Best F1 driver of the year: 2023 Season Review Awards

2023 Season Review Awards in association with

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Voting has now closed in the Season Review Awards. Check back at the end of the month for the results

If F1 records were trophies then Max Verstappen would have left a trail of shattered crystal and silverware in his wake this year, as he reached levels of dominance unmatched in F1 history. His scintillating performances, matched with the irresistible force that was the Red Bull RB19 was simply unstoppable in 2023. A total of 19 wins from 22 races says it all.

But was Verstappen the best driver on the grid in 2023? That’s the question we’re posing as part of our Season Review Awards, where we are asking you, our readers to choose your driver of the year, along with five other categories including best race and best overtake.

Naturally this year’s champion is on the shortlist, but the others didn’t always have a car that matched their talent. Lando Norris who began the season finishing last in an underwhelming McLaren and finished it as the joint-second highest podium scorer — an effort that helped secure fourth for McLaren in the constructors’ standings. Fernando Alonso‘s season went in the opposite direction, as his first campaign with Aston Martin got off to a flying start with six top three finishes in the first eight races of the season and the 42-year-old showed that he won’t shy away from a battle. The final nominee is Alex Albon who seized an improving Williams by the scruff of its neck, outqualified his rookie team-mate in every single round this year, and recorded a series of points finishes to lead the team to its best finish since 2017.

•  Season Review Awards: see full shortlist

Every voter will be entered into a prize draw to win two Goodwood Season Tickets worth over £1900, which will give admission to every day of next year’s Members’ Meeting, Festival of Speed and Revival, as well as grandstand access.

 

Fernando Alonso

On March 23 2003, Fernando Alonso stood on an F1 podium for the first time at the age of just 22. Twenty years, three new teams, and two-world championships later, the Spaniard stood atop another podium, having beaten Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz to third in the dying stages of the season-opening 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix — overtaking the former with an audacious pass. After coming out of a short-lived retirement in 2021 and struggling to find the right car at Alpine, Alonso’s Aston Martin debut was hard proof that he hadn’t lost a step — even in his old(er) age — and it was ultimately just a taste of what was to come in 2023.

Further podium visits in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Miami, Monaco and Canada saw Alonso rival Sergio Pérez for second in the championship, partly thanks to his tenacity that saw him pull off more thrilling passes.

Some underperforming car upgrades meant Alonso’s talent slipped out of the limelight towards the end of the season, but the double world champion was still knuckling down in the midfield and ready to take opportunities when they presented themselves: he took second in treacherous conditions at Zandvoort before passing Sergio Perez on the final lap for a podium place in Sao Paulo.

“It was unthinkable 12 months ago that we would be in position,” said Alonso ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. “I’ve enjoyed every single race.”

 

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Alex Albon

Few drivers thrive after being spewed out of the Red Bull driver programmed, but two years after Alex Albon was ejected from his seat alongside Max Verstappen, the 27-year-old has shown exactly why he was fast-tracked Red Bull in the first place.

This was his second year at Williams, following a 2022 season where anybody would have struggled to shine in the dismal Williams. But, armed with a 2023 car that was regularly competitive in the midfield, Albon quickly demonstrated his talent. A top ten finish in Bahrain opened the season on a high. The team then struggled but Albon was quick to return to the front of the midfield in Canada where he finished an impressive seventh — keeping the faster cars of Ocon and Stroll behind.

Further points finishes at Silverstone, Zandvoort, Monza, COTA and Mexico City increased Albon’s standing in the paddock and has resulted Williams’ highest finishing position in the constructors’ standings since 2017 — its lead driver having scored 97% of the team’s total points and outqualified rookie Logan Sergeant ahead of every grand prix and sprint race.

 

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Lando Norris

Lando Norris has shown supreme patience in his wait for a race-winning McLaren. While former F2 rivals George Russell and Alex Albon have each had their turn in front-running machinery, Norris has been forced to battle in the midfield with only occasional shots at pole position or a race victory.

That began to change in 2023 though. McLaren began the season in dire straits, with what appeared to be the slowest car on the grid. Norris eventually emerged near the front at the Austrian Grand Prix with an upgraded MCL60. He finished an impressive fourth, which was followed by a second-place finish on home soil at Silverstone, marking the start of what was to come, as he would finish on the podium six times in the next 11 races.

Karun Chandok dubbed him the “second-best driver on the grid” after Max Verstappen. His qualifying performances, which have seen him on the front row this year, have shown his outright pace, while defending at Silverstone against Lewis Hamilton proved once again his supreme racecraft.

 

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Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen may never hit the heights of 2023 ever again in his career. Last year’s dominant champion hit new heights in 2023, on his way to retaining the title for the second time.

The figures say it all: a record 19 grand prix victories in total — including a ten win streak from Miami to Monza; a record 1003 laps led; a record 575 points earned; and the biggest-ever winning margin of 290 points. He now stands as the third most-successful F1 driver in terms of victories, with this year’s wins pushing him past the tallies of Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. With 54 Grand Prix wins, he only sits behind behind Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Yes, he had the dominant car, but the 26-year-old was on a different plane to team-mate Sergio Pérez. He qualified on pole for 52% of the year’s races — and won every single one — but also showed that he could roll up his sleeves and win wheel-to-wheel or strategic battles when fighting from behind.

He kept a cool head when needed; charged at the right time; and has mastered the critical art of tyre preservation, which is an essential ingredient to success in modern F1. With that sort of all-round ability, no wonder rivals struggled to find a chink in his armour.