F1 Driver of the Day: Who has won the award in F1 2023?

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix. Barcelona, June 2023.

The Driver of the Day award was first introduced all the way back in 2016 and is awarded to the driver with the highest percentage of fan votes after each race.

Not only did Max Verstappen hoover up a whopping 15 victories during the F1 2022 season but he also collected the most Driver of the Day awards with five to his name for his performances at Imola, Miami, Hungary, Spa and his beloved Zandvoort.

Click herefor the full list of F1 2022 Driver of the Day winners and scroll down for the F1 2023 results.

F1 Driver of the Day: Bahrain Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso

Max Verstappen may have cruised to victory in the opening race of the season but it was Fernando Alonso who stole the show with his 99th career podium and only his second since Hungary in 2014!

His run was helped by the unfortunate retirement of Charles Leclerc but stunning overtakes on Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz in areas where passes don’t usually take place ensured he left a strong lasting impression on those voting for Driver of the Day.

Alonso was the clear runaway winner in the poll, but there was also some love shown to Pierre Gasly as he raced from P20 to P9 and to Lewis Hamilton as he battled to P5 in a W14 that is way off the pace compared to the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso – 53.3%
Pierre Gasly – 6.5%
Max Verstappen – 6.3%
Lewis Hamilton – 5.5%
Charles Leclerc – 4.4%

F1 Driver of the Day: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

After looking in dominant form in practice, a driveshaft problem for Max Verstappen in qualifying forced him out in Q2 before he could set a representative lap time, leaving him down in P15 on the grid.

His recovery through the field was steady to begin with, but the Safety Car coming out for the stricken Aston Martin for Lance Stroll saw the Red Bull driver take advantage in the pit stop window and leave him a net fourth after the stops were complete. He then leapfrogged his way onto the podium and took a well-earned P2 finish behind Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished second in the vote.

Max Verstappen – 26.3%
塞吉奥Perez – 19.8%
Fernando Alonso – 14.6%
查尔斯·勒克莱尔- 7.2%
Lewis Hamilton- 6.7%

F1 Driver of the Day: Australian Grand Prix

塞吉奥Perez

A chaotic race in Melbourne was tamed by Sergio Perez who put a poor Saturday performance behind him to rise from the back of the grid to P5.

Before the dramatic end arrived, Perez made neat work of cutting through the grid, combing the speed of the RB19 with an aggressive overtaking style.

After the multiple restarts, Perez continued to move up the field and following Carlos Sainz’s late penalty, the Mexican earned P5 to ensure he remains second in the Drivers’ Championship.

塞吉奥Perez – 21.3%
Lewis Hamilton – 14.3%
Pierre Gasly – 10.3%
Lando Norris – 9.6%
Carlos Sainz – 9%

F1 Driver of the Day: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

塞吉奥Perez

Strike up another for Perez, who picked up his second Driver of the Day award in F1 2023 after his impressive drive to victory in Baku.

While the timing of the Safety Car did give him that vital helping hand in jumping team-mate Max Verstappen, he had nonetheless been pushing his team-mate hard before that stroke of luck, and after the restart Verstappen had no answer to the pace of his team-mate.

Perez’s sublime performance then allowed him to narrow the gap to Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ standings to six points.

塞吉奥Perez – 29.1%
Fernando Alonso – 14.3%
Charles Leclerc – 11.4%
Lewis Hamilton – 9.1%
Max Verstappen – 6.6%

F1 Driver of the Day: Miami Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

Verstappen would pick up his second Driver of the Day award in F1 2023 at the Miami International Autodrome, a fitting achievement after a sensational drive.

Starting from P9 after Charles Leclerc’s qualifying crash had ended Q3 early, Verstappen used the alternate strategy of starting on the hard tyres and switching to mediums to devastating effect, much to the surprise of his Red Bull team.

After making his pit stop, Verstappen quickly latched onto team-mate Sergio Perez’s gearbox, passing the Mexican racer who had started from pole and going on to secure a very impressive victory.

Max Verstappen – 27.1%
塞吉奥Perez – 12.5%
Fernando Alonso – 9.8%
Lewis Hamilton – 8.6%
George Russell – 7.9%

F1 Driver of the Day: Monaco Grand Prix

Esteban Ocon

After a superb qualifying session that saw him eventually start third on the grid after Charles Leclerc’s penalty, Esteban Ocon put in a sterling drive in changing conditions to take his and Alpine’s first podium of the season around Monaco.

