It’s that time again before the start of the 2023 season to throw out our projections regarding the Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings – who will win and will drop down the order.
It is incredibly difficult to predict the Formula 1 Driver’s standing because there are so many different variable which come into play. These include.
- The Formula 1 Drivers’ skill.
- The car.
- The weather.
- The different tracks.
- Other unpredictable factors such as politics (if certain tracks ae cancelled etc)
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings 2023 Season
The 2022 silly season is over and now it’s time to start putting our money where our mouth is and throw some predictions in the bowl.
First To Third Place
In our opinion there will be three drivers vying for the first three places .
Max Verstappen – Red Bull
Whatever your opinion of Max Whatever it is impossible to deny his sheer skill. With the skill also comes a ruthless determination to win, and when the competition is close he is not scared of wheel to wheel, “winner take all” scraps.
At the same time, Max is human (despite what his detractors say) and can make mistakes.
Despite the Red Bull dominance in the last 2/3rds of the 2022 season, the start was run neck and neck with Ferrari, and Red Bull where let down by costly reliability issues.
He is now a two time world champion and there is nothing to indicate that Red Bull’s run will be halted.
Having said that, while Ferrari provided a neck and neck competition in the first part of the 2022 season, the last two thirds were run at the front of the pack.
With a competitor able to run closer in 2023 the margins may not be so large.
Hemet Marko (Red Bull) has said publicly that Mercedes is the team they will watch closely in 2023.
Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
George Russel achieved a higher place then Lewis in the 2022 standings.
2022 was a horrible year for Lewis and the team that only managed 3rd place in the constructor’s championship. Realistically the 2022 results did not show the real situation.
In the beginning of 2022 Lewis used a lot of the races to test several different setting to try and get to the bottom of the cars issues.
This means that he missed scoring in races where he may have been able to on the “factory” settings.
Lewis has said that he is not finished yet, and with a resurgent Mercedes (hopefully), he is the one driver who has the skill, experience and ruthless ability to challenge Max.
The only hesitation we have is from Toto Wolff who has said the comeback may not happen in one year.
George Russell – Mercedes
Russel is an amazing driver, who has managed to beat the mighty Lewis Hamilton in his first year with the team.
He also managed a sole victory in Brazil which was the only one for Mercedes in 2022.
He has the driving skill, mental ability and emotional maturity to challenge the front of the pack.
George has got a long road ahead of him, where he has the potential to become one of the “greats”.
Unfortunately, the team was telling the truth. The car suffered from excessive porpoising, the engine did not have the power of the Ferrari or Red Bull cars, and during the early part of the season, it was a mid-pack runner at best.
We are sure that he is looking forward to a more competitive 2023 car. Toto Wolf is not sure that the gains they need will be achieved in 2023.
Our Predictions On The Top Three Result
Our predictions for the top three spots are listed below.
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1st |
| 2nd | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 6th |
| 3rd | George Russel | Mercedes | 4th |
Fourth To Six Place
This is probably the result which is the most difficult to predict.
In our opinion there will be three drivers vying for these positions.
Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
It isn’t easy to describe the year that Charles Leclerc endured in 2022.
Ferrari started the year out as a viable competitor to Red bull. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and despite 9 pole positions, 3 fastest laps, and 11 podiums, he only won 3 races.
One would imagine that this places him in a commanding position for 2023. The one thing which is standing in the way is sudden change in leadership with Mattia Binotto resigning and Fred Vasseur (Ex Alfa Romeo) taking over is going to place a huge pressure in the team.
The disruption in leadership is never easy. It is going to be particularly hard for Ferrari because the cars reliability is the main issue.
Mattia Binotto was considered one of the finest engineers on the grid and would have therefore been in the ideal position to fix the problem.
Sergio Perez – Red Bull
Sergio Perez is one of the most liked drivers in the F1 paddock. He has also been the best “second” driver at Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo moved from the team to join Renault.
Charles Leclerc and Sergio fought to the final race for second place in the season, and Charles pipped Sergio to the finish.
