RedBull Racing and Mercedes are clear front runners when it comes to F1 with both teams being the only winners of the Constructors Championship since 2010! Ferrari have mounted a number of attempts to reclaim their top spot, but it has not been possible when faced with the technology and drivers of the RedBull and Mercedes cars. With the dominance of RedBull in the 2023 season it could be said that it was 2nd place Mercedes who were “the best of the rest” but let’s first consider those further down the table!
In 2023 Aston Martin made a comeback through the first half of the season with driver Fernando Alonso putting them on the podium multiple times. It was clear the upgrades brought to the car through the second half of the season were not up to the same standard allowing McLaren to claw themselves back into the fight with Ferrari for third place.
There was a clear divide in 2023 between the top 5 in the Constructors Championship and the bottom 5 with 5th place Aston Martin scoring 280 and 6th place Alpine scoring 120. Alpine could be considered “the best of the rest” as they were consistently in the lower end of the points and began a good fight with Aston Martin towards the end of the season, it just came a bit too late!
However, a strong contender for this title is Williams. Williams had a much better season in 2023 than they have had for a while with Alex Albon scoring 27 points landing himself 13th in the Drivers’ Championship and securing 7th place in the Constructors Championship. It is clear that Albon has huge potential as an F1 driver and would score even more consistently in a car that could keep up with him.
With Alfa Romeo rebranding themselves for the 2024 season as Stake F1 with new sponsorships it will be interesting to see if there is an elevation to the standard of the car. Despite having experienced point scorer Valtteri Bottas as a part of their team in 2023, the best they could achieve was 9th in the Constructors Championship.
Overall, Alexander Albon’s hard work in the Williams takes the win for the 2023 season as he proved himself as a brilliant driver worthy of a place in a top team. It appears under the management of James Vowels and the driving of Albon, Williams have managed to break their downward streak and have started heading back up the tables of both the Drivers’ World Championship and the Constructors World Championship. We can only hope for move improvement from this historic team.
Who do you think will shine in 2024? Leave a comment below!
Written by Cesca.
The Fastest Sector 