13 rounds down into the Formula 1 2023 season, it is safe to say we have seen a Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominance with the Dutch driver leading the drivers’ championship 314 points and Red Bull leading the way in the constructors with 503 points. We are at the halfway point of the season and after a fairly quiet summer break, compared to last season, we have a look at the individual drivers and their performances so far this season in respect to their car.
RED BULL
Max Verstappen 10/10
Max has been on point throughout the whole season so far. Thanks to the reliability of the car and his immaculate driving he has not had any DNFs this season which has contributed towards his record-breaking season with Red Bull. He has been doing everything that he needs to in a record-breaking season for the team and driver. He has dominated during most races this season and has won all but two races this season, he is pretty much unstoppable right now and is looking to wrap the championship up around the same time as he did last season.
Sergio Perez 6/10
Sergio's qualifying has let him down a bit this season but he has done a good job during the races to get back to where he should be for the team. He was nicknamed 'the king of the streets' early on in the season as he picked up two wins in Rounds 2 and 4. However, recently he has faced some criticism from fans who believe that he needs to be better considering his car, teammate and the team environment. Despite this, he picked up the overtake of the month award for his move on Piastri in Hungary and has the full backing of team principal Christian Horner which should give him confidence for the rest of the season.
MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton 9/10
Hamilton is 1 of 2 drivers to score points in every race this season so far and has been outperforming Russell this year compared to last season. There have been rumours surrounding his contract and how long he is committed to Mercedes however there have been numerous reports and quotes from team principal Toto Wolff reassuring fans that there is a contract ready to sign. With Lewis hopefully committing to Mercedes for the foreseeable future the focus for Lewis will be getting that 8th world title with the Brackley team.
George Russell 8/10
George has achieved one podium so far this year and has been unable to match the pace of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. He was one of the stand-out drivers last year for his performances on track which saw him pick up his first win in his first season at Mercedes. He has still displayed some of his key qualities this season, he is a calm and good racer with a blistering pace on his day. However, Russell seems to be picking up a little reputation for first-lap incidents and has openly admitted towards the end of the first half of the season that he has been struggling. Despite this, he is locked in with his contract at Mercedes and he too will be hoping that Mercedes can turn it around to stop the Red Bull domination.
FERRARI
Charles Leclerc 8/10
Leclerc has been on the podium 3 times this year despite not having the same pace as the front runners and initially not starting off as well as others. Ferrari is currently experiencing some problems at the moment where we are seeing Carlos Sainz having to take over and make strategic calls which Charles has not done. He has expressed his loyalty to Ferrari and is tipped by many greats of the sport to be a future world champion it just needs to go his way a bit more.
Carlos Sainz 7/10
Carlos has been consistent this season but has not been able to make it onto the podium like his teammate has done. He is a skilled and experienced driver in F1 and has displayed his ability to adapt to a variety of situations during a race. During the summer break, he has been linked to potential driver options in the future if his time at Ferrari comes to an end. A solid driver right now he just needs to find his way to the podium more often.
ASTON MARTIN
Fernando Alonso 9/10
Alonso is the second driver to score points in every race this season alongside Lewis Hamilton. After getting off to a flying start at the beginning of the season Fernando has displayed a great sense of teamwork with Stroll and showing his commitment to the team. Despite the team dropping form after some recent upgrades Fernando is staying put at Aston Martin with their new factory ready to settle into the Spanish driver still has the faith the team can bring him wins.
Lance Stroll 6/10
Stroll has been performing well this season, there has not been anything too spectacular to note but has been doing a solid job when taking into account the benchmark his teammate has set. Stroll has been able to qualify and finish close to Fernando in the last couple of races and will need to keep that up throughout the rest of the season if teams around them are closing the gap.
ALPINE
Pierre Gasly 7/10
Gasly has had some ups and downs more recently. In the last couple of races, he has been performing well he just needs a better car to help catch others in the constructor's championship. He has been unlucky with the DNFs that he has had and Hungary was a bitter disappointment for the team. Alpine also announced that they have parted ways with Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane who have been unable to meet the expectations for the Alpine so a big push is needed to get the team to where they want to be.
