Johnny Herbert: ‘Mansell’s F1 car was fastest but he gave it everything. It was the same with Verstappen’

I know some people, myself included, would say the season was boring and predictable. But you have to give Red Bull credit, and the way Max Verstappen went about his season was something very special. Every time he gets in the car he’s on it, like all the great drivers. His domination has been compared to Michael Schumacher’s at Ferrari, but it reminded me of Nigel Mansell in 1992. In a Williams that was sometimes two seconds faster than the rest. Mansell still gave it everything, every single time – and that was the same with Max. He always drove right on the edge because that’s in his DNA. Yes, he had a dominant car but he was mighty. And he’s only getting stronger. Let’s hope he gets more of a challenge next time. He’ll enjoy that too.

Sergio Pérez started strongly, but middle to the end it wasn’t enough. He needs to up his game if he wants any chance of winning a championship – which doesn’t look likely.

Second doesn’t sound like a disaster, does it? But if you look at Mercedes’ year that’s what it was. Did its position just show how weak everyone else was? Probably. Mercedes is in a right predicament. In 2022 it said it knew what the fix was, but clearly didn’t. Even the change of concept after last season began showed only an inconsistent improvement. I’m not convinced the team has the magic touch any more.

Ferrari was stronger towards the end of the season and it was great to see Carlos Sainz get that win in Singapore. Charles Leclerc then showed his leadership qualities. Combined with Frédéric Vasseur’s increasing influence, I have a good feeling for Ferrari in 2024.

If you look at the top four, McLaren was the most improved across the season. The team had to up its game having started so poorly, but my, how well it did so. It was great to see Oscar Piastri win that sprint race in Qatar, but also the performances of Lando Norris as well. A really strong pairing for the future and I hope McLaren can keep up its momentum.

Fernando Alonso remains an incredible force, as we saw in Brazil in his battle with Pérez. That racing skill doesn’t disappear with age. He’s so exciting. Aston Martin even managed to mix it with Red Bull early on before the team lost its way. Now it’s down to the team to understand why the upgrades it brought to the car didn’t work. Aston should have been second or third given how it started, but only one driver seemed to be able to get the points for the team. Lance Stroll must up his game.

The management upheaval at Alpine didn’t help its cause at all. I had a lot of expectations at the beginning of the season, but it just didn’t happen for this troubled team. A lot of the older, experienced people such as Alan Permane and Pat Fry have gone, so what’s next? I worry for Alpine. I like Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, but it was a mixed season for both of them. Like the Mercedes drivers, I don’t think they knew what they were going to get every time they went out on to the track. That’s a theme for this generation of cars, actually.

In contrast, Williams was a good news story in 2023. Alex Albon has confidence to show his speed, especially on Saturdays, Logan Sargeant got stronger towards the end of the year and James Vowles made a big difference as team principal. As I said in this column, I was sceptical when he came in, but he has a very calm, methodical understanding of what he experienced at Mercedes and has taken that to Williams. The team put a smile on my face.

AlphaTauri had a nice performance jump in the latter stages to rise to eighth, didn’t it? That’s a cause of controversy given its relationship with Red Bull, but it’s hardly something new. Yuki Tsunoda actually shone, particularly in qualifying. Daniel Ricciardo did a good job when he came back, but he wasn’t spectacular. Mexico was great, but that was it. But what Liam Lawson did against Tsunoda was spectacular, I’d say.

As I said last month, Sauber appears to be treading water, making up the numbers until Audi comes in. As for Haas, how the car chewed through its tyres left Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg severely limited.

So was this a poor season? It was predictable, which isn’t good. But the racing behind Red Bull was good, mixed up and close. The potential is there, with a great bunch of drivers who are maturing and getting better. Red Bull is dominant – but can the team keep it going? There are no guarantees.

---

Johnny Herbert was a Formula 1 driver from 1989-2000 and a Le Mans winner in 1991
Follow Johnny on Twitter @johnnyherbertf1