Last Updated on January 5 2024, 3:07 pm
When Formula One hangs up its racing boots in Abu Dhabi, one of the favoured past times is for F1 overseers to rate the drivers performance throughout the year and rank the various team lineups. Of course few of the front runners employ rookie drivers who serve their time in the lower ranking racing outfits.
Clearly having smashed records which stood for decades and winning 19 of the 22 races on offer, Max Verstappen has to be everyone’s choice for the number one driver of 2023.
Mercedes pair ranked No.1
Lewis Hamilton claimed the top sport outside of the Red Bull drivers finishing third in the championship, though he was just 28 points clear of the legendary Fernando Alonso. Yet in many ways Alonso performed better than Hamilton claiming six podiums finishes in the first seven races of the year but the Aston Martin in season development failed the Spaniard who look set for much of the year to finish behind the Red Bull pair.
Established F1 writers who contribute to the-race.com placed the Mercedes pairing of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in their number one spot.
Ex-F1 car designer Gary Anderson dissented with his co-writers placing the Mercedes duo in third as he explains.
“Actually it’s very difficult to assess these two, because of the lack of consistency from their equipment. When Hamilton has a car that gives him what he wants then he is going to be difficult to beat while Russell is happier with a less-than-perfect car.”
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Norris and Piastri favoured
Ben Anderson believed McLaren in fact had the better lineup but noted Lewis Hamilton performed below par.
“Hamilton was below his best through the final races of 2023, but the real him is still lurking in there somewhere – and Russell is occasionally error-prone but basically as fast as Lewis over one lap,” he said.
Four of the nine writers placed the Mercedes pairing at the top of the pile which was enough for them to hold of Ferrari who closed the gap from 2022. McLaren were ranked only third by the experts, but again Gary and Ben Anderson were in dissent ranking them the best pairing of the year.
“Lando has the experience and Oscar has the hunger of youth, so they will drive each other to new heights in 2024,” Gary Anderson said. But he believes the Norris at times overdrives the car which leads to more mistakes than he should make.
“Lando needs to drive within the equipment he has, if he does this he will make fewer mistakes. After all, you can’t make up for all of the deficit in your equipment. For Piastri it’s his second year so he is not the new boy in town anymore, but I do think he is an exceptional talent with still a lot of potential for improvement.”
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Ben Anderson added: “Yeah, I agree with Lando – McLaren’s driver line-up is the strongest on the current grid. Piastri looks to be a potentially quite special driver, is already giving Norris a hard time and is only going to get better.”
Despite Verstappen taking all the single driver plaudits, Red Bull fell one spot to fourth in the F1 driver pairings. This is of course due to the erratic year Sergio Perez delivered. Despite being in what was clearly the best car, the Mexican driver went off the rails after his two wins early in the year.
Christian Horner recently commented on Perez’s future and despite him having a contract for 2024, the Red Bull boss stated that his current drive was Checo’s to lose.
Comments from Dr. Marko last week suggest he believes Perez will not survive the year when he told OE24 the Red Bull drive “is his for now.”
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Verstappen names Norris as preferred team mate
The rivals waiting in the wings to step up to the Red Bull drive appear to be clear and under normal circumstances would be promoted from within the Red Bull family. This would see a selection from Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson as Red Bull’s first port of call.
German publication AMuS asked Max Verstappen this week who he believed to be the dream lineup from the current crop of F1 drivers. Verstappen began less than modestly selecting himself and unsurprisingly Perez was not his choice of team mate. over his preferred teammate as he names his F1 dream team.
“I would choose Lando. He’s still young, with a long career ahead of him. And he can also be very, very fast,” said the triple world champion which is hardly a shock given the two have a well known friendship away from the paddock.
Lando Norris has also been approached twice before as Christian Horner revealed last season, “We’ve spoken with Lando a couple of times over the years,” the Red Bull boss revealed. He went on to quip, “But every time we’ve had a conversation, the next day he’s signed a contract with McLaren.”
Norris a Red Bull target
Horner reiterated Lando is on a long term contract with McLaren “and looks like he’s going to be there for a few more years.” Yet of course should the call come for Norris to join Verstappen in the best car on the grid, there would be no hesitation in Lando’s agreement.
Lando himself admitted in Monza, “Of course there are talks with other people from time to time. You always ask yourself the question: What is the best thing for my career? I want to win and win world championships.”
When told he could not pick himself in the dream F1 driver lineup, Verstappen responded interestingly by snubbing both Mercedes drivers. Max was clear:
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Verstappen snubs Mercedes pair
“So the McLaren pairing. Both are good. Lando is just a bit older than Oscar.
“I think Oscar is a fast rookie. He still has things to learn and can improve his race pace, for example. But from what I see, he’s a smart guy. He will win his races,” said the world champion.
It may be that Lewis Hamilton is slowing down and sporting legends are often believed to posses the height of their powers when in fact they are on the wain.
Russell himself admitted he had a poor year and was too inconsistent, something he says he will attend to for the coming racing season.
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