There are two reasons why we don’t put Sergio in the top three.
- He hasn’t been able to achieve the same results as Max Verstappen, even though he had the same car.
- Max has recently made statements regarding the fact that Serio is only a number two driver (he didn’t mention Sergio’s name) and must be content in that position. This must have influenced Sergio’s confidence.
Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
Carlos is the dark horse on the grid.
He performed better than most people expected in 2022 and has the potential to beat Charles on a good day.
During the season, he showed moments of absolute brilliance when he achieved 3 pole positions, 9 podiums, 2 fastest laps, and 1 win (his first in Formula One.)
Having said that he is also a potential victim of Ferrari’s leadership change.
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 4th To 6th Place
Our predictions for the top Results From Fourth To Sixth Place are listed below
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2nd |
| 5th | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 3rd |
| 6th | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 5th |
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – 7th To 9th Place
There are three drivers which we expect great things from in 2023.
Lando Norris
One of three British drivers on the circuit, Lando Norris has quickly made a name for himself, outshining his teammate Daniel Riccardo.
For Lando to shine the McLaren has to become more competitive.
With a resurgent Mercedes we don’t see them managing to improve on the 2022 result of seventh in the drivers championships.
It is a pity because Lando is a future star and given the right car will be contending on the front row.
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly found his sweet spot at Toro Rosso when he was unceremoniously dumped there from Red bull.
He has displayed exceptional car control and a ruthless ability, which is why we place him higher in the potential rank standings than Esteban Ocon.
For 2023 he replaces Fernando Alonso and has been signed by Alpine on a multi-year contract, and everyone is hoping his results will match his proven skill.
Esteban Ocon
Esteban was responsible for Alpine’s maiden F1 win in 2021 (in Hungary). This was assisted by his teammate at the time, Fernando Alonso.
Esteban beat his teammate (Fernando Alonso) in 2023 and came in at position in the 2022 campaign.
Esteban is a truly nice guy, however from our perspective he seems to lack the true killer instinct which he will need to move up the rank.
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 7th To 9th Place
Our predictions for the top results from seventh to ninth place are listed below
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7th | Lando Norris | McLaren | 7th |
| 8th | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 8th |
| 9th | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 14th |
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – 10th To 12th Place
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas has been involved in Formula One since 2013 when he started as a test driver for AT&T Williams.
He joined Mercedes in 2017 in partnership with Lewis Hamilton. During this time, he proved to be ruggedly reliable and served as the perfect number two driver. After the turbulent and fractious relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Valtteri brought in an air of peace and calm.
Valtteri is renowned for his sense of fair play and honesty. The result is that he s not as driven or ruthless compared to drivers like Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen, which is possibly why he did not shine in the same way that Lewis did.
Valtteri joined Alfa Romeo in 2022 and seems to have found himself in a sweet spot as he lead driver
Valtteri achieved 10th position in 2022 and we don’t see that changing by to great a margin in 2023.
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso has been signed to replace Sebastien Vettel at Aston Martin.
Fernando is known as wily old dog on the track, who knows which battles to pick and which to leave.
He is intimidated by no driver and will happily old up Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton of that fits with his strategy.
Many drivers (including Lewis Hamilton) will agree that they dread coming up behind him when he does not want to concede a place or is protecting his teammate’s rear.
His final position on the pack will depend largely on whether or not the Aston Martin is sufficiently fast.
We suspect that Aston is not that worried about the 2023 result.
Instead with think that it hopes to achieve a similar result as when Michael Schumacher joined Mercedes. Although he was not competitive at that stage on his career, the value he added to the team was incalculable.
Nyck de Vries
Driving for Mercedes, Nyck de Vries is the 2020 – 2021 Formula E champion.
He raced as the reserve driver for Williams and won 2 points.
It was generally understood that Nyck would have filled the spot if George Russel had not been on the scene.
