F1 2023 season still exciting for 4 reasons despite Max Verstappen's title win
Max Verstappen ended the 2023 'title race' at the Qatar Grand Prix. Well, mathematically at least.
In truth, the season was much, much younger when it became clear that no one was going to catch the Dutchman. His drive from ninth on the grid to win the Miami Grand Prix at a canter broke Sergio Perez – and that was at the start of May.
As for Red Bull's constructors' championship success, that outcome was abundantly clear even earlier. George Russell said after the first race in Bahrain that they would probably go on to win every race this year, and he wasn't far off.
So both titles have already been secured and there are still five full race weekends to go, including two Sprints. Fortunately, there is still plenty to be resolved in the final weeks of the campaign to keep us all entertained:
More Red Bull records?
Despite sewing up his third F1 crown, Verstappen's work this year is not yet done. He has 14 Grand Prix victories to his name and needs one more to match the current record of 15 in a single season... which he set last year. Given his form, it will be a surprise if he doesn't break it, by a few.
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His Red Bull team is also on for a similar record. The most won by a single constructor in one season is 19, achieved by Mercedes in 2016 as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg gave everything to beat each other to the drivers' crown. Red Bull are on 16, having failed to win just once so far, in Singapore.
Hamilton vs Perez
Given the pace advantage the Red Bulls have had this season, no driver other than Sergio Perez should even be close to the runner-up spot at this stage of the campaign. But the Mexican's struggles have opened the door for Hamilton, who is just 30 points behind.
Perez's struggles have given Hamilton a chance (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Perez was gifted a golden opportunity to strike a blow to the Brit's chances of leapfrogging him before the end of the year, when Hamilton crashed out at the first corner in a collision with team-mate Russell. But he finished just 10th to score one single point, his race hampered heavily by no fewer than three separate penalties for constantly exceeding track limits.
Could Lando finally do it?
His talent is undeniable, but Lando Norris is still yet to win an F1 race in 99 starts. He's come close on several occasions but breaking that duck has proven to be a challenge. Given McLaren's improvement this season to become a chief challenge to Red Bull in the most recent rounds, the start might finally be aligning for the 23-year-old.
Make no mistake, Verstappen will not be providing any gimmes – even if Norris is his best pal in F1. But if the Dutchman makes a rare mistake or suffers a mechanical issue in any of the final five races, then Norris and rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri, enjoying a stellar debut season, look best placed to take advantage.
Viva Las Vegas!
Move over Monaco – there's a new glamour event on the F1 calendar. The sport returns to the Nevadan city after an absence of more than 40 years and will be putting on a much higher-profile event than the botched Caesars Palace Grands Prix of the early 1980s, which took place in the car park of the eponymous hotel.
This time the cars will be barrelling down the Las Vegas Strip on a Saturday night. It remains to be seen whether the street track will be any good for racing, but the event itself should be an eye-opener.
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