And the final month of the year is upon us. It goes quick. It was not long ago we were waiting for the seasons to begin. The days were getting longer and slightly warmer. Plenty of plans were made to attend and watch races. There were many unknowns. Now, it is history. We know about 92% of what happened this year. There is still a little bit left to learn, but soon the calendar will flip and it will be back to a mystery. For this moment, we reflect.
Max Verstappen
You would think winning 19 out of 22 races would get somebody enough attention, and it gets you quite a bit, but to close out November, Max Verstappen deserves a little more recognition.
Love him or hate him, like or despise Red Bull, Verstappen crushed the competition in 2023 in historic fashion.
A year after setting the record for most grand prix victories in a season, Verstappen reset it. A year after setting the record for most podium finishes in a season, Verstappen reset it. On top of that he shattered the record for highest winning percentage in a season. He set the record for most consecutive victories. He reset the record for points scored in a season, laps led in a season, he even broke the record for highest percentage of laps led in a season. Verstappen broken the record for most races won from pole position in a single season and no one even mentioned that.
These aren't just modern record he is breaking. Verstappen surpassed marks Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark held, records that were 60 and 71 years old. Some would have thought these records were untouchable, and yet they were broken with ease.
If it was any other driver at any other point in time, Verstappen's accomplishments would be marveled. That has not been the case.
Call it the curse of 2021 or general malaise over this dominance, completely mooted as the car and dismissing the driver's ability, these records are being viewed as meaningless, but they shouldn't be. As good as the Red Bull RB19 was this year, it wasn't guaranteed to do any of this. No ordinary rum-dum would slide behind the wheel and match that level of success. A few others could have come close, some may have equalled it, but it still required the abilities of Max Verstappen to win those races and flip the record book upside down.
As Verstappen has been accomplishing one of the greatest seasons in Formula One history, he has been expressing his personality. It has not been without criticism, but Verstappen has been making it clear he is a driver through and through. He has made it known he is not there for the pomp and pageantry, not being one for the parties and flavor of some of the newer rounds, especially in Miami and Las Vegas. Verstappen does not hold his tongue when it comes to sporting changes with the introduction of the sprint race either. He expresses his distain for some of these changes even suggesting he would sooner walk away from competing than continue on should Formula One stray more into show and away from sport.
For decades, drivers have been celebrated when appreciating their craft, whether it be the immense skill of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, the precision of Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost or the tenacity of Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher. Verstappen is cut from the same cloth, dedicated to the profession and driven to succeed. His biggest concern each time he is at the track is getting the most out of the race car. The rest is needless.
Combined with the masterful Red Bull program, Verstappen has claimed his stake in history at only 26 years old. He already has three world championships and he is already third all-time in victories. His 19 victories alone in 2023 would rank 18th all-time, more than Moss, Jenson Button, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham and Emerson Fittipaldi had in their entire careers. The numbers are a tad inflated with calendar being at a record length, but that is something Verstappen cannot control. What he can control is making sure he has his RB19 come out on top, and he regularly made sure that was the case.
There is a curse to success at a young age. Once you reach the mountaintop, what is the point of staying there for long? Why wait to get knocked off when you can leave on your own accord? Verstappen is at the age of when many drivers were still early in their careers. Jackie Stewart had just completed his first season when he was 26 years old. Jim Clark had just completed his third season, won his first grand prix that year but he had only 23 career starts at the end of that season. Verstappen ended this year with 185 starts, more than double Clark's career total. Even Ayrton Senna was only in year three at Verstappen's age. Michael Schumacher was only two world championship in at the age of 26, but Schumacher was still getting going, and a move to Ferrari was on his horizon.
For Verstappen, it is no longer a challenge, and it doesn't appear it will be a challenge next year either. A fourth title and at least 70 career grand prix victories look realistically at this time a year from now.
The fight is not strong and the fire goes out.
But where would Verstappen go? Even if it is fulfilling from a competitive standpoint and he decides the glitz is too much for him, what is he going to do? Money will not be an issue but he has been blessed with a skill that will not last forever. As great as the greatest drivers are, most aren't succeeding at their highest levels deep into their 40s. Max Verstappen as Max Verstappen has a finite time existing. Does he really want to waste it by walking away?
He is a racer but he has not expressed much interest in racing elsewhere. No one in Formula One does, but is he really going to run sports cars and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his father once? He isn't going to move to America and run IndyCar or IMSA. There is no way a 36-race NASCAR schedule interests him. Does it appear the man has any interest of taking a swing at rallying? As much as Verstappen says he will walkaway, there is nothing that appears as an alternative to satisfy his desires. He might be the best at racing video games and enjoys doing that but I doubt that will give him the same kind of juice if he wasn't stepping behind the wheel of a real race car on a regular basis.
Perhaps he leaves but returns, needing two years, like Niki Lauda, or more, to recharge his battery and returning when it looks like a proper challenge is before him. He has enough time. He could walkaway at 30 and return at 35 and still have almost another decade in Formula One. That could be the story only Max Verstappen could write and we watch come to life. We are a few years from finding out.
I sense many would not miss Verstappen if he walked away, at least not initially. Appreciation could come with time, but too often we take for granted what we see. We should be marveling now, not when it is too late. That has proven to be hard to do for this character. His triumphs have come during an era when the average spectator is less interested with sporting success. They are not watching because they are in awe of his great ability. This is not the burst of NBA popularity with Michael Jordan or soccer with Lionel Messi for the past 15 years. The current viewer reluctantly accepts Verstappen's success, hoping it will pass soon enough.
Verstappen doesn't care either way. He is doing this for himself. When he says he would leave Formula One, he isn't looking for someone to stop him, hoping someone is out there that cares. He races for himself in a world where drivers are constantly racing for others. The day he is satisfied Verstappen will leave and not regret the decision for a second.
December Preview
Like most years, there is a little bit of something to give you your motorsports fix in December. This year it is the season opener of the 2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series season from Sepang. There is also the Gulf 12 Hours from Abu Dhabi, which doubles as the Intercontinental GT Challenge season finale on December 9.
To whom it may concern, Jules Gounon leads the IGTC championship with 76 points, eight points ahead of Philipp Eng and 14 points clear of Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor. Luca Stolz on 58 points and Raffaele Marciello on 57 points are the final two drivers mathematically eligible for the championship.
Gounon will be in the #14 Mercedes-AMG Team 2 Seas AMG GT3 with Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller. Eng and van der Linde will be co-drivers in the #32 Team WRT BMW with Charles Weerts. Vanthoor will be in the #46 Team WRT BMW with Valentino Rossi and Nick Yelloly. Stolz will be in the #99 Team GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG with Mikaël Grenier and Maro Engel. Marciello is not entered for this race as he announced he would be leaving Mercedes-AMG to join BMW in 2024.
After these few endurance races, we will close out this year with some awards recognizing the best of 2023 before making predictions for 2024.