Esteban Ocon 7/10
Esteban had a standout podium in Monaco this season which was an amazing weekend for him as a driver and the team. He started off the season okay but has been struggling a little later into the season. Just like his teammate Ocon has had some unlucky DNFs (4 in total) Alpine has been struggling recently in the championship with both drivers hoping things start to improve.
MCLAREN
Lando Norris 7/10
Norris struggled with the car at the beginning of the season meant that overall, it has been a slow start for the McLaren driver. But, 2 podiums at Silverstone and Hungary after some upgrades on the McLaren car have meant that Norris has been able to show his true pace and talent on track. With a new wind tunnel up and running the team and Lando are maximising every opportunity.
Oscar Piastri 7/10
Piastri is having a fantastic rookie season and there are no doubts that he will get closer to challenging Norris as the season continues. He has led a race and has a podium in a sprint race, considering the pressure he is under with Norris as his teammate and proving a point against the Alpine drama he is doing a great job overall.
HAAS
Kevin Magnussen 4/10
Magnussen had a couple of point-scoring finishes this season but his qualifying has not been to the standards we know that they can be. The HAAS car has been up and down, with 3 DNFs, Magnussen will be looking to see how he can get the best out of the car in the second half of the season.
Nico Hulkenberg 4/10
Hulkenberg returns to F1 this season for HAAS replacing Mick Schumacher and partnering Magnussen, two experienced drivers are aiming to help the HAAS team to develop their team and car but that has been happening at a slow pace this season. Hulkenberg has struggled with the car and has fewer top-10 finishes but Hulkenberg and Magnussen will both be working to make sure that they get everything possible out of the car before the end of the season.
ALFA ROMEO
Valtteri Bottas 5/10
Valtteri has been struggling with this year's Alfa Romeo and has only finished in the top 10 twice this season. He has been consistent and knows how to 'bring it home' however, the pace does not seem to be there. Many seem to think that Bottas is holding out for the Audi takeover to see how all that pans out, but in terms of this season Bottas is going to be aiming to get more top-10 finishes for this season.
Zhou Guanyu 5/10
Last year Zhou had an amazing rookie season. This year he has finished in the top 10 twice this season as has his teammate. This season he has pressure on him to perform with the Audi takeover coming through and Theo Pouchaire in their academy he will need to utilise the next half of the season to assure the team of the talent that he has.
ALPHA TAURI
Yuki Tsunoda 7/10
Yuki is having a great season considering he is driving what is considered to be the slowest car on the grid. Throughout the season Yuki is regularly on the cusp of points and has held his own against both teammates this season. Yuki has finished in the top 10 3 times this season which is a great effort with a struggling Alpha Tauri car.
Daniel Ricciardo 6/10
It is hard to rate Daniel's performance so far this season as he has only done 2 races, joining the team as Nyck De Vries' replacement. Daniel did one test at Silverstone with Red Bull and was putting in lap times that would have placed him on the front row at this year's British Gran Prix. Many have been suggesting that the decision to put Daniel in the Alpha Tauri is to put pressure on Perez however Red Bull have said they have no intentions of replacing Perez next season so we are hoping that for the rest of the season, we see Ricciardo's talent return.
WILLIAMS
Alex Albon 8/10
Albon is continuing to help the Williams team develop the car and progress forward under the new team principal James Vowles. Albon is having impressive drives this season and has finished in the top 10 3 times in one of the slower cars on the grid and in recent races has been making some very clean and clinical moves. During the summer break, Albon has been linked to other teams with rumours going around that he has spoken formally and informally to around 3/4 different teams.
Logan Sargeant 4/10
Logan is in his rookie season he is the first American on the F1 grid in over 8 years and is doing an okay job so far. He has struggled to match the pace of his teammate but with that being said he has gained the second most positions on opening laps (17x) with Sergio Perez leading that statistic. However, Logan is one of the drivers who could potentially be under threat for his seat with rumours going around that Mick Schumacher wants his seat and Mercedes could use Williams to home F2 driver Frederick Vesti if he wins the F2 championship this season, Logan will need to show his talent in the second half of this season.
Check out the links below to the OTRL Instagram stories to let us know your opinion on each driver's 2023 season so far.
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