F1 2023 Season: Miles’ Predictions
Credit: @AstonMartinF1
My turn! It is said that fortune telling has been a widely expressed facet of the human condition since time began. Wow, that sounded smart. Anyway, what I want to say is that, as with predictions about anything, I could be completely and utterly wrong about any one of the below points - it’s all just for a bit of fun.
Now, I may not have been watching F1 as long as Manav and Aashish, however I think I have a solid enough grasp of the sport and its recent history to make some safe (and some more out-there) predictions about the upcoming season. I’ve saved the most unorthodox predictions for last, so read on:
Driver’s Championship Final Standings
Starting off with the main prediction of the season - I’ve put together below my top 10 drivers, from the champion to 10th in the standings. Bear in mind that this is all me spitballing, so please don’t take it to heart if your favourite driver is either not on the list or lower down than you’d like!
World Champion - Max Verstappen
Now, I’d say I’ve been pretty conservative with this one; having won the past two championships in a row, I think Max will continue his reign of terror in F1 and clinch his third - and perhaps not last title, but not without some resistance from the best of the rest on the grid.
2nd Place - George Russell
It will be interesting to see how the most successful Formula One team of the past decade will bounce back (if at all, that is) from their decidedly bleak and forgettable 2022 campaign, despite their efforts. I feel George Russell has improved overall as a driver and teammate since his days at the historic Williams team and something tells me that this coming season will be the one in which he’s able to fully spread his wings and challenge for a title. After all, we did see a flash of winning brilliance from the Brit at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
3rd Place - Charles Leclerc
F1’s most successful Monegasque was seemingly at the top of everybody’s lists in terms of a shot at a WDC at the beginning of last season - especially after bringing home Ferrari’s first win since Sebastian Vettel’s fairytale victory at Singapore in 2019. In spite of this, poor old Charles didn’t have the smoothest of times in 2022. Factoring in mechanical faults, the odd spin (who can forget France?) and horrendous tyre and pit-stop strategies, Charles’ championship hopes faded race by race. I hope he and Ferrari have had a good sit-down and can be up there at the top again this year.
4th Place - Sergio Pérez
Red Bull’s stalwart second driver, the lovingly-nicknamed “Checo”, is a fantastically talented driver in my eyes and I’m sure you’ll agree too. He has gained the title of “Minister of Defence” through his skillful displays of defensive driving, whilst also showing off his sixth-sense for tyre wear and grip levels. Despite all this, I believe Red Bull will never allow him the same level of glory that Max has (and most likely will continue to) over the years. His ability as a driver will place him fourth in the standings, but no higher.
5th Place - Lewis Hamilton
Statistically the best racing driver that Britain has produced, our Lewis had a pretty bumpy 2022, having broken his streak of winning at least one race every year of his career. Rumour has it that Mercedes’ W14 will be leagues better than its 2022 predecessor, the forgettable W13, although Team Principal Toto Wolff has claimed that their car may still be behind that of their prime competitor, Red Bull. Team LH will surely be hoping for a huge comeback this year, however I personally don’t see this happening - I could easily be proven very wrong though!
6th Place - Fernando Alonso
Bet you weren’t expecting to see this guy so high up! Hear me out: A highly experienced driver that’s been in the sport for the best part of 20 years - and is considered one of the best the world has ever seen - joins a relatively young team in an unexpected signing. Does any of this sound familiar? For reference, I’m alluding to the great Michael Schumacher and his signing to the then brand-new Mercedes team in 2010. For Mercedes as a constructor, the rest is history and that history (I would argue) is partly thanks to Michael’s efforts to develop the car. I have great expectations for Fernando this season.
7th Place - Carlos Sainz
Being the son of the two-time rallying world champion Carlos Sainz Sr., the current Ferrari driver has a decent heritage and racing reputation to live up to. With one win to his name, Carlos will want to bump up that number, yet something tells me that the Maranello outfit will have a car and strategy that’s rife with issues, for which I’m sure we all felt some sympathy last year.
8th Place - Lando Norris
Yet to taste victory in Formula One, the young Brit has a lot to prove. Bound to McLaren until the end of 2025, many are hoping that Lando will be able to restore glory to the Woking-based team and many more foresee his first win this year. I think he may well achieve this goal, but setbacks caused by a generally uncompetitive car will land him no higher than 8th in the standings.
9th Place - Esteban Ocon
Since his maiden win at Hungary in 2021, the closest the Frenchman has come to a repeat of this was a P4 finish at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. Will 2023 be the year he claims his second victory and edges that bit closer to the limelight? Only time will tell, of course, but I predict that Ocon will just about make it into the top 10 this year and mostly fly under the radar as he did the year prior.
10th Place - Oscar Piastri
After the whole Alpine-McLaren contract debacle, the young Aussie’s rookie F1 season will be one to be watched with great interest. He has stormed up the ranks, through F4 all the way to F2 and is expected to become quite the asset to the McLaren team over the next few seasons. Whether he will be able to outmuscle and outpace his more experienced teammate is a hotly debated topic - I believe experience will come out on top in this instance. Perhaps Piastri will have a fantastic first season in the sport; we’ll have to wait and see…
Potential surprises and upsets
With three new rookies, the return of a familiar face, new team management, improved cars and another track added to the calendar, the 2023 season will definitely be one to watch and if you were thinking of getting into F1, now is a better time than ever before. All this said, what could we expect to see over the next 10 months of racing action?
Do you remember at the start of this article when I said I’d left the more outlandish predictions until last? These are those predictions - so strap in.
Fernando Alonso will win at least one race for Aston Martin
Yep, you read that right - and I genuinely believe it. Let’s get into my reasoning for this: Eric Blandin, AMR’s Deputy Technical Chief, has stated that the team is “95% different” after having signed the Spaniard and seeing him perform tests and give feedback. Blandin claimed also - in an interview for the Aston Martin website - that “So much of the AMR23 is new… We've changed more than 90 per cent of the parts”, while further hinting at a completely novel and overhauled aero package.
All of this leads me to believe that, while the team may not see constructor’s glory, Alonso will yet again outperform the car he is given, as he has historically. Such is the mark of a supremely gifted driver worthy of a place in the history books; I believe the man from Oviedo will pull off a shockingly successful season (within reason, of course).
Nico Hülkenberg will achieve his first podium finish
184 race starts and 521 points into his career in the sport, Nico will want this upcoming season to be known as the one in which he claims his first P3-or-higher finish. Whether this will prove achievable in Haas’ VF-23 is frankly up in the air, although hopes seem to be high after the team brought on board a huge new investor in MoneyGram at the end of October last year, therefore granting more financial resources to dedicate to better performing components for their midfield challenger cars.
Lando Norris nabs his maiden victory in 2023
All eyes are on the 23-year old after signing a long-term contract with McLaren last year, the expectation being to win his first race. With questions regarding McLaren’s 2023 car and how it will perform, uncertainty hovers over the team and - more prominently - its current most experienced driver. I’m sure Lando believes that it’s high time for him to demonstrate his skill.
Conclusion
So, that about wraps it up for me! With the 2023 season rapidly approaching, all eyes will be on the world’s 20 best racing drivers, 10 best teams and arguably the one best motorsport category there is. Will any of my predictions become a reality? Will any of Manav or Aashish’s? Only time will tell. What we do know is:
It’ll all be covered here, on Race Reaction.
