Imagine How Much Fun the F1 Season Would Be WITHOUT Max Verstappen and Red Bull

Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen have dominated the 2023 Formula 1 season and are firmly set for a fully-deserved sweep of the championship titles.

Rather boring, some might say.

But a closer look at the F1 races so this season, and there have been enthralling battles behind the leader. Different faces have traded places, and superb scraps for position have taken place.

Watching Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton go wheel-to-wheel for the runner-up spot behind Verstappen at last week’s F1 British Grand Prix was incredibly fun.

The Dream

That Norris-Hamilton duel got us to daydreaming. What would the F1 2023 season look like—and how would the battles for the wins have unfolded—if Red Bull Racing was removed from the picture, and we had an 18-car grid.

Take a little mathematical re-evaluation of the points—simply taking Red Bull’s results out of the picture—add a healthy dollop of imagination, and this is the season we might have had to date:

Bahrain

Charles Leclerc cruises away from pole position and it looks set to be the perfect start to 2023 for the 2022 Bahrain winner and overall runner-up, but his evening ends when he suffers a power unit failure.

Instead, Fernando Alonso puts on a stirring recovery drive from a poor getaway to expertly overhaul both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, going on to start his Aston Martin career with a dazzling victory beneath the lights.

Mythical Results

1. Alonso (25)
2. Sainz (18)
3. Hamilton (15)
4. Stroll (12)
5. Russell (10)
6. Bottas (8)
7. Gasly (6)
8. Albon (4)
9. Tsunoda (2)
10. Sargeant (1)

Mythical points leaders: Alonso 25, Sainz 18, Hamilton 15

Saudi Arabia

Alonso continues his dream start to the 2023 season, but after the podium ceremony he is penalized for not correctly serving a penalty at his pit stop. The sanction promotes George Russell to top spot but Aston Martin protests Alonso’s penalty and after a wait of several hours, the penalty rescinded. Alonso therefore picks up a maximum haul of points, ahead of Russell, while Hamilton joins his teammate on the podium.

Mythical Results

1. Alonso (25+1)
2. Russell (18)
3. Hamilton (15)
4. Sainz (12)
5. Leclerc (10)
6. Ocon (8)
7. Gasly (6)
8. Magnussen (4)
9. Tsunoda (2)
10. Hulkenberg (1)

Mythical points leaders: Alonso 51, Sainz 30, Hamilton 30

Australia

Mercedes surges into a 1-2 in the early laps, but initial leader Russell suffers an engine failure after a red flag period for Alex Albon’s accident.

Hamilton picks up the pieces and keeps Alonso at bay for much of the race prior to a dramatic late restart that accounts for several drivers. Alonso is spun by Sainz but is reinstated to the runner-up position while Sainz’s penalty for hitting the Aston Martin relegates him to the bottom of the top 10 and gives Lance Stroll his first podium of the year.

Mythical Results

Hamilton (25)

Alonso (18)

Stroll (15)

Norris (12)

Hulkenberg (10)

Piastri (8)

Zhou (6)

Tsunoda (4)

Bottas (2)

Sainz (1+1)

Mythical points leaders: Alonso 69, Hamilton 55, Sainz 32

Azerbaijan

After a wretched start to the season Charles Leclerc finally puts Ferrari on top with victory in both the Sprint race and the main grand prix. Leclerc is chased to the flag by title leader Alonso, with just eight-tenths of a second splitting them across the line, while Sainz picks up a podium, as Hamilton has a low-key race to fourth place.

Sprint

1. Leclerc (8)
2. Russell (7)
3. Sainz (6)
4. Alonso (5)
5. Hamilton (4)
6. Stroll (3)
7. Albon (2)
8. Piastri (1)

Race

1. Leclerc (25)
2. Alonso (18)
3. Sainz (15)
4. Hamilton (12)
5. Stroll (10)
6. Russell (8+1)
7. Norris (6)
8. Tsunoda (4)
9. Piastri (2)
10. Albon (1)

Mythical points leaders: Alonso 92, Hamilton 71, Sainz 53

Miami

Alonso gets back to winning ways with a relatively comfortable victory over Russell around the Miami International Autodrome. Sainz takes third despite suffering a pit lane speeding penalty while Hamilton recovers to fourth after dropping out in Q2 on Saturday.

Mythical Results

1. Alonso (25+1)
2. Russell (18)
3. Sainz (15)
4. Hamilton (12)
5. Leclerc (10)
6. Gasly (8)
7. Ocon (6)
8. Magnussen (4)
9. Tsunoda (2)
10. Stroll (1)

Mythical points leader: Alonso 118, Hamilton 83, Sainz 68

Monaco

Alonso masters a mid-race shower to rule the streets of Monaco to take back-to-back victories and extend his points advantage. Esteban Ocon gives Alpine its first podium of the year with a standout display while Hamilton once again performs damage limitation in his pursuit of title leader Alonso.