Even though former team-mate Fernando Alonso scored his best result of the year in finishing second behind Max Verstappen, Ocon narrowly won the fan-voted award for the Monaco Grand Prix after becoming the first Frenchman to appear on the podium in Monte Carlo since Olivier Panis when he won the race back in 1996.

Esteban Ocon – 23.5%
Fernando Alonso – 22.6%
Max Verstappen – 16.5%
Lewis Hamilton – 7.5%
Charles Leclerc – 6.2%

F1 Driver of the Day: Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton would pick up his first Driver of the Day award for 2023 after a sterling drive to second place in the Spanish Grand Prix in early June.

Having started fourth, the Mercedes driver survived early contact with Lando Norris and later passed Carlos Sainz to move his way up to P2 behind Max Verstappen in a much-improved performance from Mercedes around Barcelona.

Perhaps they were early signs that the team’s long-planned upgrades had the desired effect, but Hamilton headed a double podium for the Silver Arrows in an impressive performance, with George Russell rising from P12 to P3 during the race.

Lewis Hamilton – 24.7%
塞吉奥Perez – 19.2%
George Russell – 11.3%
Max Verstappen – 10.6%
Fernando Alonso – 5.4%

F1 Driver of the Day: Canadian Grand Prix

Alexander Albon

Alex Albon’s talents behind the wheel of the Williams aren’t always appreciated but that wasn’t the case at the Canadian Grand Prix as he clinched the Driver of the Day award at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

It was a typically feisty performance from the former Red Bull recruit, battling every lap to keep better cars behind him and cling on to P7 in the final standings, giving Williams precious points in their long pursuit of climbing their way up the F1 mountain again.

Alexander Albon – 28.7%
Lewis Hamilton – 16.4%
Fernando Alonso – 16.3%
Max Verstappen – 7.4%
Charles Leclerc – 7.3%

F1 Driver of the Day: Austrian Grand Prix

Lando Norris

Lando Norris was armed with the upgraded McLaren MCL60 in Austria, fast-tracked for the event, and he used the changes to full, devastating effect by scoring a P5 finish at the Red Bull Ring, the day after his sprint hopes from P3 on the grid were dashed by anti-stall issues.

有压力和梅赛德斯的刘易斯Hamilt传递on, before keeping Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz honest after Sainz undid the damage of a five-second time penalty and questionable Ferrari pit strategy, Norris will be hoping for even better next time out at his home race when McLaren bring a further refined version of this upgrade package to Silverstone.

Lando Norris – 26.1%
Carlos Sainz – 22.4%
塞吉奥Perez – 21.8%
Charles Leclerc – 7.6%
Max Verstappen – 6.5%

F1 Driver of the Day: British Grand Prix

Lando Norris

It may have been another dominant display for Max Verstappen to give Red Bull their first win at Silverstone since 2012, but the undoubted star of the show was home favourite Lando Norris.

After an incredible qualifying session on Saturday, Norris battled hard to keep hold of his P2 spot on Sunday to join Verstappen and fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton on the podium.

Norris also sent the fans wild by briefly leading the British Grand Prix after getting the jump on Verstappen in the opening stages.

Norris’ popularity continues to rise, with this being the second Driver of the Day award he has won in as many races.

Lando Norris – 45.5%
Lewis Hamilton – 12.1%
Oscar Piastri – 10.8%
塞尔吉奥·佩雷斯- 8.1%
Max Verstappen – 5.1%

F1 Driver of the Day: Hungarian Grand Prix

塞吉奥Perez

Verstappen was the unstoppable force again in Hungary, but it was his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez who claimed the Driver of the Day award at the Hungaroring.

Starting from P9, Perez was on a mission with a point to prove, considering the rumours of his impending Red Bull demise are swirling in what has been a woeful run of form.

Perez though gave himself a timely confidence boost with a drive to the podium places as he secured a P3 finish, plus the Driver of the Day award by the narrowest of margins.

塞吉奥Perez – 20.7%
Lando Norris – 20.4%
Oscar Piastri – 13.7%
George Russell – 8.4%
Max Verstappen – 7.6%

F1 Driver of the Day: Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

Having pulled off another Spa-Francorchamps masterclass, Verstappen duly deserved to bag the Driver of the Day award at Spa.

From P6 on the grid, Verstappen was in the lead by Lap 17 after a pass on team-mate Perez, going on to win the race by a margin of 22.3 seconds.

While the competition was far from close on the track, Verstappen did though face stern competition in this Driver of the Day battle against Ferrari’s P3 finisher Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen – 15.5%
Charles Leclerc – 14.8%
Yuki Tsunoda – 14.6%
Lando Norris – 8%
塞吉奥Perez – 7.3%