Vote for your 2023 Formula 1 Driver of the Year

48 comments on “Vote for your 2023 Formula 1 Driver of the Year”

1. 

   Illusive (@illusive)
   11th December 2023, 11:52

   Max was so far ahead in terms of consistency and winning even when he could have lost a few gp’s that its hard to chose anyone other than him.
   1. 

      Tristan
      11th December 2023, 23:34

      Yep! It simply has to be Max, regardless of any bias, he presented a masterclass of how to make the most of a dominant car this season. Anything better would be absolute perfection.
2. 

   Tommy C (@tommy-c)
   11th December 2023, 11:54

   Surely no one else on the grid compared to Max this season. There was only 1 round where he didn’t seem in contention for the race win. The feeling of inevitability that everyone else was fighting for 2nd and below far outstripped anything we experienced with Schumacher or Hamilton. This has been the single most dominant season by any driver I’ve witnessed. Alonso was also incredible this year considering where he’s at in his career.
3. 

   slowmo (@slowmo)
   11th December 2023, 12:07

   Even if you dismiss his performances as due to the car, Verstappen still had to deliver race in, race out every week, which he did in nearly every race weekend. Sure having a great car allows you to have a performance dip but still get the victory on occasion but usually you’d expect the other teams driver to beat them in that instance but Perez was so completely and utterly destroyed this year it felt like they were driving different cars (which they weren’t). Verstappen had a near perfect season for me and as such got my vote. Far exceeded his performance in 2022 and 2021. We just need to see another top class driver in a competitive car now to see how much he truly has grown next year!
4. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   11th December 2023, 12:21

   VER easily over the entire season as no one else really stands out.
   1. 

      Todfod (@todfod)
      12th December 2023, 11:20

      I’m surprised he has only 56% of the vote. If the voting was unbiased, he would have the entire 100% of the vote.
      I’m an Alonso fan, and would have voted him as the 2nd best driver this season, but I feel the #1 spot this season isn’t even debatable.
5. 

   James Bond (@jamesbond)
   11th December 2023, 12:36

   I’m lazy so I chose the first one in the list.
6. 

   Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
   11th December 2023, 12:53

   I hate it when people just vote for the winner in stuff like this … but I have to vote Max.

   He has dominated this season because he is a superb driver in a fast car. Tell me when an F1 season has been much different to that?
   He has also been entertaining and outspoken, which I like. I do not follow F1 for the racing. I follow it for the farcical Circus that it is.

   I have enjoyed Piastri stamping his name on the game, and Lawsons debut was epic.

   My second choice after Max though, has to be Fernando.
   To see that man’s genuine delight at being able to fight for the podium is priceless.
   1. 

      melanos
      11th December 2023, 22:27

      I want to vote Fred, but I know I should vote Max, so I’ll pass this one
   2. 

      Nick T.
      13th December 2023, 14:31

      Max and Fernando. Max because he was almost mistake free. Fernando because he was just as consistent and out performed his car more than anyone else. He even had more Q3 appearances than Max and went farther than any other before missing Q3 for the first time (which was due to disastrous upgrades). People can say Max was so far ahead of the best, but I can think of a single example where Alonso failed to deliver everything on offer in the car either. Can’t say that for any other driver. Even Max had one quali where he failed to take the car by the scruff of the neck and into Q3 when he likely should have.
7. 

   Stephen Taylor
   11th December 2023, 13:24

   Knowing Racefans and the prior piece on here by Keith Collantine Piastri will be well placed ahead Norris in these rankings . Yes he made mistakes and perhaps was not as clean as other seasons but to me the second half of this year is the first time Lando has had a car to challenge for podiums so of course he was going to push harder and make more errors . Get that first win early next year and I think you’ll start to see Norris become a much more relaxed yet steely person . I believe Lando will get there and Piastri want destroy Norris like Norris did Ricciardo next year even if Piastri wins out Lando will be very close to him still. I was very surprised that Keith Collantine appeared to suggest on this site that Norris would be doomed next year. That being said Lando really needs that win for his own peace of mind.
   My Top 10 in 2023
   1 Verstappen

   2 Alonso

   3 Hamilton

   4 Albon

   5 Norris

   6 Leclerc

   7 Sainz

   8 Piastri

   9 Tsunoda

   10 Russell.
   1. 

      melanos
      11th December 2023, 22:37

      Top 20:
      Max
      Fred
      Lando
      Carlos
      Oscar
      Charles
      George
      Alex
      Pierre
      Yuki
      Liam
      Esteban
      Dan
      Checo
      Nico
      Zhou
      Lance
      Valtteri
      Kevin
      Logan
      1. 

         tielemst
         12th December 2023, 1:00

         No Hamilton? That’s harsh.
      2. 