Mythical Results

1. Alonso (25)
2. Ocon (18)
3. Hamilton (15+1)
4. Russell (12)
5. Leclerc (10)
6. Gasly (8)
7. Sainz (6)
8. Norris (4)
9. Piastri (2)
10. Bottas (1)

Mythical points standings: Alonso 143, Hamilton 99, Sainz 74, Russell 74

Spain

Mercedes flies around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to make it a maximum haul, as Hamilton leads Russell for his second win of the season. Hamilton closes the deficit on Alonso, who has his quietest Sunday of the year on home soil, leaving it to compatriot Sainz to uphold Spanish honors on the podium.

Mythical Results

1. Hamilton (25+1)
2. Russell (18)
3. Sainz (15)
4. Stroll (12)
5. Alonso (10)
6. Ocon (8)
7. Zhou (6)
8. Gasly (4)
9. Leclerc (2)
10. Tsunoda (1)

Mythical points standings: Alonso 153, Hamilton 125, Russell 92

Canada

A crucial race in the title battle? Hamilton seizes the lead from Alonso off the start but the Aston Martin driver retaliates after a game of cat-and-mouse to pass his rival and claim the win. Ferrari suffers a dismal Saturday but Leclerc returns to the podium by rising from outside of the top 10 to third, facilitated by Russell hitting the wall while running third.

Mythical Results

1. Alonso (25)
2. Hamilton (18+1)
3. Leclerc (15)
4. Sainz (12)
5. Albon (10)
6. Ocon (8)
7. Stroll (6)
8. Bottas (4)
9. Piastri (2)
10. Gasly (1)

Mythical points leaders: Alonso 178, Hamilton 144, Sainz 101

Austria

A peculiar weekend in the hills as Sainz wins the Sprint, with Leclerc nowhere, before the younger Ferrari driver cruises to a comfortable win in the grand prix. Neither Alonso nor Hamilton are in the mix, with Hamilton’s Sprint prospects stymied by a poor qualifying result, and his race result hampered by a time penalty.

In the feature, Alonso is only fourth on the road but moves up to third when Sainz is sanctioned post-race for exceeding track limits. Norris puts an upgraded McLaren onto the podium for the first time all season.

Mythical Results

Sprint

1. Sainz (8)
2. Stroll (7)
3. Alonso (6)
4. Hulkenberg (5)
5. Ocon (4)
6. Russell (3)
7. Norris (2)
8. Hamilton (1)

Race

1. Leclerc (25)
2. Norris (18)
3. Alonso (15)
4. Sainz (12)
5. Russell (10)
6. Hamilton (8)
7. Stroll (6+1)
8. Gasly (4)
9. Albon (2)
10. Zhou (1)

Mythical points results: Alonso 199, Hamilton 153, Sainz 121

Britain

McLaren stuns the paddock by claiming a front-row lockout in qualifying before running a comfortable 1-2 in the race. A mid-race Safety Car brings Hamilton into contention and the Britons thrill the home spectators by duelling for the victory. Norris holds on, ahead of Hamilton, to grab his maiden grand prix victory, while its double delight for McLaren as Piastri nets his first podium. Alonso’s title lead takes a dent with a quiet run to fifth.

Mythical Results

1. Norris (25+1)
2. Hamilton (18)
3. Piastri (15)
4. Russell (12)
5. Alonso (10)
6. Albon (8)
7. Leclerc (6)
8. Sainz (4)
9. Sargeant (2)
10. Bottas (1)

*Updated Current Mythical Drivers’ Championship Standings

(Real 2023 numbers in parenthesis)

1. Alonso 209 (137)
2. Hamilton 171 (121)
3. Sainz 125 (83)
4. Russell 117 (82)
5. Leclerc 111 (74)
6. Stroll 73 (44)
7. Norris 68 (42)
8. Ocon 52 (31)
9. Gasly 37 (16)
10. Piastri 30 (17)
11. Albon 27 (11)
12. Hulkenberg 16 (9)
13. Bottas 16 (5)
14. Zhou 13 (4)
15. Tsunoda 15 (2)
16. Magnussen 8 (2)
17. Sargeant 3 (0)
18. de Vries 0 (0)

* – Mythical results using results that take Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez out of the field.

Conclusion: Fernando the Great Back in the Chase

Wave the magic wand and take Verstappen, Perez and Red Bull out of this 2023 season mix, and it would have been a season with four different teams winning a Grand Prix.

Alonso would be the man to catch, heading toward the summer with a healthy, but shrinking, 38-point title lead after a difficult couple of races. Hamilton is Alonso’s main rival, as the two titans produce a throwback to a different era, but Ferrari have shown flashes of supreme pace and McLaren has re-emerged as a win contender.

Meanwhile, it’s a close fight in the Constructors’ Championship, with Mercedes just six points ahead of Aston Martin, largely thanks to Lance Stroll’s struggles.

Verstappen and Red Bull are dominating F1 in 2023, but behind him the battle for the smaller trophies really has been quite fun. Just imagine how much fun Formula 1 might be this year if Verstappen and Red Bull had just taken the year off.

We did. And it might have been more fun than the current Red Bull domination.