It doesn’t seem that long ago (but is actually 20 years!) that the length of an F1 season was firmly 16 grands prix. But that’s now the record for victories in a single championship campaign thanks to Red Bull star Verstappen’s latest success in the Mexican GP.
As Alex Kalinauckas shows in our in-depth report, there were a number of potential challengers to Verstappen, but each found a different problem that proved too difficult to overcome. Although the likelihood of any of them having the pace to beat the #1 Red Bull is highly questionable…
In such a season of domination, it’s common to look to the second driver of the best car to provide some opposition. The fact that Perez has failed to do that by some margin in 2023 is one of the reasons why he is under pressure, particularly after being outqualified by Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri in Mexico City.
We demonstrate how last weekend underlined the problems faced by the likeable Mexican ahead of 2024 in this issue.
Elsewhere, Tom Howard reports on Kalle Rovanpera securing back-to-back World Rally Championship titles in mature style, and our World of Sport section includes how Liam Lawson – another Red Bull driver banging on the F1 door – narrowly missed out on the Super Formula crown in a dramatic Suzuka finale.
James Newbold talks to Louis Deletraz about his rise since abandoning single-seaters, while four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves picks out his favourite team-mate.
The 750 Motor Club’s historic Birkett Relay and the career of six-time British Hillclimb champion Scott Moran feature in our 13-page National section.
With the motorsport season heading towards its close, it’s time for you to have your say on the top performers of 2023. This week we announce the nominees for the Autosport Awards you can vote for, in the magazine and online.
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