         MacLeod (@macleod)
         12th December 2023, 8:08

         Fred is Lewis?
         1. 

            melanos
            13th December 2023, 20:43

            Seriously NOT, a snail is not a cheetah
      3. 

         Todfod (@todfod)
         12th December 2023, 11:21

         Carlos ahead of Charles and Lando… lol
         1. 

            Todfod (@todfod)
            12th December 2023, 11:22

            Sorry… ahead of Charles and Lewis
            lol?
   2. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      12th December 2023, 9:32

      I’m afraid you don’t know us as well as you think as I don’t write the rankings, Will does.
8. 

   erikje (@erikje)
   11th December 2023, 13:50

   Had to go for Hamilton. The extra excitement he brings when he’s fighting at the front makes all the difference. Incredible pole lap in Hungry was a personal highlight too.

   Piastri also really impressed me this year. Think he’ll be a star in 2024.
   1. 

      Stephen Taylor
      11th December 2023, 14:21

      Very odd reasoning but okay each to their own I suppose.
   2. 

      melanos
      11th December 2023, 22:24

      And nobody ever crossed the live track on foot with such grace as our hero in Qatar, such an epic race, almost as good as Shanghai 2007. best to date.
   3. 

      Rolfski (@rolfski)
      12th December 2023, 16:49

      You rank Hamilton, who had a few underwhelming performances and actually crashed into his teammate, as a better driver this season than Verstappen, who was near flawless, broke 20 records an has done what no other driver in F1 history has ever achieved? Okay…
   4. 

      melanos
      16th December 2023, 19:19

      Incredible pole lap in Hungry

      Much good it did, P4 after just two turns
9. 

   MichaelN
   11th December 2023, 15:10

   Verstappen no doubt had it easier than anyone else, and failing to take a podium in every race as Schumacher did does take some shine off his season. As does the aggravating reluctance of his fellow drivers to race him which often made it too easy for him to recover lost positions. But that aside, he was closer to flawless than anyone has been in a long while.

   Alonso and Hamilton show why they’re champions. No surprise there. It does start to look a bit bad for the now well established next generation that these two still stand out.
10. 

    Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
    11th December 2023, 17:55

    A season where car and driver were in perfect harmony (Singapore being an outlier). Voted for Verstappen.
11. 

    ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
    11th December 2023, 18:14

    Max no doubt. It’s hard to believe so many people could find other drivers to be the driver of the year after the most dominant performance in the history of the series. Maybe some voted for their favorite drivers.
    1. 

       SteveR (@stever)
       11th December 2023, 19:52

       Yeah, maybe the voting system need to be changed to allow a second vote of less value to be cast. I’d vote Max then Alonso.
       1. 

          SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
          11th December 2023, 20:17

          I doubt it’s the voting system that’s at fault here. Certain people will just not vote for certain drivers even when there’s only one fairly objective choice for best F1 driver of the year. Not even a clean sweep would’ve changed that.
          1. 

             notagrumpyfan
             12th December 2023, 8:22

             It would have been interesting though to see a vote for best of the rest (taking Verstappen out).
             Over the full season I’m still with Alonso, even though Norris was consistently close, and Hamilton became more impressive towards the end of the season.
          2. 

             bosyber (@bosyber)
             13th December 2023, 11:28

             I don’t know that voting is interesting at all, given that Verstappen is (deservedly, indeed) well on top, with Alonso 2nd. Not sure Albon being 3rd is quite justified, but at the end, what does voting add but a bigger margin on the one winning? Would be a lot more interesting if it was possible to vote for 1st,2nd,3rd, maybe up to 5th or so, but it is what it is.