He has been signed with AlphaTauri for 2023 where he will replace Pierre Gasly (who has moved to Alpine.)
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 10th To 12th Place
Our predictions for the top results from tenth to twelfth place are listed below
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 10th |
| 11th | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 9th |
| 12th | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | New |
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – 13th To 15th Place
Kevin Magnussen
After being unceremoniously dumped by Haas to make place for the Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, Kevin Magnussen was hastily requested to return after the Russian sanctions prevented Nikita from continuing to race.
Kevin has shown his value, and while the car is not competitive, he achieved one pole position and came in, in 13th position for the 2022 year.
We see Kevin improving in the final standings in 2023.
Nico Hulkenberg
The experienced Nico Hulkenberg has been a formula 1 driver since 2010.
Nico replaces Mick Schumacher for the 2023 season. He has been off the grid for a few years, and we think it will take a little while for Nico to get up to speed (no pun intended.)
Lance Stroll
The car has let Lance down; however, he is a river that still needs to grow a little bit
In 2021he came in, in 11th place, and in 2022 13th.
15th place in 2022 is not necessarily a reflection of his commitment to skill but rather a badly performing car.
Lance has been incredibly privileged to partner with Sebastian Vettel in 2021/2 and with Fernando Alonso for 2023. Both are world champions, and both bring an enormous presence and depth of experience which will have (or will) benefited Lance.
We have not heard anything to say that the team will change massively during the 2023 year, however beyond that we are anticipating an improvement.
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 13th To 15th Place
Our predictions for the top Results From tenth To twelfth Place are listed below
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13th | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 13th |
| 14th | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | New |
| 15th | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 15th |
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 16th To 20th Place
| Alex Albon | Williams |
| Oscar Piastri | Aston Martin |
| Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Alpha Tauri |
| Logan Sargeant | Williams |
Alex Albon
Alex Albon has a substantial amount of skill, and while he may not be at the level of the top three drivers, he is young and will develop.
If Williams regains its past mojo (winner of seven F1 championships), Alex will be well placed to grow with the team and earn F1 points.
Zhou Guanyu
Zhou is the first Chinese national to drive on the F1 circuit. His rookie season at Alfa Romeo has shown some of the potential he is capable of.
The team agrees with this because they have signed him for a further year.
We hope he starts to shine and finds a more permanent position for the 2024 season.
We see Zhou growing into the role.
Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is a Japanese national and has driven for Alpha Tauri for two seasons.
It is fair to say that his results in 2022 have been underwhelming. There was a lot of speculation that he was one of the drivers who would be leaving the circuit for 2023.
It was a surprise that he has been signed for 2023 as well.
2023 will be a watershed year; if he struggles, it may be his last in F1.
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri replaces Daniel Riccardo after being the reserve driver for both BWT Alpine and McLaren.
He was part of Alpines young driver program.
He has big shoes to fill, and hopefully, by 2024, he can demonstrate his worth.
Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant is the first American driver on the F1 circuit.
He replaces Nicholas Latifi and joins the circuit from the FIA Formula 2 Championship, where he achieved 4th place.
Logan is a dark horse, and we wish him much success in his new role.
Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings Predictions – From 13th To 15th Place
Our predictions for the top Results From tenth To twelfth Place are listed below
| Placing | Driver | Team | 2022 standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16th | Alex Albon | Williams | 19th |
| 17th | Zhou Guanyu | Aston Martin | 17th |
| 18th | Yuki Tsunoda | Alpha Tauri | 18th |
| 19th | Oscar Piastri | BWT Alpine | New |
| 20th | Logan Sargeant | Williams | New |
Conclusion
The predictions are made with our tongue firmly in the cheek. Lets see what happens!!
Click back to www.f1worldwide.com for more unbiased and original F1 news and views.
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
I have read your article carefully and I agree with you very much. So, do you allow me to do this? I want to share your article link to my website: Sign Up
This will be the year the Lewis bounces back to the top. I’m sure the team is working hard to give him a winning car. The man is not deterred!