The F1 season ended Sunday, Nov. 26 with Max Verstappen winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the F1 world championship for the third year in a row.
Max Verstappen first came onto the F1 scene in 2015 at age 17, making him the youngest F1 competitor ever. Racing for the Red Bull team, Verstappen helped them in 2021 to their first championship since 2013, and he hasn’t stopped since, dethroning F1 royalty Lewis Hamilton.
Abu Dhabi was just a formality in 2023, however, and so were the five previous races — Las Vegas, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Qatar. Verstappen had actually clinched the world championship a month and a half earlier before the main race in Qatar on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Winning 19 out of 22 races, Verstappen had an 86% win rate (the highest ever) and toppled the old record of 15 wins in one season … set by him in 2022. Verstappen also won 10 consecutive races (another record) and the highest percentage of points available (92.74%), also beating the previous record set by himself in 2022.
To find a driver even close to him in the modern era, you have to go back to Michael Schumacher’s 2004 season, where he won only 13 races and had a 72.22% win rate.
And out of the 775 drivers who have competed in F1 races since 1950, only 17 drivers have scored 19 wins in their entire career. Verstappen did this in a single season.
How is it that Verstappen could have a season so dominant — so historic — that many are already predicting there will never be another season like it?
The answer is about more than just the driver.
It’s the community built around Max Verstappen: a community comprising three main parts.
First? His teammate.
Each team has two racers, and while undoubtedly second fiddle on Red Bull’s team, 33-year-old Sergio “Checo” Pérez snatched two of the three Prix wins not won by Verstappen. Pérez still drove well despite his slide in performance in the second half of the season.
“He’s had a slump this season but secured P2 [second place] in the driver’s championship,” junior Andrei Perepelitsa said. “Checo’s managed to consistently fight for high points positions despite the issues [with handling the car].”
Second? The team.
Red Bull has a win-at-all-costs mentality when it comes to supporting their drivers, willing to incur a $7 million fine for going over budget to help Verstappen win.
“The team-driver pairing didn’t disappoint,” junior Andrew Sazykin said. “[Verstappen]’s most recent win in Abu Dhabi gives a prime example of the power of the dominant duo.”
Red Bull Racing is simply by far the strongest team, which was confirmed by Red Bull winning the 2023 Constructors Champion by more than double the amount of points as the next strongest competitor, Mercedes.
“The best team and driver combination almost always wins, and the current RB-Verstappen combination…is certainly no exception,” Sazykin said.
Third? The car.
Powered by a superb Honda engine and a lightweight chassis, RB19 has a revolutionary drag reduction system that keeps the car on the ground and preserves tire durability.
“The RB19 is going to be remembered for years as the most dominant car in the history of the sport,” Perepelitsa said.
The power of RB19 even allowed teammate Pérez to take second place despite his continued slump.
“Pérez’s performance this season is a testament to how incredible the RB19 is,” Perepelitsa said.
Ultimately, Red Bull and Verstappen had a near monopoly on success this season, much to the anger of those looking for a close race.
“It was frustrating knowing that Max was going to win every race before it even happened,” Perepelitsa said.
But at the end of the day, the best driver always deserves to win, especially if the best driver is leagues ahead of everyone else.
“Some fans refuse to watch F1 altogether anymore, [but] it is important to remember that F1 is a meritocracy,” Sazykin said.
And it’s important to remember that the F1 season extended far beyond just Verstappen. For instance, the battle between the other teams for runner-up was exhilarating.
“This season…was actually incredibly close between the other teams,” Perepelitsa said. “Second place in the constructor’s championship wasn’t decided until the last few laps of the last race.”
By contrast, the tough competitions between the other drivers was likewise thrilling.
“The season will be remembered for having many exciting and competitive battles among the rest of the field,” Sazykin said. “[Look at] the Alonso-Perez battle in Brazil for 3rd and the nail-biting battle for the lead in Singapore, the only race Red Bull didn’t win.”
As the sport prepares for the start of the 2024 season on March 2 in Bahrain, fans are still hopeful for the competitive future of F1.
“It’s history being made, and we should realize that,” Perepelitsa said. “The sport is in a good spot if you really look at it.”
