The Worst Moments Of The Abysmal 2023 F1 Season So Far

The Australian Grand Prix saw a record three red-flag periods, including two red flags during the last four laps of the races. FIA Race Control was desperate to see a winner other than Max Verstappen or to allow a finish under green. Fans gained access to the circuit with only three laps remaining, mistakenly believing the race was over. However, the race had a standing restart for a two-lap sprint. The field would only make it two corners before a massive wreck forced the final red flag.

There was an even closer near-miss during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon pitted on the race’s final lap. People were already assembling around the podium parc fermé area to greet the top three finishers. Ocon had no idea what he was driving into with the Baku Circuit’s blind entry, and he nearly plowed into people absent-mindedly walking across the pit lane.

With the Red Bull RB19 believed to be one of the greatest F1 cars of all time, it’s easy to assume that Max Verstappen’s closest rival would be his teammate Sergio Perez. He hasn’t been close. To be fair, Checo has won twice and finished in second place twice. The Mexican driver has finished second since the Miami Grand Prix in May and has faced harsh criticism from team principal Christain Horner for his poor qualifying performances.

Many want to see Sergio Perez replaced with a more competent driver to challenge Verstappen, but AlphaTauri driver Nyck De Vries was the first in the Red Bull system to get the ax. The Dutch driver wasn’t just any rookie as the Formula 2 and Formula E champion earned the seat through an impressive outing acting as reserve driver for Williams during the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo is replacing De Vries at AlphaTauri for a much longer stint than expected. The driver swap was announced the same week as the Australian’s test with the senior team. Ricciardo thoroughly impressed Christian Horner, but the team boss has admitted that Verstappen and Perez will remain with Red Bull Racing in 2024. Ricciardo will be racing at AlphaTauri through 2024 will hopes of a promotion for 2025.

It is going to take outside intervention to prevent Max Verstappen from losing another race this season. The last time the reigning world champion was nearly defeated was during the Canadian Grand Prix when a bird lodged itself in one of the brake ducts on Verstappen’s RB19. The temperature on the brake increased, but it wasn’t enough for it to fall, and Verstappen was still able to win the race.

Since Verstappen’s first world championship, the FIA has attempted to strictly officiate each Grand Prix by the letter of the regulations. This backfired at the Austrian Grand Prix as the sport’s governing body had to manually recheck over 1,200 instances when a driver could have left the racing surface, giving out a dozen additional penalties after the race.

McLaren’s ascent from backmarkers at the season’s start to securing its first British Grand Prix podium in a decade surprised Formula 1 fans around the world. In the lead-up to the Silverstone race weekend, McLaren teased a throwback livery to the team’s previous guise as Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes. The ultimate result was underwhelming, as the paint job was mostly the current livery with chrome touches to highlight the team’s partnership with Google Chrome.

The Spanish Grand Prix has been a mainstay on the Formula One calendar for decades. However, the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona is not as widely loved as its longevity might have you assume. The loathed final sector chicane was removed to restore the former glory of the track’s high-speed last corner.

Despite the modification, F1 has greener pastures on its mind. The championship’s Spanish round could be moving to a street circuit in the Spanish capital of Madrid in the near future. Madrid has played host to Formula 1: The Exhibition and would be the newest addition to the never-ending slate of street races.

The absolute worst moment of the season was the cancellation of the Emilia-Romanga Grand Prix. Not because the race didn’t happen but the torrential rainfall and subsequent flooding killed several people and forced thousands of people out of their homes. While I have my gripes about Formula 1, it’s just a sport. There’s is so much that matters more.