If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that back in March, after the pre-season test in Bahrain, I made some predictions as to what I think could be possible during the 2023 Formula One Season. Then, back in June, I wrote up an update and, it's fair to say that I'm no Baba Vanga. If you don't know who that is, Google is your friend.
Now, halfway through the Summer break, it's that time again to see how my predictions are playing out. Have they been affected by the significant developments during the latter stages of the first half of the season? Let's find out.
Max Verstappen Will Win His 3rd Consecutive World Championship
At this point in the season, with a 125 point lead over second place man and teammate; Sergio Perez, Verstappen will need to have a disastrous second half of the season. However, if he dominates the way he has done before the Summer, the Red Bull driver could wrap this season's title up pretty quickly. With 10 out of the 12 wins so far in 2023, and a teammate who isn't performing at the same level, you wouldn't be judged for thinking that the Dutch driver has it in the bag. It's more of a question of when, rather than if. Still, crazier things have happened in motorsport.
Fernando Alonso Will Get A Podium
As discussed in June, the newly partnered Alonso and Aston Martin fulfilled this prediction with a 3rd place finish at the first race of the season in Bahrain. Since then, Alonso has gone on to score 5 more podiums, the last being a 2nd place in Canada. But, as more teams bring more updates for their cars, Aston Martin seem to be falling behind. Can they resurrect what was a fantastic start to the season at the beginning of the second half?
A New Teammate Rivalry
So far, every team seems to be playing "happy families." Back in June, I reported about rising tensions at Mercedes and Ferrari, but it's the latter that seems to be getting close to boiling point, with plenty of high-rate radio messages from Charles Leclerc to his team about teammate, Carlos Sainz. And, with Ferrari still in, what seems like a never ending nightmare, it can't be helping the drivers tempers, as they unnecessarily loose points . Of course, the likes of social media and journalism create and emphasis pointless drama but, with contract renewals on the horizon, a teammate rivalry is the last thing that either Ferrari driver needs.
Haas Will Have A Strong Start to the Season
The start of the season is long gone, and at the time of writing during the Summer break, the team sit 8th in the Constructors Championship, joint on 11 points with Williams. In the first half of the season, the team have had extremely poor race pace. However, qualifying has, on average, been better with an impressive 2nd place for Nico Hulkenberg at the Canadian Grand Prix. Unfortunately for the Haas team, points have been hard to come by, with the last ones scored in Miami, back in May. This is one prediction that completely failed to materialise.
Williams Will be Regular Point Scorers
Although Williams have only appeared in the points on 3 occasions during the first half of the season, you can't deny how much they've come on during 2023, with Alexander Albon, especially, putting in some impressive performances. His teammate; Logan Sargeant, lies bottom of the table with zero points. As mentioned above, they currently sit on 11 points, joint with Haas, in the Constructors Championship. There is still time in the season for this prediction to come to fruition. But, with Albon doing the majority of the work, will it happen?
A Tough Season for McLaren
From the pre-season test, to the start of the season, to my predictions update post in June, McLaren have had a relatively mediocre 2023. Until Silverstone, that is. New updates gave the team a 2nd and 3rd start at the British Grand Prix, with Lando Norris going on to claim 2nd and giving the team their first podium of the year. A feat they would repeat at the following race in Hungary. In fact, things have gotten so much better for the team from Woking, that they've jumped and cleared Alpine in the Constructors Championship. There is still a long way to go, with 10 races left when racing resumes, but thankfully, it looks as if McLaren have already proved me wrong.
A First Time Winner
With how Red Bull and Verstappen are performing, it's hard to think that anyone, let alone a first timer, will win this season. However, there have been signs, that if Verstappen happens to DNF a race, we could get that first time winner. Take Esteban Ocon in Monaco, for example, who qualified his Alpine in 3rd before going onto finishing on the podium. And, what about Norris in Silverstone? He took the lead from Verstappen in the early stages of the race before settling for 2nd, behind the Red Bull driver. There is definitely potential that this still could happen.
Nyck de Vries: Rookie of the Year
Well, this one ended badly. It's such a shame for de Vries, he had potential. However, with Red Bull's high expectation of the Dutch driver, it was never going to end well and he saw himself replaced by ex-Red Bull driver, Daniel Ricciardo, for the Hungarian Grand Prix. With a Formula 2 and Formula E championship under his belt, you can't blame anyone for having such high expectations on him (de Vries.) Unfortunately, with a car that severely under-performed and a driver that failed to score points during his short F1 career; Nyck de Vries definitely will not be Rookie of the Year and I would like to apologise to him for jinxing his career with this prediction.
So, there it is - my extremely bad predictions. However, for the likes of McLaren, I'm glad the opposite is happening! As mentioned before, there are 10 races left to go in 2023. Anything can happen and I'm excited to see how it plays out and update you all on my predictions at the end of the season.
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