This is the Great Ranking of those who in my opinion are the top six drivers and the top four constructors of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.
The Great Ranking considers the combativeness between teammates and the strategic use of the available material.
The Great Ranking has been won by the driver who managed better than anyone else to race this 2023 Formula 1 World Championship as if it were a marathon, not a sprint.
The Winner of this Great Ranking is #44 Lewis Hamilton, on Mercedes, with 234 points. The Seven-time British World Champion is followed by Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin, 206 points), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 206 points), Lando Norris (McLaren, 205 points), Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari, 200 points) and George Russell (Mercedes, 175 points).
Photo by courtesy of LordKinzo.com
The first four constructors are Mercedes (409 points), Ferrari (406 points), McLaren (302 points) and Aston Martin (280 points). They all did an excellent job in the recently finished F1 season.
Lewis Hamilton – For the British driver, a DNF (Do Not Finish) only, therefore a single retirement, and a DSQ (Disqualified) in the whole season.
This delicious menu can also count on an equal qualifying head-to-head record at 11-11 shared with teammate George Russell.
The Great Winner has scored 234 points in the drivers’ standings against Russell’s 175. This means that the British driver from Stevenage contributed with a 57.2% in the final score of the constructors’ standings for Mercedes, while Russell’s remaining and not insignificant is 42.8%. It is a world class team!
The Mercedes Team is therefore the most combative in the head-to-head between the two drivers.
The 0 victories, 6 podiums and a pole position in Hungary, preceding Max Verstappen by three thousandths of a second, complete the picture.
With regard to Lewis’ pole position, a 3D analysis follows, showing the importance of the lines and the programming by a driver who proves to be the best worldwide. Lewis does not in fact sprint or move forward immediately. Indeed, there are moments when, during the lap, he is behind, but as a marathon runner he gains the pole position in the long run.
This lap is a masterpiece by a driver who, despite not winning any races in the recently finished 2023 F1 Championship and making the most of everything, has led the rest of the pack in this Great Ranking.
That great need for huge battles
I believe that Formula 1 needs, today more than ever, those huge battles that have thrilled the public so much in the past. This is the point of this article.
Throughout history we have in fact seen great duels between teammates and much more.
One of the most absorbing battles was gifted to us by Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, who were teammates racing on the McLaren MP4/2 powered by TAG Porsche, in the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship. Niki got the better of the Frenchman with the smallest margin in the history of Formula 1: half a point. Alain Prost won 7 races, while Niki Lauda 5, but the Austrian was more consistent in his results. That year Niki has never started in pole position or even in the front row, but the simple fact of taking care of the race set-up only, always aiming at regularity and competitiveness over long distances, allowed him to prevail over the Frenchman in the end.
That year McLaren won 12 out of 16 races.
In 1985, it was Alain Prost’s turn who won the title of F1 Drivers’ World Champion for the first time.
Another stellar duel occurred in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were racing for McLaren Honda. That season McLaren won 15 out of 16 races, scoring 15 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 10 one-two finishes. Senna won that World Championship with 90 points, outdistancing Prost by just 3. Alain Prost won 7 races, while Ayrton Senna 8.
This dominance of McLaren Honda was interrupted at the Italian Grand Prix only, in Monza, with Gerhard Berger’s win on Ferrari.
The following year, in 1989, Alain Prost prevailed, winning the drivers’ title with 76 points. Senna was second in the standings at 60.
Ayrton Senna won 6 races, while Alain Prost 4.
The 1990 saw the battle between Senna, racing on McLaren, and Alain Prost, this time on a Ferrari. The Brazilian prevailed with 78 points over the Frenchman with 71. 6 were the victories for Ayrton Senna, 5 for Alain Prost.
If we go back to recent years, we can certainly mention the 2014, 2015 and 2016 championships, marked by the fight in the Mercedes Team between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The 2014 saw Lewis prevailing with 384 points over Nico Rosberg, second, with 317.
10 wins for Lewis and 5 for Nico Rosberg.
In 2015, Lewis triumphed again in the drivers’ standings with 381 points. Second Nico Rosberg at 322.
10 wins for Lewis and 6 for Nico Rosberg.
In 2016, Nico Rosberg won the drivers’ title with 385 points and 9 victories. Second Lewis with 380 points and 10 victories.
In that season, the accident between Lewis and Nico Rosberg at the Spanish Grand Prix was emblematic, causing the retirement of both Mercedes drivers on lap 1 of the race.
According to Niki Lauda, the fault for that accident was more of Lewis than Nico Rosberg’s. However, the aim of this article is not to investigate who caused the accident, but it always remains to speak up for a greater show in Formula 1.
In fact, attractive and exciting must be the only adjectives to describe this motorsport class.
