In what may be a season dominated by one team and driver, it’s easy to forget just how competitive the rest of the field have been with some incredibly close fights throughout the other nine teams.
The resurgence of Fernando Alonso, the consistency of Lewis Hamilton, and the recent surprise upgrade package of McLaren have all made for some unpredictable races.
Now that we have a handful of races under our belt, the first Driver Ratings update for F1® 23 since the game’s launch is here, which includes results from the Miami Grand Prix through to the British Grand Prix. Anthony Davidson and Alex Jacques have looked beyond the pure data to separate man from machine, feeding into the algorithm that is used to calculate the ratings. To view the fully updated list and to compare stats of drivers directly, check out the Driver Ratings hub by clicking here.
Before we get into some highlighted changes, here’s a reminder on how scores for the drivers have been put together:
- Racecraft (RAC): Racecraft describes a driver's ability to work their way through the pack to finish the race higher up than where they started.
- Experience (EXP): This stat has been amended this year to determine how much value each race result contributes to the driver's experience in the earlier and mid stages of their career. Fernando Alonso's record of race starts is used as the max points for the experience rating, sitting at 99 points.
- Pace (PAC): Pace rewards the drivers who get closest to the fastest Race and Qualifying lap times as well as the difference to their teammates.
- Awareness (AWA): Awareness rewards drivers who avoid the stewards' room. And for the ones that don't, the severity of errors now counts more towards their Awareness rating.
- Overall Rating (RTG): A combination of all driver stats that lays out each driver's ability within F1® 23, with a higher weighting for Pace.
Now, onto those highlights:
Max Verstappen
The relentless consistency of Max Verstappen has often meant he’s been left to race himself and backmarkers, rather than face any serious challenge from those fighting further down the order. Even the times where he looks to have been behind in Qualifying, he manages to eke out an extra tenth or two to land it on Pole.
His eight wins and seven pole positions has added two points to his Pace stat, resulting in an Overall Rating improvement of one to 95.
Oscar Piastri
Despite this being his first year in Formula 1®, Oscar Piastri has shown few signs of his rookie status. The professionalism exhibited in the first ten races of his F1® Career has resulted in multiple points finishes, that included a stunning P4 finish at the British Grand Prix - narrowly missing out on a podium behind veteran Lewis Hamilton.
With Nyck De Vries and Logan Sargeant yet to score a point this season, Oscar leads the rookie trio in the championship. This performance has been rewarded as his Experience has improved by seven, Racecraft and Awareness by two, and Pace by one, with his Overall Rating increasing by two to 76.
Logan Sargeant
Whilst American Logan Sargeant and his teammate Alex Albon have had mixed fortunes with Williams Racing this season, a positive Qualifying and Race result for the team in Britain could be the catalyst to springboard their season.
Logan hasn’t benefited as long from the same car improvements Alex received and whilst his more experienced teammate has consistently outperformed him on the track, the car is showing pace and it won’t be long before he gets his first points in Formula 1®.
Logan’s Experience has risen by seven, Awareness by one, and he’s had a Pace increase of three, but his Racecraft drop of seven has meant his Overall Rating stays the same.
Don’t forget to check out the full grid breakdown by heading to the Driver Ratings hub here.
Agree or disagree on these changes? Let us know! Plus, be sure to keep up to date on the latest F1® 23 news by following the official Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube channels.