Vasseur: “More aggressive” mentality the biggest Ferrari improvement in F1 2023
Vasseur arrived at Ferrari last winter to replace Mattia Binotto and while he arrived too late to have a significant effect on the 2023 car project, his reorganisation efforts did start showing promise across the second half of 2023.While the team struggled to make big upgrades to its SF-23, partlyContinue Reading
Podcast: Autosport’s Top 50 drivers of 2023
The ranking is sure to cause the usual controversy and debate, amongst fans and those featured in the list alike, but we do our best each year to assess which drivers excelled given various factors such as the series they race in, the competition and the machinery at their disposal.YouContinue Reading
How we decide Autosport’s Top 50 drivers of the year
The first thing to remember is that it is not who we think the 50 best drivers are on the planet. It’s the 50 we think have performed best in a particular season, our effort to highlight the standout drivers each year. We’ve done other articles on the greatest ever…PLUS:Continue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #50 Sergio Perez
One of this year’s biggest questions in deciding the top 50 was whether Perez deserves to be on the list. He’d started 2023 well, with two wins and two second places in the opening four races to hint at giving Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen more than a notional titleContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #49 Nicky Catsburg
If there was a sportscar driver you wanted in your car for a 24-hour race this year, it was Nicky Catsburg. Victories at the Nurburgring (outright), Le Mans (GTE Am) and Spa (Pro-Am), each in different cars, underlined that the versatile Dutchman is operating at the top of his game.HeContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 23: #48 Thierry Neuville
It was a story of what could have been for Thierry Neuville in 2023. The Belgian was Hyundai’s main threat for the WRC title and scored as many podiums as world champion Kalle Rovanpera, but incidents at crucial moments cost him dearly.Neuville impressed hugely on fast gravel events that hadContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #47 Tomoki Nojiri
After two years of dominating Super Formula, Nojiri returned to earth in 2023 amid his struggles to come to terms with the new SF23 aero package, with its reduced rear downforce and resultant shift towards oversteer. That showed when he suffered an uncharacteristic pre-season testing crash.Matters weren’t helped by LiamContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #46 Jack Hawksworth
Ably assisted by his season-long team-mate Ben Barnicoat, Jack Hawksworth claimed the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s GTD Pro title in his fifth season with the factory-backed Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus squad.Four class pole positions and two victories at Long Beach and Watkins Glen were the highlights. He finished on the podiumContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #45 Johan Kristoffersson
Johan Kristoffersson enjoyed another memorable year by securing a record-breaking sixth World Rallycross Championship and became Extreme E’s first double champion.Until the Lydden Hill fire that paused the WRX season, the Swede had been utterly dominant, winning all three of the opening events. Life was harder in the slower ZEROIDContinue Reading
Autosport Top 50 of 2023: #44 Nico Hulkenberg
After losing his full-time F1 drive with Renault at the end of 2019, Nico Hulkenberg had to make do with a handful of super-sub outings for Racing Point/Aston Martin until Haas came knocking.In qualifying, Hulkenberg immediately exercised his one-lap superiority over team-mate Kevin Magnussen and got as far as Q3Continue Reading