Was Verstappen’s title win the most impressive ever? · RaceFans

Whatever way you look at it, Max Verstappen and Red Bull achieved success on an unparalleled scale in 2023, surpassing even their lofty accomplishments from a year ago.

New records for the most victories by any driver and team over a single season, the highest win percentage for any team and driver, the longest winning streak of all time, the most laps led by a team or driver – the list is truly remarkable.

But is Max Verstappen’s championship winning performance in 2023 the most impressive campaign ever? RaceFans’ writers have their say…

Verstappen’s victories stand on their own

Is there a more impossible sport to compare competitors across different eras than Formula 1?

Just try counting the material differences between this most recent season of F1 racing and those held in the fifties, seventies or even early 2000s and you might as well be comparing different sports.

Whether it’s Alberto Ascari’s 1952 campaign, Nigel Mansell’s title winning year of 1992 or even Sebastian Vettel’s domination of 2013, all were achieved in completely different environments under vastly different circumstances.

Unlike McLaren’s unstoppable 1988 season, Max Verstappen barely faced competition from his team mate – unlike Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost pushing each other each grand prix weekend. Mansell was easily taking poles by full seconds in 1992 with the FW14B, not tenths like Verstappen was with the RB19 against a far more competitive field. And while Michael Schumacher’s domination of the early 2000s was achieved at the height of Ferrari’s financial, technical and political powers, Verstappen and Red Bull have wiped the floor with the competition in a budget cap era with no testing and limits on their aero development time.

But any driver can only race the competition that lines up alongside them on the grid. While we will never know if Schumacher, Senna or even Hamilton would have won as frequently as Verstappen did had they faced the 2023 grid with the RB19 at their disposal, agonising over hypotheticals feels like it takes away from the driver who actually drove the car to such unprecedented success.

So no – Verstappen’s 2023 triumph is no more or less impressive than those most outstanding championship seasons before him. It should be celebrated for the incredible achievement it is on its own merits. And it will be celebrated for many, many years to come.

Will Wood

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