A Formula 1 driver’s first rival has traditionally always been the person situated on the opposite side of the garage. It’s a sense that comes innately; with (virtually) identical equipment at their disposal, the intra-team battle for supremacy serves as a litmus test, even a baptism of fire in some cases.
Despite the overwhelmingly dominant campaign delivered by now three-time World Champion Max Verstappen, 2023 was no exception to the rule.
Seven drivers began the year with 23 (later 22) races to demonstrate their value to their employers in hopes of a seat for 2024, while three rookies joined the crop in Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries, who only lasted 10 rounds.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year since the lights went out for the season-opener in Bahrain back in March, but which drivers head into the New Year with bragging rights over their contemporary?
Red Bull: Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez
Championship Standings: 1st-2nd
Qualifying Head-to-Head: 20-2
Grand Prix Poles: 12-2
Grand Prix H2H: 20-2
Grand Prix Wins: 19-2
GP Podiums: 21-9
Retirements: 0-2
Points: 575-285
The RB19 emerged as the car to beat right from the outset in 2023. And under the control of the reigning champion, the partnership became almost unstoppable. Verstappen broke record after record on his way to his third title which he claimed with six races still to be held.
As for Perez, the Mexican was comprehensively outclassed by his team-mate barring wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. A string of five consecutive Q3 absences and a multitude of clumsy crashes cast doubt on Perez’s future as he continued to struggle to get to grips with Red Bull’s creation.
But Perez survived a torrid season to retain his seat for 2024. However, eyes will be on him and the growing list of candidates that are eying up that coveted second seat.
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell
Championship Standings: 3rd-8th
Qualifying H2H: 11-11
Grand Prix Poles: 1-0
Grand Prix H2H: 15-7
Best finish: P2 (x3)-P3 (x2)
GP Podiums: 6-2
Retirements: 2-4
Points: 234-175
Hamilton may have lost out to Russell in 2022, but the seven-time World Champion regrouped strongly in 2023 to return the favour in an even more convincing fashion.
The season as a whole was a disappointing one for Mercedes as the Silver Arrows went winless for the first time since 2011. Russell remains Mercedes most recent victor but in his sophomore year with the team, the Briton was only able to pick up two podiums all campaign long.
The 25-year-old faced his fair share of misfortune when he suffered an engine failure in Australia while holding the net race lead. Strategy cost him dearly in Zandvoort, while he would go on to crash out of a certain podium in Singapore on the final lap and potentially cost himself another in Las Vegas when he came to blows with Verstappen midway through.
Hamilton claimed the team’s only pole of the year in Hungary, his first since Saudi Arabia 2021. The 38-year-old’s consistency was key to clinching third in the Drivers’ standings, finishing no lower than eighth position in every grand prix prior to the summer shutdown in early August.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend marked a deviation from that course as the team-mates clashed at Turn 1 on the opening lap, ending Hamilton’s night on the spot. A disqualification from second in Austin followed and the struggles then continued from Sao Paulo through to Abu Dhabi – but both drivers will be hoping that the W15 returns the marque to its former glory.
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz
Championship Standings: 5th-7th
Qualifying H2H: 15-7
Grand Prix Poles: 5-2
Grand Prix H2H: 12-10
Grand Prix Wins: 0 -1
GP Podiums: 6-2
Best finish: P2 (x3)-P1 (x1)
Retirements: 5-3
Points: 206-200
Just six points separated the Ferrari pairing as the chequered flag fell on their third season partnered together, but amid the slew of Red Bull victories in 2023, Sainz will be remembered as the only non-Red Bull driver to take the top step on Sunday all year. After a somewhat quiet start to the year, Sainz returned from the summer break rejuvenated as he took back-to-back poles in Monza – where he finished third – before converting pole into a standout victory at the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore.
The SF-23 was certainly no match for the RB19 in terms of raw performance. But with Leclerc behind the wheel? Just maybe. The Monegasque driver was hampered by bad luck all year having kept Verstappen honest in qualifying by reeling off five pole positions, including three late in the year.
Come race day, though, Ferrari had no response to Red Bull’s superior tyre management, but poor reliability, misfortune and strategy missteps saw a vast number of points go missing.
