You might say there has only been one winner of the 2023 season so far, but there has been some good stories up and down the grid. RacingNews365 takes a look at the winners so far in the season, dwelling on who has put in the most surprising and exemplary performances.
Max Verstappen
Can anyone stop Verstappen? The Dutchman heads into the summer break on eight wins in a row and looks set to add to that tally at the upcoming races in the Netherlands and Italy. If he wins at Monza then he takes over the record previously held by Sebastian Vettel, which is nine wins in a row from the 2013 season. Often times it looks like a video game for Verstappen, but it's the way in which he wins that makes it all the more impressive. Verstappen's best performance arguably came most recently at Spa Francorchamps when he was dealt with a grid penalty, then rain mid-race that caused a moment through Eau Rouge. An area of weakness has often been qualifying for the Dutchman as well, as evidenced by his first pole in F1 coming at the 2017 Mexican GP - nearly three years after his debut. This year he has stepped up massively, his best being at Monaco when he exploited every bit of the track to his advantage to snatch it away from Fernando Alonso. There can be no doubts over whether he will win the title, the only question remains on how long he can keep his win streak up?
McLaren
Even though it was the worst start to a season in the 60-year history of McLaren, the team has turned their car from a midfielder into a genuine podium contender. The departure of James Key earlier in the season enabled McLaren to refocus on its car concept, having missed a lot of their targets over the winter break. After bringing an upgrade package at Austria, the team was quick not to get carried away over what could have been a one-off especially considering Lando Norris' form at the Red Bull Ring. Another podium at Silverstone coupled with a fourth for Oscar Piastri validated their suspicions, and now they look like a genuine threat in the close development battle behind Red Bull. It will take a lot more points finishes and podiums to move further up the order in the Constructors' Championship, but they can at least enjoy their resurgence back to the front in the second half of 2023.
Fernando Alonso
When Fernando Alonso made the switch from Alpine to Aston Martin, questions were raised over whether it would be a fruitful move for the Spaniard. The timing of his moves in F1 since winning championships with Renault have always been slightly off, as evidenced by the period between 2010 and 2018. His move to Aston Martin in 2022 was done purely because of the delay in getting a contract signed at Alpine last season, with the team also offering him better financial terms. Now 12 races in he's achieved six podiums with the team, something he didn't even expect when making the move. The Spaniard currently sits third in the Drivers' Championship, which could be under threat from Lewis Hamilton at the end of the season. Aston Martin will need to stay on top of their car developments if they want to follow through on this ace start to the season.
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