The traditional August summer break is a good time to take stock of the Formula 1 season.
There’s been plenty of things to smile about if you happen to be in the Max Verstappen or Red Bull camp. As for just about everyone else, it’s a matter of “wait until next year.”
Here’s what—or who—have we found particularly underwhelming from this year’s Formula 1 championship at just over the mid-point of the campaign:
Not a Single Close Battle Up Front
This is not a criticism against Red Bull or Max Verstappen—they’ve been the class of the field. Red Bull has ripped to all 12 victories and is on a run of 22 from 23 since last July. Max Verstappen has won 10 from 12 this year, with teammate Checo Perez taking the other two, and the two-time world champion will be a triple title-winner before long.
And yes, everyone expected a Verstappen/Red Bull title preseason, and many anticipated that Verstappen would hold an advantage. But the lack of any competition at the sharp end of the field has still been a huge disappointment—no one would have realistically expected Red Bull to win every race so far.
There hasn’t been a single memorable battle for victory and the majority of races have been forgettable processions. Behind Verstappen it has been an exciting season with several teams trading places, but that’s not what people switch on to watch.
Nyck de Vries, left, was given his walking papers before the F1 season even made it to the Summer Break.
Nyck de Vries
This could extend to AlphaTauri as a whole—a team that spent years in the midfield and has now drifted to the back. But the recruitment of Nyck de Vries looked misguided from the outset after AlphaTauri lost Pierre Gasly, couldn’t sign Colton Herta, then pounced on de Vries based on one outstanding showing last year for Williams.
De Vries’ technical feedback was praised—with Yuki Tsunoda lauding his contribution – and his experience meant AlphaTauri expected him to hit the ground running.
But on-track there was little in the way of performance and there were a few clumsy errors that did not exactly aid his prospects.
Hiring him then firing him in such a short space of time ably demonstrated that he was never the solution in the first place. He will have a long and successful career in motorsport but the combination of de Vries and AlphaTauri was a case of a square peg in a round hole.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari have spent most of the F1 season in the midpack this year.
Ferrari
Ferrari started Formula 1’s new era in 2022 on top but quickly allowed its position to slip due to in-season development, strategic blunders, reliability setbacks and driver errors.
It launched its 2023 season to much fanfare at its Fiorano facility—one of the most impressive and rounded car launches in history—and set out its target of fighting for the championship.
It has instead taken only three podium finishes and is fourth in the championship.
“If we look at the first half of the year, we are very far from where we put our expectations before the season,” conceded Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari’s performance level has fluctuated from podium contention to barely scraping into the points and it does not yet fully understand the SF-23. Another era of rebuilding is underway.
Haas F1 Team is arguably further away from a win in Formula 1 that it was when it came into the series in 2016.
Haas F1 Team
It has been a frustrating season for a Haas team that is eighth in the championship and ahead of Alfa Romeo on countback only.
It hasn’t been a disaster, such as its 2020 regression that signaled its 2021 write-off, while at least off-track there haven’t been controversial drivers or title sponsors.
In that sense no news has been good news for the team.
The VF-23 has been a frustrating package for Haas because in the right circumstances it has encouraging one-lap pace, allowing Nico Hulkenberg to qualify inside the top 10 on six occasions, including second in Canada, while conversely Kevin Magnussen has struggled.
However, Haas has taken just three top-10 finishes, the most recent of which came in Miami, owing to tire degradation that the team has yet to get on top of, and which has wrecked much of its season.
There is little evidence that Haas can score points again this year on merit and the bigger task at hand is to ensure the setback is cured for 2024.
Lance Stroll is ninth in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings.
Lance Stroll
A few drivers have had fairly average first portions of the season—George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen have all had a largely forgettable time—but Lance Stroll has had a humbling stretch, for sure.
Stroll was resilient to compete in Bahrain given the extent of the injuries to his wrists, and deserves huge credit for the perseverance, but after that display of grit, his season hasn’t kicked on.
There have been mitigating circumstances on occasion but Stroll has 47 points to the 149 amassed by teammate Fernando Alonso and has taken no podiums to the two-time champion’s six. He has beaten Alonso to the finish only once and even that came when the elder Aston Martin driver opted to slot in and cruise to the end.
Stroll has taken podiums in the right circumstances, took a front row start as a rookie, and claimed a pole position in near-ice conditions in Turkey in 2020. So there is talent in there. But Stroll hasn’t progressed in the last few years and there has been no evidence to suggest he can step into a leadership role when Alonso, now 42, does eventually retire.
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