Leclerc missed out on a podium in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix due to an engine failure, resulting in a grid drop in Jeddah, which was followed by another retirement in Australia. Pole and third in Baku offered some solace as results began to improve but further misfortune struck with the disqualification in Austin and his formation-lap crash, triggered by an electronics problem, in Brazil
Despite the up-and-down year, there were promising signs for Ferrari looking ahead under the stewardship of Frederic Vasseur. The team finished three points shy of Mercedes in the standings but must fix its inconsistencies to take the challenge to Red Bull next season.
McLaren: Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri
Championship Standings: 6th-9th
Qualifying H2H: 15-7
Grand Prix H2H: 17 – 5
Best finish: P2 (x6)-P2 (x1)
GP Podiums: 7-2
Retirements: 1-3
Points: 205-97
McLaren got off to a shaky start to life in 2023 as the MCL60 arrived in Bahrain well adrift of its performance targets. However, the team performed one of the most impressive mid-season turnarounds in recent memory to cap off the season amongst Red Bull’s closest rivals.
Even before the crucial, season-saving upgrades that began arriving in Austria, Norris impressed before being catapulted to consecutive second-place finishes in Britain and Hungary. The Briton tallied seven podiums, a far cry from the four P17 finishes he claimed in the opening six rounds.
Paired with rookie Oscar Piastri, Norris excelled as a team leader, but there are still areas to improve and qualifying mistakes to iron out. Piastri went from strength to strength in 2023, justifying McLaren’s coup of the former Alpine junior and, in doing so, earning a contract with the Woking squad through 2026.
Retiring from his maiden race due to an electronics issue, the 2021 Formula 2 champion picked up his first points in his hometown of Melbourne. McLaren’s effective B-spec update started to arrive on the Australian’s car in Silverstone and welcomed newfound form that included consecutive podiums in Japan and Qatar, where he also claimed a victory in the Sprint.
As rookie seasons go, Piastri excelled. He may have finished some margin away from Norris in terms of overall points, but there is no doubt that he pushed his now experienced team-mate. McLaren heads into 2024 with undoubtedly one of the strongest driver pairings and a team on the right path.
Aston Martin: Lance Stroll vs Fernando Alonso
Championship Standings: 10th-4th
Qualifying H2H: 3-19
Grand Prix H2H: 4-18
Best finish: P4 (x1)-P2 (x3)
GP Podiums: 0-8
Retirements: 3-2
Points: 74-206
The team-mate battle at Aston Martin exposed one of the greatest disparities on the grid. Aston Martin was thrust into the limelight at pre-season testing where glimpses of a much-improved challenger were revealed to the world and the team delivered on those expectations early on.
Alonso delivered a daring drive in Bahrain to pick up his first of eight podiums in 2023, of which six came in the first eight rounds. A rejuvenated Alonso excelled throughout, reminding many why the now 42-year-old will long be regarded as one of the sport’s greatest talents. However, the efforts of the Spaniard and Aston Martin were very much limited by an uninspired Stroll.
To his credit, Stroll began the season on the backfoot after injuring his wrists in a pre-season cycling accident. The Canadian missed the entirety of testing, but he was still able to register an impressive sixth-place finish in Bahrain despite his limited knowledge of the AMR23. Stroll was unable to really improve on his Bahrain outing, picking up a single fourth place in a high-attrition race in Australia.
The Canadian was unable to reset during the summer break and continued to fall behind the exploits of his team-mate. Between events in Italy and Mexico, he was eliminated in Q1 on six successive occasions, including a sizeable shunt in Singapore that forced him to withdraw from the race.
Although Stroll recovered from 19th in Las Vegas to a commendable fifth, it is hard to ignore the massive points difference between him and his two-time champion sparring partner at the season’s close. It is imperative for Stroll that 2024 is a turning point to justify his position at a marque with ambitions of eventually becoming an established championship contender.
Alpine: Esteban Ocon vs Pierre Gasly
Championship Standings: 12th-11th
Qualifying H2H: 8-14
Grand Prix H2H: 11-11
Best finish: P3 (x1)-P3 (x1)
GP Podiums: 1-1
Retirements: 7-3
Points: 58-62
Ocon retired more times than any other driver in 2023, potentially costing the Frenchman in the championship battle with his compatriot. Ocon’s campaign was hit by several mechanical issues and Gasly held the advantage over one lap pace.
Both drivers picked up podiums – Ocon in Monaco, Gasly in Zandvoort – but also came to blows in Melbourne, costing the duo valuable points.
