2023 season recap.
Let’s switch it up and go from bottom to top.
Haas. “Gene, hmm, we have a problem…..” There was never a team owner this cheap, across all sports. Can’t wait for Andretti to come in and force Gene to actually care about his team. In Austin earlier, K-Mag actually had to come to the Carrera Cup paddock to do his obligations. My friend’s team owner actually sponsored him, not too much, 1/4mil for the year, and he had to come over to do his photo ops and signings, by himself.
Alfa Romeo. Well Bottas is settled in nicely as the team leader. He can be quick in a quick car, but not sure if Audi wants him to stay. Zhou is proving he is more than a paycheck for the team. He is at least above Stroll Jr in skills, just need a better car.
Now the other Alfa, well Alpha. Alpha Tauri. Yuki is showing that he is more than a Honda asset. He is fighting to prove he belongs in F1 and he is doing a nice job. He is also gaining the upper hand in taking the team as his own, over Ricciardo. He however still come in 2nd place behind Max as the profanity leader over radio on the grid however. Ricciardo, he is adapting to the new style loose car, but is he swift enough or will he be left behind as a dinosaur? At least he got a seat for 2024.
Williams. Albon has shown he is an overlooked asset from Red Bull. Overachiever. Sargeant on the other hand isn’t as convincing but he was a rookie, perhaps 2024 could be better. Vowles was magic in turning around Williams. He is the most valuable asset at Williams. But then again he has wonderful pedigree as an alumni from Mercedes.
Alpine. Dysfunctional team personified. Their 2 drivers, Ocon and Gasly, seems more interested in fighting each other than the other 18 drivers. Top to bottom, literally there wasn’t anyone that’s functioning. Maybe it’s a French thing.
Aston Martin. One word. Alonso. Wow. What a performance this year from the oldest driver on the grid. Give him the right car and he is up there. What a driving talent Alonso is. That old fox still got a few tricks up his sleeves even at his old age. Same cannot be said about his partner, Junior. When will daddy realized the only reason Aston isn’t as good as he wanted was his son? There are quite a few drivers without a seat that’s miles better than Jr. He is just there wasting fuel, oxygen and money. Worse driver on the grid, yes, even behind Sergeant.
McLaren. Wow. What a 2nd half. They are on a galactic trajectory upwards. Their 2 drivers, Norris and Piastri, are up there with the pairing of Leclerc/Sainz and Hamilton Russell. No one else has a better driver pairings. If they carry on this development trajectory, they surely can challenge for 2nd place in the all important Constructor fight.
Ferrari. Another year, another strategy blunders year. What’s new. They are the best self fucking team ever. Like, honestly, a 2 yr old running that team?!?! And when they don’t fuck up the strategies, the car fuck itself up. It’s like they really hate winning. At least they won 1 race. IF ONLY this and that, 2nd place was theirs to lose and they actually did lose it.
Mercedes. What a surprise they can finished 2nd in the Constructor race. Probably no one think they can do that after the first few races. They literally switch car concept mid season and still able to salvage enough points, wow. 2024 will be a new question mark as they embark on a grounds up concept, not a half ass half and half. Not counting them out even when they don’t have Newey to design cars.
Red Bull. Took also a whole year to be official, but the all conquering RB19 has taken Max to his 3rd title as expected after the 1st race. That car has carried Max to finish every single lap this season, that speaks volume about how great the RB19 is, bulletproof reliability with performance to spare. But by the the same token, it also speak volume bout the talent gap between Max and Perez. Former was doing a drive around the park every weekend to gather trophies while the later struggled most of the time to finish on the podium every race in the fastest car in the field. Will the testing deficit finally show up for 2024 to bring them back into the pack as intended? Not likely. The RB19 was so dominating, they stop developing in August and Max still win by a country mile with no one close. Not even sure Max went 100% ever this season, I mean, when he is just driving around Central Park at only 70% or something and he is pulling 0.3 second a lap against the closest car, there is no point in doing 100%. If he indeed do go 100%, he could be 0.5-0.7 a lap anywhere faster than anyone else. I think 2025 would be the year Red Bull will be back into the pack.
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