The 2023 F1 season was a one-horse race that went in favor of Red Bull, with Max Verstappen wrapping up the title in Qatar with 5 races remaining. However, as per calculations made by FormulaPassion, the Verstappen domination was so immense, that he had theoretically already won the championship just halfway into the season.
In a recent report by FormulaPassion, it was revealed that even if Verstappen hadn’t participated in any of the races after the Belgian GP, and the points were redistributed according to his absence, he would have still won the World Championship. After that, his teammate Sergio Perez would have ended the season with 313 points, but Verstappen already had 314 by mid-season.
DONUTS FROM MAX VERSTAPPEN, THE TRIPLE FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION pic.twitter.com/xLcdlSeecT
— Matt³³⁺¹⁶ (@FM1_3316) November 26, 2023
In reality, if Verstappen was absent, things might have been completely different, with Perez getting a lot of extra attention from Red Bull to help them wrap up the Constructors’ Championship. However, according to the aforementioned calculations, the drivers finishing below Verstappen in all the races after Spa would have had their positions ramped up.
Perez would have earned one extra point in the Qatar, Austin, and Sao Paulo sprints. The Mexican driver would have had two extra points from the Singapore GP and three points from the races in Zandvoort, Austin, Sao Paolo, and Las Vegas. He would have gotten four extra points in Abu Dhabi and seven in Italy. But still, it wouldn’t have been enough to beat Verstappen.
As per the revised points distribution, Lewis Hamilton would have still finished P3. But the major change would have been Lando Norris shooting up from P6 to P4. He was the driver who had to suffer the most due to Verstappen’s presence in the second half of the season.
Sheer scale of the Max Verstappen dominance was unprecedented
The calculations presented by Formula Passion highlight just how dominant Verstappen was in 2023. Even though Perez was able to keep up with the Dutchman for the first four race weekends, the latter took off completely after that, winning every single race except the Singapore GP.
MAX VERSTAPPEN GOES HOME TO WIN THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX FOR THE 4TH TIME IN A ROW
Most wins in a season ✅
Most consecutive wins ✅
Most podiums in a season ✅
Most points in a season ✅
Most laps led in a season ✅
Most sprint wins in a season ✅Total Domination.
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 26, 2023
Max Verstappen finished the 2023 with a record breaking 19 race wins. Compared to that, Perez only managed to win two races. Even more shockingly, only one non-Red Bull driver managed to win a race throughout the whole season.
The RB19 showed unprecedented levels of domination. Plus, most people expect Red Bull to continue with their domination next time too. While it is not clear if Perez will be able to fight back and regain his form, it is expected that Verstappen will continue with this dominance.
