Next season’s grid is starting to take shape. Big hitters like Lewis Hamilton are already representing a team, and the face of the Mercedes team is already set in stone, alongside the other major teams, such as Ferrari and Red Bull.
Max Verstappen is the main man for Red Bull, looking to add a third consecutive F1 title to his collection. The odds makers are fairly convinced he will do it as well. He is a clear favorite in the outright markets to win the 2023 title.
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While looking at the big names in Formula 1, it isn’t easy to look any further than Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen is a young and upcoming superstar, and although Hamilton has seven titles compared to Verstappen’s two, the Belgian star is only 25 years of age.
Their fierce rivalry has pitted them against each other in several key races over the last 18 months. They will likely reignite this rivalry as they have already confirmed who they will be driving for next season.
Even though some big teams seem to play musical chairs with several different drivers and shop around before settling on a face to lead their team, Red Bull and Mercedes have had their main drivers cemented to their positions for quite some time.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is the face of Mercedes. Although his contract is due to expire in 2023, he has already ruled out a move to Ferrari, citing loyalty to his existing employers. It’ll be interesting to see what Hamilton decides to do at the end of this season.
Many fans and experts believe he is starting to lose ground to the youthful exuberance and tenacity of Max Verstappen. Although Hamilton has stated that he will continue in F1 once his contract has expired, he has also hinted at retirement.
In any event, he is still contracted to Mercedes and will be racing for them this year. As the highest earner in Formula 1, questions will linger about whether he will want to retire into the sunset. Conversely, he is tied with Michael Schumacher at seven world titles and needs one more to break the record.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history. If he could wind back the years one last time and win the championship for the eighth time, there wouldn’t be much debate that he is the best Formula 1 driver of all time.
Max Verstappen
Verstappen will have other ideas. With many experts excited at the possibility of him entering the prime of his career, it’s difficult to see anybody beating him throughout the 2023 season.
He will be determined to make it three in a row and will want to close ground on Hamilton and Schumacher in the all-time list.
Any Formula 1 campaign has shocks and surprises, and no doubt this season will provide plenty of drama and tumultuous moments for drivers, teams and fans alike.
Red Bull has tied down Verstappen with a bumper deal which will have him racing for them until 2028. By then, he may have caught up with Hamilton. Nevertheless, he will face his competition, and some rookies entering the F1 this year might fancy themselves as wildcards to upset the status quo.
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari has Leclerc and Hamilton both tied into deals. However, with Hamilton’s due to expire at the end of this year and Leclerc’s contract expiring the following year, there will be some big decisions for the team to make over the next 12 months.
The Monaco-born driver finds himself at a crossroads in his career. He is the same age as Verstappen but has yet to make a real dent in the top end of the sport.
His 2022 Australian Grand Prix victory was his first career grand slam, and he will be looking to add a few more to his tally this year to land a contract post-2024 either with Ferrari or one of the other big teams.
He finds himself ranked highly this year, and if he can begin to race at the level that Ferrari believes he is capable of, he could make it a very interesting season.
Conclusion
We have covered off the three big names in Formula 1 today. However, with Lewis Hamilton coming towards the twilight of his incredible career, there is room for a new face to become a regular feature on the podium.
Verstappen and Leclerc are the frontrunners, but the rookies moving into the F1 will be eager to prove themselves against the biggest names in the sport. They’ll also want to prove themselves to the biggest teams to land the best deals.
