F1 Mid-Season Shift: Our Changed Opinions on Drivers, Teams, and Racing in 2023

In the dynamic and ever-evolving world of Formula 1, change is the only constant. Strategies shift, alliances form and dissolve, and performance narratives flip on a dime. This constant flux not only defines the sport itself but also continually reshapes the perceptions and expectations of those who follow it most closely, including our dedicated team of contributors. As the 2023 Formula 1 season passed its halfway mark and roared back into action after the summer break, it was inevitable that many of the initial predictions and deeply held preconceptions we harbored before the lights went out in Bahrain would have been thoroughly challenged, if not completely overturned. The season has delivered its fair share of surprises, compelling us to re-evaluate what we thought we knew.

From drivers once deemed future champions struggling for consistency, to teams miraculously finding pace thought impossible, and the ongoing philosophical debate surrounding the sport’s technical direction, the past few months have been a crucible for opinion. Here, our RaceFans writers candidly share the Formula 1 opinions that they’ve fundamentally changed their minds about in 2023 so far, offering fresh perspectives on a season that continues to defy expectations.

Mid-Season Reflections: Shifting Perspectives on 2023 F1

Perez: A Shadow of His Former Self?

It feels like only yesterday – or perhaps ten years ago, to be precise – when a nascent, perhaps overly enthusiastic, writer penned his inaugural feature article for a national F1 magazine. That extensive piece, spanning approximately 1,500 words, served as a passionate defense of a third-year Formula 1 driver, Sergio Perez. He was then grappling with what many perceived as unjust criticism during a particularly challenging first half of his season with McLaren. The article vehemently argued against those who doubted the then-23-year-old’s capability to hold a coveted seat at one of the sport’s premier teams.

Perez’s tenure at Woking ultimately concluded at the end of that season, yet his story was far from over. Over the ensuing seven seasons, Perez meticulously carved out a reputation as one of the grid’s midfield maestros. His consistent performances, punctuated by seven podium finishes and a memorable maiden victory in Sakhir, eventually earned him the golden ticket to Red Bull Racing, partnering the prodigious Max Verstappen. His debut season with Red Bull in 2021 was widely deemed excusable; adapting to an unfamiliar car and a new team environment is no small feat, and he crucially delivered critical support to his teammate when it mattered most in a fierce championship battle. The 2022 season, while yielding some strong results, arguably felt like a slight disappointment overall, perhaps overshadowed by Verstappen’s almost transcendental level of performance with the dominant RB18.

However, by 2023, the narrative surrounding Sergio Perez has taken a stark turn. It has become increasingly difficult to mount a credible defense for his fluctuating and often disappointing performances. Not only has Perez conspicuously failed to consistently match, or even occasionally challenge, his world champion teammate’s results – with the Baku Grand Prix standing as a solitary exception – but he has also struggled immensely with the inherent pressure of being the second driver in arguably one of the most successful Formula 1 cars of all time. Despite maintaining second place in the Drivers’ Championship for much of the season, this position is largely a testament to the sheer dominance of the RB19 rather than his individual prowess. His significant points deficit to Verstappen underscores a deeply concerning performance gap.

At 33, Perez has endured one of the most error-prone and inconsistent seasons of his distinguished career. The painful and unprecedented streak of five consecutive race weekends without a single Q3 appearance will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most infamous statistical anomalies of this era. Even when Verstappen has faced rare challenges or minor setbacks during race weekends, Perez has seldom been the one to capitalize, failing to step up and seize the opportunity. For many, including this writer, Perez was once seen as our generation’s answer to the perennial question of raw talent needing a top seat – “just put him in a top seat, then you’ll see what he can do.” Yet, two-and-a-half seasons into his Red Bull tenure, the uncomfortable truth is becoming glaringly clear: Perez will likely never become to Verstappen what Nico Rosberg, a fierce and ultimately championship-winning rival, was to Lewis Hamilton. The dream of a consistent, front-running challenge for the title appears to have faded into a struggle for consistent form. Will Wood

McLaren’s Phoenix-Like Resurgence

The 2023 Formula 1 season, while dominated by one team, has not been entirely devoid of dramatic plot twists. Among the most compelling narratives, one performance truly stands out and has undeniably turned heads: McLaren’s astonishing and rapid transformation in form. After years of struggling to reclaim their former glory, the atmosphere within the team was palpably downbeat during their pre-season car launch. Despite the excitement surrounding the arrival of an exciting new talent in Oscar Piastri alongside the highly regarded Lando Norris, the team felt a distinct sense of deflation, underscored by concerns over the car’s initial performance metrics. Adding to this early-season turbulence, significant leadership changes occurred, notably the departure of technical director James Key. It truly seemed as though the venerable Woking outfit was adrift, lacking clear direction amidst a challenging period.

