant car of all? We measured it by putting the same driver in the best car of every season since 1988: what is the most dominant car in F1 history.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
What if 2023 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2023 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 22-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappenreal championRed Bull | P1 | 100% |
| Sergio PerezRed Bull | P2 | 0% |
| Lewis HamiltonMercedes | P3 | 0% |
| Fernando AlonsoAston Martin | P4.4 | 0% |
| Charles LeclercFerrari | P4.9 | 0% |
| George RussellMercedes | P6 | 0% |
Max Verstappen wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Sergio Perez manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2023 championship-winning car?
Hypotheses from 2023
Drivers of 2023
Keep reading
What we have measured about 2023 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
- 9 min readWhat is the most dominant car in F1 history? 37 seasons measured with the same driverThe 2023 Red Bull RB19, and not narrowly: with an average driver it still wins nine races in ten. We sat the same driver in the best car of every s…
- 6 min readIn 1982, eleven different drivers won. In 2023, threeWe counted the winners of every season since 1950. Variety has fallen decade after decade, and the years with fewest different winners are exactly…
- 8 min readHow much is the car worth, and how much the driver? 600 simulated seasonsWe put Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen in the worst car on their own grid, and the slowest driver in the best one. 11,400 races later:…