Stoddie Straight: People will remember this F1 season for generations to come

The 2023 Formula 1 season will go down in history as the Max Verstappen and Red Bull championship, and so it should.

Winning 19 races, and in the case of Red Bull winning 21 out of 22 races, is an achievement that people will be talking about long after we're gone - fans will be discussing it for generations to come.

It bodes similarities to the 1988 season with McLaren when the team won 15 out of 16 races with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost as their drivers. 40 years later, this has happened.

The only way that this record can be beaten is by Red Bull and Max in 2024. In a way, Red Bull is its own main competitor for next year, although repeating such an achievement will be a very tall task.

I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of teams like McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and maybe even Aston Martin having their periods of brilliance where can be up there challenging Max after showing flashes of speed across the last year.

Will Verstappen still be a second lap quicker than everyone else on the grid when the cars take to the track next year? I think he will be - but not at every race.

Perhaps Red Bull might only win 18 out of the 24 races that are to be staged next year. But I think it will be more exciting.

With the 2023 season still fresh in the memory, let's not take anything away from Max.

It was the perfect championship delivered by a world-class driver who has shown that if anyone ever had any doubt, he is up there with the absolute best of the best.

Of course, there is a danger of the Lewis Hamilton effect or the Michael Schumacher effect where once a driver is winning consistently, people get bored.

Luckily this year, I think we had enough drama elsewhere on the grid. But for Verstappen to deliver that kind of performance week in and week out with a one-off race in Singapore, that's pretty impressive. That's a sign of a true champion.