However, to their immense credit, McLaren’s leadership remained resolutely optimistic, insisting that substantial upgrades were in the pipeline and a dramatic shift in performance was imminent. They maintained a steadfast belief that once they could fully unlock the car’s true potential and get it operating as intended, they would reclaim their competitive edge. Personally, I found this difficult to fully believe, given the significant deficit they faced and the inherent challenges of making such substantial gains mid-season in modern F1.

Yet, the sudden and spectacular turnaround witnessed from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards served as a powerful rebuke to all who had doubted them. Their internal assessment of their position, combined with their unwavering commitment to development, proved to be spot-on. The team clearly had a defined direction and a robust development plan, which has now been emphatically validated by multiple podium finishes. In an era where teams typically make incremental gains over prolonged periods, such a rapid and dramatic step forward over the course of just a few races is exceptionally rare, and naturally invited skepticism. However, McLaren unequivocally silenced all their critics with a series of truly impressive performances. The comprehensive upgrade package introduced at Austria, and particularly the subsequent enhancements at Silverstone, convinced me that this is a team no longer merely battling for meager points, but genuinely contending for podiums and, dare I say, even challenging for wins should Red Bull ever falter significantly. Their resurgence has been one of the feel-good stories of the season. Claire Cottingham

Zhou Guanyu: Quietly Making His Mark

Going into the 2023 season, my expectations for Guanyu Zhou were tempered, particularly regarding his ability to consistently challenge his more experienced teammate, Valtteri Bottas. My previous assessment was heavily influenced by the 2022 season, where Zhou only managed to finish ahead of Bottas in races where both completed the distance on two occasions. This led me to believe that a significant step forward in his performance relative to Bottas might not be on the cards for 2023.

While the Alfa Romeo team as a whole has been less competitive in 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022, Zhou has undoubtedly made strides. A notable highlight was the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, where both Alfa Romeos surprisingly qualified in the top seven, with Zhou impressively topping Q1. However, this marked the sole instance where Zhou outqualified his teammate for a traditional Grand Prix this year. On average, the ten-time Grand Prix winner Bottas still maintains a significant qualifying advantage of 0.372 seconds over Zhou, who is in only his second F1 season. On three occasions, Zhou has been exceptionally close, within a tenth of a second of Bottas, but sometimes even that narrow margin hasn’t been sufficient to progress to the next qualifying segment, while Bottas has managed to squeeze through. The consequence of having more cars separating them on the grid often means the driver starting ahead has a far greater likelihood of scoring points.

Despite the qualifying disparity, Zhou’s race-day performances have frequently painted a different picture. While Bottas has finished ahead seven times, both drivers have managed to score points on two separate occasions each. Crucially, Zhou also demonstrated his raw pace by setting the fastest lap in the Bahrain Grand Prix, a repeat of his achievement from the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. This feat is particularly significant for Alfa Romeo (Sauber-run), as the last time a Sauber driver took a fastest lap before Zhou’s consecutive efforts was all the way back in May 2013, highlighting his potential. In the shorter Sprint Race format qualifying sessions, Bottas has been marginally faster on average by a mere 0.025 seconds. However, Zhou has finished ahead of Bottas in two of these sprint races, and at Spa-Francorchamps, he ably followed his teammate up the order from low grid positions, demonstrating strong race craft and opportunistic driving.

Should Alfa Romeo struggle to become a regular contender for points for the remainder of the season, it might only take one strong result for Zhou to leapfrog Bottas and establish himself as the team’s lead driver in the standings. Pre-season, I wouldn’t have thought the argument for Zhou’s retention for 2024 could be solely based on his on-track results, given the commercial backing he brings. However, at his current rate of improvement and given his demonstrably strong race performances, he is steadily building a compelling case that could effectively neutralize the threat posed by Sauber’s highly-rated Formula 2 points-leading protégé, Théo Pourchaire, for a seat next year. Zhou is proving his worth on merit. Ida Wood

The Elusive Promise of Better Racing: F1’s Technical Regulations

When the sweeping technical regulations were introduced last year, delayed by a year due to the global pandemic, I held no illusions that they would miraculously transform the quality of Formula 1 racing overnight. However, I did harbor a sincere hope that these new rules would represent a crucial first step towards fundamentally addressing a deep-seated problem that F1 had grappled with for many years: the difficulty of close-quarters racing and the detrimental effects of “dirty air.”

