As the second half of the Formula 1 season gets underway, there are two clear objectives the teams are striving to achieve. The first is the fight for world championship points on track, the second is the design and development of their 2024 cars. The latter is a top-secret process that occurs behind closed doors, but it’s just as important as the action that is taking place in the remaining races of 2023.
As the year progresses, more personnel switch from upgrading the current year’s car, to focusing their resources into building the chassis to contest next year’s world championship. This double-edged competition might explain why we won’t see a significant challenge to Red Bull’s dominance in the second half of the season.
And what a year it has been so far for Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver is within touching distance of his third world title and his Red Bull team have all but wrapped up this year’s Constructors’ crown. The story of the remaining races is therefore the battle for ‘best-of-the-rest’ behind the all-conquering Red Bull team.
Aston Martin started the year with the second-best car, but as the season has advanced, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have upgraded their machines to be vying for podiums on a regular basis. While Red Bull have so far looked unbeatable, there are two drivers in particular who will be looking to break their winning streak.
The first is Fernando Alonso, the double world champion (now 42 years of age) who is looking to take his 33rd victory — but crucially it would be his first since he triumphed for Ferrari back in 2013.
The second is seeking his first Grand Prix victory. Lando Norris is only 23 and has been with McLaren since he made his Formula 1 debut in 2019. With nearly 100 starts and eight podiums to his name so far, he is long overdue the chance to stand on the top step of the rostrum for the first time.
As the northern hemisphere summer heads into autumn, so the sport drifts away from its historic European heartland and heads to the Far East, the Americas and the Middle East. After the final European race in Monza, the teams begin their flyaway tour with a trip to Singapore for F1’s original Night Race on the streets of the Lion City. That’s followed by a visit to Japan before a stop-off at Qatar before heading to the United States.
Austin, Mexico and Sao Paulo offer a thrilling triple-header before the final two races of 2023 — an exciting return to the Strip in Las Vegas — before the sun sets on another season at the impressive Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. The crews then return to their bases. But there is no rest, as it’s all hands-on deck to get their 2024 machines built and ready to contest next year’s title.
