F1 2023

Rain, records and celebrity dating: Things we learned from the first half of the F1 season

It's been a wild first half to the 2023 season, and there's more to come!

Jim Kimberley

Monday 7 August 2023 14:57

Formula 1 has reached its summer break in a frantically busy year that already has a dozen races to its name, and so much has happened since lights out in Bahrain.

Although some parts of the season, like Aston Martin's ascent and Red Bull's relentless run, might feel like long-known F1 facts, just four months ago, we had no idea how 2023 would pan out.

Here are seven things we've learned from 2023 so far.

Always Trust in El Plan

Fernando Alonso's public acknowledgement of the internet's "El Plan" in 2021 caused the meme to explode around the Formula 1 world, even making it to Alpine's rear wing in Abu Dhabi that year.

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The Spaniard reiterated to trust in El Plan in that off-season, but Alpine's midfield anonymity continued through 2022, and Alonso jumped into Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin seat as soon as the German retired.

Whether Alonso knew just what a rocket he'd be driving in 2023 isn't so clear, but after some disastrous moves in his career, signing for Aston Martin and immediately grabbing a trio of P3 finishes looks inspired.

We already knew that "all the time you have to leave the space," thanks to the school of Alonso, but after this turnaround to regularly return to the podium, everyone now knows to trust in El Plan, too.

Standalone Sprint Saturdays

The Belgian Grand Prix last weekend was the third Sprint event of the 2023 season, and fans are now used to the short-form Saturday racing.

Sprint still divides opinions among the racing community, but tweaks to the weekend format have addressed many criticisms about its previous Grand Prix-altering existence.

Formula 1 remained tight-lipped on the adjustment to replace Saturday's previously redundant Free Practice 2 with an all-new Shootout session until days before Baku.

A Sprint Saturday is now a self-contained event outside of qualifying and the Grand Prix, providing more competitive on-track action for fans to watch and adding value for on-site spectators.

Whether or not another hour of required Formula 1 television viewing is a good thing during a weekend where the sport already invades into Friday afternoons is another question, though.

F1's Celebrity Power

Formula 1 is no stranger to having unrelated celebrities popping up at a race to sit in a garage, wave the chequered flag, or, God forbid, answer questions in a post-race interview.

Yet the A-list attraction seems higher than ever in 2023. The sport's raised profile has turned the drivers into celebrities outside of the paddock, and relationship rumours have snuck onto the grid.

Is Fernando Alonso a secret lover to arguably the biggest pop star of today, Taylor Swift? How about Lewis Hamilton being part of a love triangle with Shakira?

Aside from romance, Brad Pitt's fictional Apex GP team featured at the British Grand Prix to film scenes for his upcoming movie, further lifting F1 into the limelight.

The gossip column isn't usually where you'd head to find Formula 1, but there's an abundance of 'news' there this 2023 season.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Remember when recent Formula 1 seasons had post-race downpours turning into social media memes for the wet weather's inability to hit the track during any sessions?

The opposite problem seems to have hit Formula 1 this year, with rain affecting at least one day of action at every single Grand Prix weekend since Monte Carlo.

The combination of rain and sprint races has been a thrilling one

That's seven consecutive rounds for the 20 drivers to tentatively tiptoe around on the intermediate tyres (because the full wets are pointless, of course) and hope to avoid the barriers.

Those seven rounds even exclude the cancelled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, too — a weekend that heavy rain entirely called off, saving the teams from an exhausting early triple header event.

Record-breaking Red Bull

Speaking of consecutive races, we can't talk about 2023 without mentioning the incredible records broken by Red Bull Racing.

Pre-season testing showed the world that Red Bull would be the class of the field, but very few people expected more domination than ever before in F1's 73-year history.

Twelve wins in 12 races represent the best season start by any constructor ever, besting McLaren's 11-race run in 1988.

The team's 13 race wins (and counting) since Abu Dhabi 2022 make the power of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes or Michael Schumacher's Ferrari look relatively feeble.

Record-breaking Season

While China and Imola's cancellation means 2023 will 'only' be the joint-longest season, 2023 already has some other records in the bag.

Esteban Ocon's five penalties in the Austrian Grand Prix is an all-time record, albeit one he probably doesn't want, as were the three red flags stoppages in April's chaotic Australian Grand Prix.

Another record could topple soon, too; should Max Verstappen win on home soil when F1 returns, he'll match Vettel's incredible 2013 record of running consecutive race wins, with Monza the potential site of taking the record outright.

We All Undervalued Valtteri Bottas

When Lewis Hamilton said his time with Valtteri Bottas was "the greatest partnership" back in 2018, we couldn't appreciate that his comments would transcend the intra-team praise he intended.

Bottas couldn't consistently challenge Hamilton when the Silver Arrows were on top. Yet he was a thorn in the Briton's side, especially on Saturdays, far more frequently than Sergio Perez is to Max Verstappen.

You don't have to be pro or anti-Verstappen to want the reigning champion to have a bit more competition this year, even if the finishing order remains the same.

The RB19's all-powerful pace means the other nine teams are fighting 2023 with one arm behind their back, so the nearest challenge must come from across the garage.

Perez is not anywhere near Verstappen, either in qualifying (Baku aside) or during Sunday's races.

Channelling his inner Bottas to spring a surprise win or pole irrespective of problems for Verstappen would be nice to see after the summer break — please, Checo, please?

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Jim Kimberley -

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