Best F1 team of the year: 2023 Season Review Awards
Red Bull conquered all but don't overlook achievements elsewhere on the grid
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In a season where Red Bull ran an almost perfect campaign, winning 21 rounds out of a possible 22, and sealing a sixth constructors’ title with six rounds to spare, it might seem that there’s only one candidate for team of the year.
But behind the relentless success of the frontrunners were other triumphs from teams that made huge leaps in 2023 or, as in the case of McLaren, made an impressive comeback. After beginning the season mired at the back of the grid, the papaya cars ended it in Abu Dhabi in contention for pole position and at least a podium finish. Elsewhere, Aston Martin began the season as Red Bull’s closest challenger and picked up eight podium finishes across the year, while Williams became a genuine midfield contender and recorded its best season since 2017.
• Season Review Awards: see full shortlist
We’re asking you to pick your F1 team of the year in our 2023 Season Review Awards, alongside five other categories, including best driver, best overtake and best race. Every voter will be entered into a draw to win two 2024 Goodwood Season Tickets worth more than £1900, which include general admission to every day of next year’s Members’ Meeting, Festival of Speed and Revival, as well as grandstand access.
McLaren
What started with disappointment ended with pole positions and a sprint race win for McLaren in 2023
DPPI
McLaren arrived for the first Grand Prix of 2023 in Bahrain knowing that its design department had taken a wrong turn, and so it proved, with one car failing to finish and another so slow that it treated the Bahrain GP as an extended testing session.
Initially the dismal performances continued and the team failed to score in five of the first eight races but behind the scenes, staff at its Technology Centre HQ were working on a spectacular turnaround. As upgrades filtered through towards the middle of the season, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri kept moving forwards until bursting on to the front row at the British Grand Prix where Norris qualified second and Piastri third; the former securing a podium finish in the race where Piastri came in fourth.
But the best was still to come. Eight podium finishes in the next 12 races — with a 2-3 finish in Qatar plus a sprint win for Piastri — reinstated McLaren as a front-running team. There were a few errors and underperformances, but overall, if it had started the season in a similar fashion to how it ended it, Ferrari and Mercedes may have been squabbling for third in the constructors’ championship.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin: 2023’s best success story?
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The shock news from pre-season testing was that the speculation about Aston Martin’s progress over winter appeared to be true. It had left Abu Dhabi in 2022 as the seventh fastest constructor while still struggling with consistency and performance from its Mercedes power unit. But at the first race of 2023, new hire Fernando Alonso was quickest behind the Red Bulls.
By the halfway point of the season, Alonso had scored podium finishes in six of the first 11 races; the 42-year-old appearing to have lost none of his pace as he scored 73.5% of the team’s points.
Some development miscalculations during the season saw rivals overtake the Silverstone-based team, but its early success and promise for 2024, sees Aston Martin end the year as one of the most transformed teams of 2023.
Williams
Williams returned to the midfield in 2023 — an exciting sign of things to come?
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Williams has struggled in recent years, often taking one step forward with a surprise result before then taking two steps back due to the underperformance of its own car. But in 2023, everything seemed to change.
The addition of James Vowles as the team’s new principal, combined with a car that looked more competitive than it has done for years, saw Williams finally on an upward trend. The car began with mixed fortunes from early races, then in Canada, Alex Alex Albon showed conclusive proof that the FW45 had pace: finishing seventh ahead of midfield competitor Alpine and even one of the Aston Martins.
Further points finishes at Silverstone, Zandvoort, Monza, Losail, COTA and Mexico City helped lift Williams off the bottom of the constructors’ ladder and a smart strategy allowed it to stay ahead of AlphaTauri on the final day to claim seventh in the constructors’ standings — the teams highest finish since 2017.
Red Bull
On its day — of which there were many — Red Bull were an unbeatable force in 2023
Red Bull
No car has ever been more dominant and no team has ever been more consistent than Red Bull were in 2023. The RB19 was head and shoulders above every other car on the grid, but the team wasn’t complacent: a 100% reliability record in races meant that neither car retired as a result of a fault in 22 rounds of racing, while pitwall strategy regularly outwitted any rivals who looked threatening.
The consistent pace of Max Verstappen made for a formidable package and although Sergio Perez struggled to keep pace with the world champion elect, he did score two early season victories of his own as well as two pole positions.
All told, Red Bull now possess records for the most victories (both consecutive and total), the most points, the most sprint victories, the most laps led and the largest winning margin in an F1 season. It truly was one for the ages.