Qatar’s DOHA — The 2023 Formula One championship won by Max Verstappen will go down as one of the best ever.
The Dutchman’s utter dominance this year has made the fate of the tournament appear predetermined months before the summer break even arrived. He has broken one record for straight victories, and before the year is up, he’ll probably shatter his own for the most victories in a season. After a competitive beginning, Verstappen easily defeated his lone potential rival, Red Bull colleague Sergio Perez. There have been some notable moments when I look back on it. This season, there have only been three occasions when the Dutch anthem has not performed after a race. One of those ultimately proved to be crucial in establishing the season that came after.
Victory in defeat
After the F1 preseason, it was obvious Red Bull had built a unique vehicle. After the first qualifying session of the year, Mercedes driver George Russell claimed that the defending world champions will triumph in every race. Verstappen and Perez, the drivers for Red Bull, were each 2-2 after four races, with Verstappen taking first place in Bahrain and Australia and Perez taking first place in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. The latter race took place at Baku’s well-known city track and included a sprint race, which Perez won. Verstappen narrowly escaped hitting the wall after Russell pulled him wide. The next grand prix would be won by Perez, while Verstappen’s prospects of winning were hampered by the placement of a Safety Car. After departing from Baku, there was hope that Perez would Get Verstappen to accept a challenge of some type. Before the collisions and spinning form that would come to characterise the Mexican driver’s season, this happened.
Verstappen was working in the cockpit of his vehicle, defining the season, while Perez was coasting home in first place. Using the several buttons on the steering wheel, the Dutchman would spend the last part of the race testing with various settings and modes, essentially figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Verstappen may have appeared to be struggling to control his car from the outside, but he was actually hard at work inside, perfecting his art.
Verstappen highlighted the Baku race as an example before this week’s competition in Qatar. the pivotal moment in his season.
“It’s not like I suddenly turned the car upside down, but little details can make the difference,” he stated. I knew it would be difficult to pass when I fell behind following the pit stop with the safety car, of course. I was experimenting widely. It was a little bit of an up and down stint because some of them worked. Since it was still so early in the season, I was just trying a lot of various combinations on the wheel to have a better understanding. Most likely, we still didn’t fully understand a few things.”At the finish line, I found my rhythm, my optimum balance, and that allowed me to find a little bit more edge Several things are progressing well and are beginning to come together more.
Throughout the race,'” the driver continued. Actually, doing that was quite beneficial. Verstappen’s impromptu research was successful The 10-race winning streak that began with the Miami Grand Prix in early May and ended with the Italian Grand Prix in early September followed Baku. Because of the might of their equipment, a dominant driver may be so simple to write off. Verstappen’s performance in Baku is a perfect illustration of how, even if having a fast car is essential to winning a championship, it’s the little human aspects that may distinguish the exceptional from the average.
Beating Perez in Miami
The following race, which would out up being the final high point of Perez’s 2023 season, would see Verstappen transform those Baku lessons into a hammer strike. Verstappen was forced to start ninth after being caught off guard by a red light on Saturday, giving the popular Mexican driver the pole position. As close to a real championship match as 2023 would see was this one. Verstappen was clearly in contention for the victory as soon as the race on Sunday got underway. Perez struggled to keep up with Verstappen’s pace in the same car, which would be a recurring issue throughout the remainder of the year. Verstappen quickly cut through the pack and was able to maintain his position for 45 laps of the 57 laps of the race. When he eventually pitted, he came out behind Perez, creating the possibility of a spectacular finish. The next move was a simple pass with little opposition from Perez.
Verstappen’s legendary streak began in Miami, and as we now know, qualifying at the track that winds around the Hard Rock Stadium was Perez’s season’s high before everything swiftly fell apart around him.
Monaco’s lap for the ages
Monaco would be a portent of things to come for the year’s midpoint. Perez, who some have called the “Street King” due to his previous triumphs on street circuits, suffered a serious collision during the first qualifying round. In addition to giving his colleague the advantage, this allowed Red Bull’s competitors to see the car’s floor, which is one of the biggest design secrets in Formula One, as it was being carried by crane away from the crash site.
Verstappen has received many accolades this year, but few have been more merited than his pole position run at the Monaco Grand Prix. As Q3 came to a close, Fernando Alonso appeared to finally return to first time since 2012 at the front of the grid, but Verstappen had other plans. Verstappen’s starting position in the race over the challenging, winding Monte Carlo F1 track was fifth after his first run, and on his second pass, he had fallen behind Alonso’s provisional pole time through the first two sectors of the circuit. Sector three then appeared.
Even though he was 0.2 seconds (a huge difference in an F1 qualifying lap) behind the Spaniard heading into the Swimming Pool chicane, Verstappen would utilise every inch of the circuit to steal pole away from the driver. Verstappen’s Red Bull would strike the wall as it passed through the track’s last curve. It seems inconceivable while viewing the live broadcast or any of the ensuing replays how Verstappen’s automobile stayed in one piece. Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull, later commented, “I think that is one of the best laps he’s ever driven in qualifying.”
Verstappen mastered changing conditions and rode his luck at a crucial point late in the race to win. The race itself was another masterclass. If Aston Martin had chosen a riskier course of action when the rain became heavier late in the race, Alonso might have prevailed. They might have also done so if Verstappen hadn’t stopped his Red Bull from colliding with the wall at the same time it lost control at the Rascasse corner. With the exception of that one instance, Verstappen had total control of the Monaco race. Additionally, Verstappen won the next four races from pole position: Spain, Canada, Austria, and Britain hold a firm grasp on the championship lead before passing Lewis Hamilton in Turn 1 and vanishing into the horizon to take home the Hungarian Grand Prix victory.
A national hero
Verstappen kept two of his most impressive performances for the races just before and after August’s summer break. Verstappen was in a different league from the other players in both his native Netherlands and Belgium, where he was born and which is typically crowded with Dutch supporters. It didn’t matter that he started sixth on the grid in Belgium due to an engine penalty. On lap 16, he made his way through the pack and overtook Perez to take the lead in the race.
Verstappen qualified at Zandvoort, a track that will be back on the schedule in 2021 only as a result of his ascent to superstardom, half a second faster than the next fastest car. In a race with two torrential downpours, the second of which resulted in a Despite the erratic sequence of laps, he never gave in to stress. Verstappen maintained his characteristic lack of emotion in the face of the boisterous home crowd.
