2023 F1 drivers ranked – Top 1

Entirely subjective, often controversial and always tough to pick, ESPN’s end-of-season top ten ranking is back to mark the end of another year in F1.

This list should not be read as a global ranking of the top ten drivers in F1 right now, but instead an ordering of each driver’s season based on the car they had at their disposal, the stage they are at in their career and the expectations they faced going into the season.

1. Max Verstappen

Championship position: 1st

Points: 575

Podiums: 21

Qualifying head-to-head with teammate: 20-2

How could it be anyone else? It would be easier to list the records Verstappen didn’t break in 2023, but with 19 wins, 10 of which were in a row, 1003 laps led and more than double the points of teammate Sergio Perez in second place, he set a new bar for domination in a single season. Of course, he had the best car and with that come the tedious arguments that he somehow had it easy, but the margin by which he beat Perez and the ease with which he reeled off victory after victory was undoubtedly special.

Finding mistakes among the relentless success is difficult, and even on the one occasion when he appeared to be genuinely outperformed by Perez, in Baku, he learned from the experience and came back stronger at the next round in Miami. Love him or loathe him, it’s hard to argue against Verstappen being named the best driver in 2023.

The mind-blowing stats which underline Verstappen’s dominance

How Verstappen used lessons of Baku defeat to deliver 10 straight wins

2. Fernando Alonso

Championship position: 4th

Points: 206

Podiums: 8

Qualifying head-to-head: 19-3

Alonso scored five podiums in the first seven races of the 2023 season — a tally he increased to eight by the end of it. Although his results tailed off as Aston Martin seemed to get lost with the development of its car, he consistently dragged the team up the order, including remarkable results such as his second-place finish at a wet Zandvoort and his hard-fought podium ahead of Perez in Brazil. An elusive 33rd career victory was fleetingly up for grabs in Monaco, but the wrong tyre choice at his pit stop meant he had to settle for second place. The season served as proof, if it was ever needed, that Alonso still has what it takes to compete at the…