Tempers flared at various points, notably Japan when Gasly was ordered to let Ocon by at the finish line. However, with the pair still so evenly matched across their debut season together, the Enstone camp needs to find and maintain stability if it is to escape the mire of the midfield like its rivals.
Williams: Alex Albon vs Logan Sargeant
Championship Standings: 13th-21st
Qualifying H2H: 22-0
Grand Prix H2H: 19-3
Best finish: P7 (x2)-P10 (x1)
Retirements: 4-4
Points: 27-1
The Williams lineup exhibited yet another one-sided team-mate head-to-head as Albon continued to impress with a wealth of Q3 appearances and points-yielding performances. The Anglo-Thai driver has well established himself as Williams’ guiding light going forward, while Sargeant’s rookie season failed to deliver the same optimism despite a promising start.
The American may have bettered Albon’s race results thrice, but each occasion only came as a result of A retirement for Albon. A solitary point finally came on home soil for Sargeant, albeit as a result of disqualifications for both Leclerc and Hamilton.
Despite season-long teething problems, Sargeant’s performance was still enough to convince team boss James Vowles to re-sign the American for a sophomore campaign.
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda vs Nyck de Vries/Liam Lawson/Daniel Ricciardo
Championship Standings: 14th-22nd- 20th-17th
Qualifying Head-to-Head: 16-2-1-3
Grand Prix H2H: 13-2-4-3
Best finish: P8 (x2)-P12 (x1)-P9 (x1)-P7 (x1)
Retirements: 3-2-0-0
Points: 17-0-2-6
It was a long and eventful season for all the wrong reasons for AlphaTauri, who had signed ex-Formula E champion de Vries to compete alongside Tsunoda for the 2023 campaign.
De Vries failed to make a mark and was dropped for Daniel Ricciardo, who had returned to the Red Bull fold after being dropped by McLaren, for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
However, Ricciardo picked up an injury during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, resulting in Liam Lawson bursting onto the scene to perform reserve duties having been snubbed out of a full-time role on two occasions.
Amid the driver merry-go-round, Tsunoda knuckled down and profited from the Faenza side’s late renaissance to help AlphaTauri climb to eighth, having picked up only three points up to Round 14.
AlphaTauri is another team in desperate need of stability as long-serving Team Principal Franz Tost departs and is to be replaced by former Ferrari man Laurent Mekies.
As for Lawson, the New Zealander was exceptional in his short stint for the side and will be watching in the wings again in ’24 with the long-term plans for Red Bull’s driver pool yet to be solidified.
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas vs Guanyu Zhou
Championship Standings: 15th-18th
Qualifying H2h: 16-6
Grand Prix H2H: 12-10
Best finish: P8 (x2)-P9 (x3)
Retirements: 3-3
Points: 10-6
Alfa Romeo’s final year with the Sauber F1 team didn’t exactly live up to expectations as, once again, the team languished towards the lower order throughout the season. The side slipped backwards as the year progressed, but the Qatar GP resulted in a first and only double points finish of the season.
Former multiple-time grand prix Bottas maintained his footing as the team’s front-runner, particularly in qualifying. However, a less than efficient C43 saw the Finn sink down the order from his frequent Q3 grid spots into the lower order mix come the endurance aspect of a weekend on Sunday.
Haas: Kevin Magnussen vs Nico Hulkenberg
Championship Standings: 19th-16th
Qualifying Head-to-Head: 7-15
Grand Prix H2H: 9-13
Best finish: P10 (x3)-P7 (x1)
Retirements: 3-1
Points: 3-9
Hulkenberg made a full-time return to F1 for 2023, having lost his seat at Renault at the end of 2019. The German’s return to action saw him breeze past Magnussen in both head-to-heads.
The Kannapolis squad may have finished bottom of the standings, but there were still promising signs as Team Principal Guenther Steiner turned his attention to a more experienced driver lineup.
Hulkenberg asserted himself as a one-lap specialist and was only eliminated from Q1 on five occasions versus Magnussen’s 12. However, the Haas suffered greatly over a race distance as its tyres began to fall away, leaving points a rarity for both drivers.
The team was unable to reverse its slump which Steiner put down to the original concept of the VF-23. Thankfully, the only way is up for F1’s sole American outfit…