Sadly, as we now navigate the crucial halfway point of the second season under these revised regulations, my initial optimism has largely dissipated. I gravely doubt that these rules have achieved their intended transformative effect on racing quality. Worse still, a growing concern has taken root: I no longer believe that Formula 1 is genuinely serious about fostering truly organic, wheel-to-wheel racing that rewards driver skill and strategic acumen over artificial aids.

During the extensive build-up to the regulations’ delayed introduction, Formula 1’s governing bodies repeatedly emphasized a core principle: by drastically simplifying the upper aerodynamic surfaces of the cars and instead generating significantly more downforce through sophisticated ground-effect floors, drivers would be able to follow each other more closely without suffering as much from turbulent air. This objective does appear to have been achieved to a certain degree, particularly evident in high-speed corners where cars can now maintain closer proximity. However, this benefit has come at a cost, as drivers have also widely reported a noticeable lessening of the beneficial slipstream effect on straights, a traditional tool for overtaking.

The implicit hope was that if overtaking genuinely became easier and more natural through these technical changes, the often-criticized “sticking plaster” solution that F1 introduced 13 years ago – the Drag Reduction System (DRS) – would eventually be phased out or, at the very least, significantly reduced in its impact. Yet, F1’s reluctance to relinquish this artificial aid is palpable. There is a clear and persistent fear that switching off these “push-button” passes might lead to a return of processional races, thereby diminishing the spectacle for fans, especially given the current disparity in car performance.

At the beginning of this year, the FIA experimented with slightly shortening the DRS zones at select tracks, aiming to make overtaking marginally more challenging and thus more rewarding. This prompted immediate complaints from drivers, who argued that such adjustments would render overtaking excessively difficult. Despite these concerns, we have continued to witness an unending stream of easy, almost unremarkable DRS passes on straights, which often lack the thrill and skill of genuine wheel-to-wheel combat. Nevertheless, the drivers’ collective voice seemingly prevailed, and since the initial six races, the DRS zones have largely reverted to their previous lengths, remaining largely unchanged.

Worryingly, some prominent drivers, such as Alexander Albon, have even publicly advocated for DRS zones to be extended. “The cars are closing up now, that’s a great thing, and once the cars start to close up, and more and more happens every year, then we might actually need to consider making the DRS zones even bigger, to then start to promote overtaking again,” Albon stated ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. “I think it’s getting quite tough now to overtake cars. I think it’s getting harder and harder.” The race that followed at Spa featured numerous predictable DRS passes, confirming the mechanism’s continued prominence. Yet, it also showcased superb, authentic overtakes outside the DRS zones, such as Pierre Gasly’s masterful move on Albon at Fagnes. This stark contrast perfectly encapsulates the core problem: the new technical regulations may indeed offer some assistance in allowing cars to follow more closely, but as long as F1 remains steadfastly reliant on its old, artificial solution, and DRS zones continue to monopolize virtually all the prime overtaking opportunities on the calendar, we may never truly understand the full potential of these fundamental rule changes.

Disturbingly, F1’s leadership appears largely unbothered by this ongoing debate. While drivers in other prestigious motorsport series often cast disparaging looks at F1’s “DRS crap that makes [overtaking] easy”, the sport’s increasingly insular approach shows little interest in revisiting an era where a driver attempting to defend their position wasn’t automatically placed at a significant disadvantage to the rival behind them. Instead, F1 is trialing even earlier activation of DRS in sprint races, with a clear view to introducing the same at Grand Prix events next year. This trajectory suggests a deeper commitment to maintaining the artificial spectacle of “easy” overtakes rather than pursuing a path towards more challenging, skill-based racing. Keith Collantine

Over to You: Your Mid-Season Insights

The 2023 Formula 1 season has been a captivating journey of shifting fortunes and evolving perceptions. As our contributors have shared their changed minds on key aspects of the season, we now turn the conversation to you, our passionate readers. What preconceptions or expectations have you found yourself re-evaluating since the start of the 2023 season? Have any drivers, teams, or regulatory decisions surprised you enough to alter your initial opinions? Share your insights, analyses, and changed perspectives in the comments section below. We look forward to hearing your unique take on a truly eventful year in Formula 1.

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