Shock F1 star named as unsung hero of the season

GPFans F1 Awards

Shock F1 star named as unsung hero of the season

Made a huge splash during the season

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 7 January 2024 08:27

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The F1 season in 2023 proved to be a difficult one for many outside of Max Verstappen and Red Bull to make huge headlines in.

Red Bull won 21 out of the 22 races, with Max Verstappen taking 19 of them and his team-mate Sergio Perez winning twice early on and then not being seen again.

Carlos Sainz took rare applause outside of Red Bull when he claimed victory for Ferrari at the Singapore Grand Prix.

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That left little space for others to make their mark during the year but there were exceptions to that as GPFans readers had their pick when selecting their unsung hero of the year as part of our annual awards.

Incredibly an existing F1 driver didn't take the award, with Liam Lawson the clear winner in the category after being parachuted into the AlphaTauri seat mid-season.

Daniel Ricciardo had initially replaced Nyck de Vries at the team, but after two races had broken his hand - leading to the New Zealand racer being given an unexpected call up.

Not only did he impress during his five races on the grid, but the 21-year-old adapted quickly, collecting his first two world championship points with a ninth place in Singapore - and it helped him take 62 per cent of votes.

Liam Lawson (left) and Alex Albon (right) were among the unsung heroes of the 2023 F1 season

Liam Lawson was a surprise call-up to AlphaTauri after Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand

Maturing Albon also earns plaudits

Alex Albon's redemption in F1 with his maturing drives at Williams saw him take the runners-up vote with 24 per cent.

Gianpiero Lambiase's regular radio tussles with Verstappen earned him five per cent, with McLaren team boss Andrea Stella also being recognised.

Las Vegas GP track workers to ensure we had a race after fixing drain covers at short notice also grabbed a fraction of votes as did Lance Stroll after racing severely injured and with hardly any testing under his belt at the start of the season.