2023 may not have been the most memorable season in F1’s history but as we approach the last race of the season there are still things to keep an eye on both on and off the track.

The Fight for P2

The battle for first place in the constructors championship may have been over pretty much after the first race as Redbull have went onto achieve one of the most dominant seasons in F1 history, winning all bar one race this year. However the fight for P2 has been fiercely contended throughout the season. Initially it looked like Aston Martin were going to take second with Fernando Alonso picking up 6 podiums in the first 8 races, however their performance started to fall off halfway through the season.

Then, during the second half of the year McLaren quickly became Redbull’s closest challengers, picking up double podiums in both the Japanese and Qatar Grand prix.

But throughout the season Mercedes and Ferrari have been the most consistent of Redbulls challengers with Ferrari being the only team other than Redbull to win a race this year. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton has been challenging Redbull’s Sergio Perez for second in the drivers championship in a much slower car all season, only losing out in the penultimate round last weak. Mercedes currently lead Ferrari by 4 points in the constructors championship but given Ferrari’s recent form compared to Mercedes, their looking to be the favorites to take second in the standings.

Ferrari-388 pts

Mercedes-392 pts

The Last Race For Alpha Tauri

Alpha Tauri has had a relatively short history in F1, with their most famous moment being during their debut season in 2020 during the Italian grand prix where Pierre Gasly took the team to victory.

But apart from that day at Monza, the Italian team has been competing mostly towards the rear of the field. With their team principle Franz Tost retiring from F1 at the end of this season, the team are reportedly going through a re-brand during the off-season. Redbull will still own the team for the foreseeable, but the new name of the team has yet to be announced. Rumours seem to suggest that the team will be renamed as ‘Racing Bulls’ for the next season. This is hardly the most creative name for an F1 team and fans have been quick to make memes out of the new name.

Alpha Tauri isn’t the only team changing names over the break as alpha Romeo will no longer be title sponsors for the Sauber team. This comes as the swiss team prepare for an Audi takeover in 2026.

New Faces On The Grid For FP1

F1 has already seen a number of reserve and rookie drivers get behind the wheel during FP1 this year. However 11 of the 20 drivers on the grid are yet to make way for a rookie in FP1 this year, as is mandatory. This means that more than half of the cars on track during FP1 will be driven by rookies. Both redbull drivers will give up their seats during the session with current formula E champion Jake Dennis along with F2 racer Isack Hajar getting a chance to drive the RB19.

Ferrari’s reserve driver Robert Shwartzman will get another session in the Ferrari after his outings in FP1 at Zandvoort earlier this year, while Mercedes junior driver and F2 title challenger Frederick Vesti will drive in the place of Lewis Hamilton.

IndyCar racer Pato oward will take part in FP1 for McLaren as he did last year at this circuit, whilst Jack Doohan will drive for Alpine.

Both Haas drivers wills step aside for the teams reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi, ahead of his move to IndyCar next year. Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman will also drive for the team during FP1 for the second time this year.

The last time Felipe Drugovich was at this circuit he was the F2 champion driving in his last race in the series. A year later, he returns as Aston Martins reserve driver and will get behind the wheel of the car during FP1 as he continues to search for a full-time F1 seat.

The man who is currently on track to become F2 champion Theo Pourchaire will drive for Alpha Romeo during FP1 as he to searches for an F1 seat.

Finally, this years runner-up in Formula 3, Zak O’Sullivan will get his first taste of F1 machinery as he’ll drive for Williams during FP1.

Formula 2 Title Battle

As mentioned earlier, Theo Pourchaire is currently leading the F2 standings with 191 points, but their are still two men who can stop him. His closest rival is Mercedes junior Fredrick Vesti, who would have to make up 25 points to become champion. The other contender is Redbull’s Ayumu Iwasa who is 38 points away meaning that he would have to get pole position, win the sprint race, the feature race, take the fasted lap in both races and hope that neither of rivals core any points during the weekend, which seems unlikely. So Theo Pourchaire seems to have the title all under control but with the unpredictability of F2 anything is possible and it will be a fascinating to see if Vesti can close the gap to Pourchaire or if Iwasa can take P2 in the standings off Vesti.

F2 will also be welcoming two rookies this weekend with Franco Colapinto going to MP motorsport, and Paul Aron will be driving for Trident in the final round of the F2 season.

With lots still undecided in the F1 and F2 seasons it will be an interesting weekend, so stay tuned for updates on all the weekends’ action at Blog GP

Instagram-bloggp_8