James1978 wrote: ↑30 Oct 2022, 23:09
And we all think Max winning 14 races for real is boring lol.
At least next year looks interesting now with all 6 drivers from the top 3 teams out and I see no reason for that pecking order to change unless Ferrari have another shocker. If there's a similar pecking order then I'd put Norris, Ocon as favourites and possibly their teammates depending on how quick they can get up to speed, maybe DrVries if he impresses at Alpha Tauri.
The only excitement is whether Russell breaks Leclerc's win record. Without DNFs, I'm expecting that to happen.
I'm predicting Norris for next year – after being runner-up three years in a row (I'm not expecting Ocon to overtake him in the next two races), his championship is long overdue. Piastri is my second favorite, though that could end up going completely wrong.
George Russell won the Sao Paulo sprint race ahead of Norris and polesitter Magnussen. In the race itself, Russell had another strong performance, setting the fastest lap and equaling the record for most wins in a season. Will he be able to break it in Abu Dhabi? Ocon and Stroll took the other two podium spots.
Russell does it – a win in Abu Dhabi sees him break Leclerc's three-year-old record for most wins in a season. Matching the championship results, Norris finishes second (with fastest lap) and Ocon third, Stroll taking fourth place.
Stroll wins the first race of the season in Bahrain. With Aston Martin looking good, could he be a surprising favorite for the championship? Gasly and Tsunoda take the other two podium spots. The rookies had a very mixed weekend: Sargeant impressed with a fourth place, De Vries was a solid but unspectacular sixth, Piastri failed to finish. Eternal number two Norris also had a difficult start to the season. Zhou set the fastest lap.
Not so fast – Stroll fails to score at Jeddah after a car failure. Ocon recovers from his Bahrain disaster to win and set the fastest lap. Gasly takes the championship lead by finishing second again, while Magnussen impresses with a third place. Tsunoda is currently second in the WDC on sheer consistency!
Stroll takes his second win of the season in a chaotic race in Melbourne. After a difficult start to 2023, McLaren had a much better day with Norris finishing second and Piastri taking his first career podium in third. Only five drivers managed to finish, although all the others (including former championship leader Gasly) were also classified. Fastest lap was set by Stroll.
Stroll won the sprint race at Baku, continuing his streak of strong performances. Piastri and Magnussen also scored a nice haul of points.
Stroll also won the actual Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Tsunoda. He is now more than a win's worth of points ahead of Gasly who could only manage a sixth place and the fastest lap.
Don't discount the McLarens. If they continue to improve, they may provide a real challenge for Lance.
Otherwise if he can get an early enough lead with the others tripping over each other, this could be the most popular championship of all time.
Murray Walker at the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix wrote:The other [Stewart] driver, who nobody's been paying attention to, because he's disappointing, is Jan Magnussen.
Rob Dylan wrote: ↑01 May 2023, 08:07
Don't discount the McLarens. If they continue to improve, they may provide a real challenge for Lance.
None of them really impressed this time: Stroll could only manage a fifth place, Norris was seventh, Piastri ninth.
Gasly takes his first win of the season in Miami, helping his championship hopes quite a bit. Fellow Alpine driver Ocon takes second, and Magnussen finishes third. Fastest lap goes to Stroll.
Stroll crashes out in Monaco, giving us an Alpine 1-2 and a new championship leader. Ocon takes his second win of the season. Gasly's second place and fastest lap allow him to overtake Stroll. Norris takes third place ahead of team mate Piastri.
Incredible that Stroll, given his actual season right now, is doing so damn well in the standings regardless
An intra-Alpine championship against Lance Stroll, I must say, must be among the least inspiring fights for the championship I have ever seen on this thread! I would honestly prefer Tsunoda to be a dark horse and steal the championship at the last minute.
Murray Walker at the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix wrote:The other [Stewart] driver, who nobody's been paying attention to, because he's disappointing, is Jan Magnussen.
Stroll returns to winning ways at Barcelona, also regaining the championship lead. Ocon finishes second, Zhou takes his second career podium in third. Norris sets the fastest lap.
I had to go back through this to remind myself when Hulkenberg won (because he obviously isn't in the 2023 line-up). I'm stunned it was as early as 2012 as I don't remember him doing that much that year apart from Brazil when he was battling for the lead with the McLarens. Just lots of minor points finishes which were big results with 9 top drivers eliminated. And Checo beat Max in 2017 despite being in a pink panther? The mind boggles.
"Poor old Warwick takes it from behind all throughout this season". (Tony Jardine, 1988)
Without DNFs, I'm expecting that to happen.
(Tony Jardine, 1988)