             I guess it is a bit like that with the individual ranking too, 1st and 2nd are clear already, behind that it’s a bit more interesting, as shown by Perez being put in 20th, which seems harsh, but is not all that easy to argue against if one looks at the comments in that article. That opens up the ranking to be more surprising, and also to be more up to debate.
    2. 

       Mayrton
       12th December 2023, 9:25

       Yes, I think it is sometimes regarded as a popularity contest. Hamilton getting votes seems odd to me. You would think that a 7 times world champion who has been referred to as the goat by some would display extra-ordinary achievements. I mean if we devalue Perez based on the statement the car is very good, I feel it would be fair to be a bit more critical towards a 7 times WDC with regard to his performance vs Russell, which was indeed better but not significantly vs expectations.
12. 

    Neil (@neilosjames)
    11th December 2023, 20:36

    Obviously Verstappen was going to win (of course) so I went for the high-performer whose season I got the most happiness from, which was Alonso.
13. 

    DB-C90 (@dbradock)
    12th December 2023, 0:20

    Really hard to go past Max as his consistency really was first class, but in the end I went for Albon who managed to consistently put the Williams car a couple of places higher that it probably should have been in both Qualy and in the races.
    1. 

       Rolfski (@rolfski)
       12th December 2023, 17:02

       Albon made a few costly mistakes though (Australia comes to mind), Max has been flawless in that department. And he has extracted absolutely everything from his car, what cannot be said of Albon, who overperformed but also underperformed with his Williams.
14. 

    Jim from US (@jimfromus)
    12th December 2023, 0:52

    Obviously VER and then I would say PIA because he was very good, followed by HAM for finishing 3rd. I still stand by my statement a few weeks ago that by the end of the long season, I disliked every one of the drivers.
    1. 

       Johnny
       13th December 2023, 16:19

       Huh?
15. 

    MadMax (@madmax)
    12th December 2023, 7:28

    Max easily cruised to a WDC due to his rockership and still managed to have the highest swearing count on the radio (closely followed by Yuki). lol
    1. 

       melanos
       16th December 2023, 19:47

       Rockership. that a new one, is that a R’n’R-playing boat? What does it look like? And how come does Max have one?
16. 

    pcxmac (@pcxmac)
    12th December 2023, 7:39

    Hamilton by a mile.
    1. 

       pcxmac (@pcxmac)
       12th December 2023, 7:43

       * Albon in second. If VES didnt feel the need to push people off the track consistently, i would rate him higher, but he had the fastest car but some margin, and it was pretty ridiculous, imo.
    2. 

       pcxmac (@pcxmac)
       12th December 2023, 7:45

       & Carlos, with the honorable mention for being such a boss and taking the only win not by RBR this year.
    3. 

       Rolfski (@rolfski)
       12th December 2023, 16:54

       Maybe him if there was a Driver Of The Year That Is Not Max Verstappen competition.
    4. 

       Johnny
       13th December 2023, 16:33

       Is that you Lewis? Lol
    5. 

       melanos
       16th December 2023, 20:10

       There is a 3% of lunatics everywhere you go
17. 

    Philip (@philipgb)
    12th December 2023, 12:44

    Norris was exceptional this year, truly showed the flashes of brilliance that hint he is there or thereabouts with Verstappen or Hamilton for being a true WDC contender

    But Verstappen operated at an entire other level this year. I think on any given weekend in the same machinery Hamilton, Leclerc or Norris could have been capable of matching him. But the year long consistency and hunger to dominate was just mind blowing. When you look back to say 2015 when Hamilton clinched the title in Austin and then basically conceded the end of the season to Rosberg I don’t think that’s something Verstappen knows how to do
18. 

    notagrumpyfan
    12th December 2023, 13:33

    where is the comment by @bullfrog, and my initial comment asking for this?
19. 

    Rolfski (@rolfski)
    12th December 2023, 16:35

    How you cannot vote this season for the most dominant driver the F1 sport has ever seen in its entire history is beyond me.
20. 

    Moshambles (@moshambles)
    14th December 2023, 8:08

    Has to be Max with probably the most dominant performance of all time. Didn’t put a foot wrong when it mattered.

    1- Verstappen
    2 – Alonso
    3 – Norris
    4 – Hamilton
    5 – Leclerc
    6 – Albon
    7 – Sainz
    8 – Piastri
    9 – Russell
    10 – Hulkenberg

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