Verstappen closes in on third title

After the first 17 rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is the clear leader in the title fight thanks to 13 wins.

Verstappen also managed to rack up 10 wins in a row this season, which is a new F1 record. The previous record of nine was set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, also driving for Red Bull. Verstappen is also on pace to surpass his own record of 15 wins in a single season, which he claimed last year. The previous record for wins in a season stood at 13, held by both Vettel and Michael Schumacher.

Verstappen’s massive tally of wins, plus the efforts of teammate Sergio Perez, means Red Bull Racing has already won the 2023 Constructors’ title. The award came after the most recent race, the Japanese Grand Prix, which was won by Verstappen who also set pole. Verstappen also has the potential to score his third Drivers’ title at the next race, the Qatar Grand Prix.

Perez hasn’t managed to dominate the rest of the field together with Verstappen. Instead he has delivered an inconsistent performance the season, though he has managed to hold onto second in the rankings. Although showing potential early on, including winning two races, Perez has been hampered in multiple rounds by mishaps during qualifying, in several cases forcing him to start near the back of the grid.

Aston Martin has been the big surprise this season. Its star driver, Fernando Alonso, has delivered good results. He’s managed to finish on the podium six times, taking third in each of the races run in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Miami, and second in Monaco and the Netherlands.

McLaren has shown a resurgence in performance after the last set of upgrades to its cars. After failing to make headway in the first half of the season, its drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, have been near the front of the pack in recent races. They both also made the podium in Japan.

Piastri has been the most successful of this season’s rookie drivers. He’s managed to score 57 points, putting him ahead of more experienced drivers, such as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. The other rookies are Williams’ Logan Sargeant and AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries, though de Vries is no longer in F1 as AlphaTauri replaced him in July with more experienced driver Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the season. Ricciardo, however, has missed the last four races due to a wrist injury suffered during a practice session crash. He was replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson, who has impressed in each outing, including joining Piastri as a rookie driver with some points on the scoreboard following an impressive ninth-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Below are the 2023 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings:

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 400 points
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 223 points
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 190 points
4) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 174 points
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 150 points
6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 135 points
7) Lando Norris, McLaren – 115 points
8) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 115 points
9) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 57 points
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 47 points
11) Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 46 points
12) Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 38 points
13) Alexander Albon, Williams – 21 points
14) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas – 9 points
15) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo – 6 points
16) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo – 4 points
17) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri – 3 points
18) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 3 points
19) Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri – 2 points
20) Logan Sargeant, Williams – 0 points
21) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri – 0 points
22) Nyck De Vries, AlphaTauri – 0 points

Below are the 2023 F1 Constructors’ Championship standings:

1) Red Bull Racing – 623 points
2) Mercedes-Benz AMG – 305 points
3) Ferrari – 285 points
4) Aston Martin – 221 points
5) McLaren – 172 points
6) Alpine – 84 points
7) Williams – 21 points
8) Haas – 12 points
9) Alfa Romeo – 10 points
10) AlphaTauri – 5 points

Below are the 2023 F1 season race winners:

Bahrain Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Australian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Miami Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Canceled
Monaco Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Spanish Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Canadian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Austrian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
British Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Hungarian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Belgian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Dutch Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Italian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Singapore Grand Prix – Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Japanese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Qatar Grand Prix – TBD
United States Grand Prix – TBD
Mexican Grand Prix – TBD
Brazilian Grand Prix – TBD
Las Vegas Grand Prix – TBD
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – TBD