Picture Credits Oracle Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are dominating the 2023 Formula One season. The two-time F1 Drivers’ World Champion is an overwhelming favorite to retain his crown sooner rather than later due to the fact he has a 145-point lead at the top of the standings over his closest rival and teammate Sergio Perez. For this reason, there are many who feel that the predictability of the 2023 F1 season has made it a boring spectacle and no longer worth watching as the outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion. Today, we will seek to explain why the remaining races of the 2023 F1 season are very much must-see events.
Formula One is regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport and anyone who reaches that stage, irrespective of the car they’re driving, has made it to the top. However, reaching F1 is one thing – retaining your seat in the sport is a whole different struggle.
Williams Racing rookie driver Logan Sargeant and Chinese F1 star Zhou Guanyu are by no means guaranteed to still be on the grid in 2024. Obviously, with two USA based races still to come – the marketing opportunities for an American racer are clear to see. However, Williams Racing team boss James Vowles recently stated that Sargeant would have to “earn” his place on the grid. Therefore, watching Sargeant balance pressure with performance will surely captivate the audience. Meanwhile, consistency will be key for Alfa Romeo’s under-fire driver, but time is not on his side as speculation over his future continues to mount. With the Chinese Formula One set to return in 2024, Zhou Guanyu must surely be a promoter’s dream, if he still has an F1 seat by the time the lights go out in Shanghai.
Another reason why people should still be tuning in to the F1, comes from the anticipated battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin. A range of just 56 points covers these three teams and the battle for ‘best of the rest’ – with many millions of dollars in prize money at stake – will ensure that no one takes their foot of the gas.
Ferrari will be buoyed by their Monza podium success; Mercedes will be eager to provide their recently renewed driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell with a competitive package that keeps them in P2 while Aston Martin have the driving force of Fernando Alonso who is capable of marvels on race days. Each of these three teams has had their moment in the ascendency over the other and the jury is still out as to who will make it across the line first – or rather second in the standings.
Anyone in attendance at this year’s British Grand Prix would have been forgiven for thinking their grandstand was on loan from the Las Vegas Grand Prix organisers. This is because the grandstands were plastered in Las Vegas Grand Prix advertising.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix has been hyped up so much that even a passing F1 fan will surely be tempted to watch the race. The setting is incredible, a Saturday night start time stateside is a bold choice and the cost alone to put the event on (or even attend in person) is staggering. Whether the Las Vegas Grand Prix with 20 F1 cars blazing down the strip becomes F1’s jewel in the crown remains to be seen but one can imagine that many people will be tuning in to experience this historic moment, nonetheless.
In recent weeks, pundits and drivers alike have been praising Verstappen for what he is achieving. Many of his peers have been vocal saying what he is achieving is remarkable as the focus and speed required to be so consistent week in and week out is hard to comprehend. Two-time F1 Drivers’ World Champion Fernando Alonso has previously said: “It is underestimated sometimes what Max is achieving. To win in such a dominant manner in any sport is so complicated.” Such a viewpoint is now being heard more in the paddock as people are appreciating that this is a historical moment.
Although not all are singing this tune seeing how Hamilton already went on record saying: “I’m no more impressed than I was when Michael [Schumacher] was leading, when Sebastian [Vettel] was leading, when Kimi [Raikkonen] was driving, when Fernando [Alonso] was winning,” Even so, many millions of people are certainly intrigued to see whether Verstappen’s relentless form can be maintained all the way through to Abu Dhabi.
Obviously, we won’t ever hear Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner, saying his team will go unbeaten all season. However, the prospect of Red Bull Racing winning the remaining 8 Grands Prix of the season is very real and you can imagine every team on the grid will do their utmost to prevent such an outcome.
So, that is just a sample of what the 2023 F1 season still has in store for us. Of course, many F1 history buffs will no doubt highlight that the sport is no stranger to dominance by a team and so what is on show in 2023 is hardly surprising. Whether the field becomes closer matched in 2024 is anyone’s guess but the likelihood is that the next shakeup will come in 2026 when the new engine regulations arrive.
At the end of the day, F1 is a sport and is meant to be entertaining. If the only entertainment comes from seeing who wins the race, the sport would have died out long ago. There are many captivating stories still to be told this season and many battles still to be fought. There will also be those still hoping for an Alonso victory, a dramatic Daniel Ricciardo resurgence on his return and who knows – maybe even a Nico Hulkenberg podium at long last if the rumour of the Haas upgrades is to be believed.
The dominance of Red Bull Racing during the 2023 F1 season may indeed have become predictable for many but one thing the races yet to come will not be – is boring.
