F1. Britain 2023 Review

By Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin and Gavin Huet

Driver of the day
Chelsea – Lando Norris. What a joy that was to watch. Honourable mentions to Sergio Perez, who worked his way up to 6th after a Q3 elimination, and Lewis Hamilton, who drove (and pitted) wisely to earn his spot on the podium.

Gavin – Lando Norris, who else. I ignored him for this last week but even that was a close call whereas this weekend there was no doubt. That first lap, the speed of the car, the maturity of the drive! He did not have it all his own way either, when everyone came in under a virtual safety car which then got upgraded to a full safety car, McLaren opted for the hard tyre whereas Max Verstappen in front of Lando, and Lewis Hamilton just behind him, got soft tyres. It looked like a mistake for the race restart and Max raced off with Lando looking like he was there to be overtaken. Lando made his car as wide as he could in order to stop Lewis from getting past and with the straight line speed advantage that the McLaren currently has he kept the position and took second place on the podium.

Aiden – Lando Norris is getting most of the plaudits and understandably so, but for me, this goes to his teammate Oscar Piastri. The rookie qualified in P3 and finished P4 in the race. In fact, the Australian was mightily unlucky not to take his maiden podium place. He pitted under green flag conditions, but a safety car meant that Lewis Hamilton was able to take third place. We are starting to see why there was a battle to secure Piastri’s services 12 months ago.

Moment of the weekend
Chelsea – Ah, Silverstone. I was salivating for the British Grand Prix long before it came into view on the calendar. With three drivers flying the Union Jack, a record home crowd, and a corner legitimately called Maggotts, it would have taken a lot to dampen my spirits. Instead I sat in my dressing gown, flailing my mug of English Breakfast, scaring the cats as I celebrated Lando’s brilliant start off the line to overtake Max. Of course, we all knew his lead was fleeting, but it was the best way to start a Monday morning in my experience.

Gavin – Lights out, and Lando takes the lead from Max Verstappen as the partisan crowd go wild. Even more excitement as the other McLaren car driven by rookie Oscar Piastri was trying to make a move on Max stick. Pandemonium and elation and excitement. It only lasted until lap 5 when normal service resumed but what a start to the race. Interestingly the Red Bull did not fly off into the distance as many would have thought, rather it gradually pulled away slowly as its tyres got up to temperature.

Aiden – The sound of the cheers when Norris overtook Max Verstappen off the start was truly amazing. The Silverstone crowd has always been a knowledgeable, passionate one, but over the course of the last weekend, a whopping 480,000 fans made their way through the gates, eclipsing the record of 400,000 set 12 months earlier.

Hot take of the weekend
Chelsea – Hark at this crazy season.

This maps out the final placings of eight Drivers of Significance through 2023 so far. Sailing above in sky blue is Max’s near-perfect dream season. I put this graph together to prove my theory that the seasons of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso were hitting a slump, but that’s not as apparent as I’d expected. What is apparent is that Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris have been all over the place this season – Lando’s been 17th four times – though the McLaren upgrades are certainly showing their worth.

Gavin – The as yet to be named Brad Pitt F1 movie has, for me, a couple of issues. Firstly, and this may be explained in the movie once it comes out, I can’t believe that someone who is almost 60 (in real years not movie character years) would be racing in F1. The oldest age in the modern era is early 40s so I assume that will be where they will set Brad’s age and to be fair he can pull that one off. Secondly, and more importantly, is this not just Top Gun Maverick but in F1? Veteran returns to save the day..? Look, it’s Hollywood, I get it, it is just a movie, and it will more than likely be a huge commercial success, but let’s have some reality. My alternative plot would have the rookie getting his chance in F1 and getting mentored by the grizzled veteran… oh wait, Tom Cruise did that one too in Days of Thunder.

Aiden – Take out Verstappen and this is turning into one of the most intriguing championships in years. The Dutchman is at one with his Red Bull (unlike his teammate) and therefore a class apart, but in recent weekends we are seeing a real jostle among the other teams. Upgrades are showing that the margins really are small at this level and it’s really hard to know which teams and drivers are going to challenge each week.

Cold take of the weekend
Chelsea – I never want to high five Zac Brown. I think he’d dislocate my elbow.

Gavin – Ferrari still cannot get their strategy right. They tried pitting early in order to put the pressure on Mercedes but made no inroads after having done so. After qualifying fourth and fifth the two Ferraris ended up ninth and tenth with Charles Leclerc kept at bay by the Williams of Alex Albon. It is not as if the drivers were bad but the cars just left them vulnerable. If that is not a worrying sign for Ferrari then I don’t know what is, all this from a weekend that promised so much for the Scuderia. But let’s not kid ourselves, Ferrari aren’t the only team with issues right now, Alpine had both cars DNF; Aston Martin finished seventh and fourteenth; all the while Williams seemed to be making progress by finishing eighth and eleventh. The car upgrade merry go round is still firmly in play but that might change once the summer break kicks in as the teams start to look to next season.

Aiden – Damian Lewis, please, PLEASE, stick to acting.

Hiring and Firing

Hastily implemented, a special new section with thoughts about the latest driver merry go round.

Chelsea – Meanwhile, Danny Ric is back! On one hand, I’m disappointed because I’d picked de Vries as my rookie contender for the season; but on the other hand we get to see Ricciardo suit up for the Vegas race and you just know those two are a match made in heaven.

Gavin – Daniel Ricciardo replacing Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season. Initial reaction is it is great to see Danny Ric back, he is a very good driver, plus a marketing dream. This will in theory keep Sergio Perez on his toes for that Red Bull drive. From a New Zealand point of view this could all pave the way for Liam Lawson to get the Alpha Tauri seat next season, however this could also be bad news for Liam especially if both Sergio and Danny perform, or even if Danny does well and Liam does get the seat, the yardstick will now be set against a seasoned professional and not the rookie Nyck. All round great intrigue, bring it on.

Aiden – Hands up, I got it wrong. Although I expected Nyck de Vries to depart AlphaTauri sooner rather than later, I thought Kiwi Liam Lawson was in (ahem) pole position for the seat, rather than Daniel Ricciardo. But I do see a path now for both Lawson and Ricciardo to be on the grid and that is down to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. It seems crazy to be thinking about the driver who is second in the driver’s standings in this way, but the fact is that he hasn’t made it to Q3 for five qualifying sessions in a row and therefore hasn’t started in the top 10 of a race since he took pole in Miami in early May. Each race weekend we expect the stat to change, but on it drags. If Perez continues to falter and if Ricciardo finds his mojo quickly, then Perez could be out and that would open the door nicely for Lawson at AlphaTauri.

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