7 weird F1 2023 moments so far: Taylor Swift rumours, 1,200 race infringements and more

For all the talk of Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominance, the 2023 F1 season has also thrown up some odd moments.

From romance rumours to multi car crashes and everything in between, it is not often you see a typical Formula 1 race.

As we wind down into the summer break, PlanetF1.com has taken a look at some of the stranger moments to have happened so far this season.

Zhou Guanyu recorded the first fastest lap of the season

The 2023 Alfa Romeo car and the word ‘fast’ are not two things that have been associated together all that often this year.

之后,2022年,阿尔法失败了to produce the same kind of performance this time round and find themselves second last in the Constructors’ standings ahead of only AlphaTauri.

And yet, the fastest man in the opening race in Bahrain? Zhou Guanyu.

With Pierre Gasly in possession of the extra point with a time of 1:35.068, Alfa opted to pit Zhou with two laps to go and the moment the Chinese driver finished his flying lap was actually picked up by the TV cameras as he just so happened to be behind Fernando Alonso who had just returned to the podium after two years.

40% of the season’s DNFs so far came in a single race

Back in the early races of this season, there was one that proved a particular nightmare for both the drivers and race control – the Australian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc was the first to fall, taken out by Lance Stroll in the opening lap and six laps later, Alex Albon would join him after oversteering into the barriers at Turn 6.

The marshals may have thought they would be in store for a little break from rescuing cars but soon after, George Russell’s PU started spitting out flames and he too needed saving.

It calmed down after that for a short while until it really got messy in lap 52. Kevin Magnussen’s off four laps earlier had brought out the red flag and at the restart, chaos erupted.

Carlos Sainz tagged Fernando Alonso while Gasly slammed on the brakes and went into the gravel. On his return to the track he crashed into his own team-mate, sending both of them out before Stroll locked up and also ended up in the gravel.

At the back, Logan Saregant forgot his car also came with a brake pedal and drove into the back of Nyck de Vries, sending them both out as well.

But the most unusual thing about this incident was it never officially took place as the lead car had yet to reach the first timing line meaning when the cars eventually returned to the track behind the Safety Car, the order was the same as it had been for the previous restart minus the cars that could no longer run, which was bad news for Alpine.

Read more:Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly clash as multiple cars retire in chaotic Aus GP finish

Fernando Alonso romantically linked with Taylor Swift

Bad Blood is an apt description for many parts of Alonso’s career but it took on a new meaning when the Aston Martin driver was romantically linked to Taylor Swift.

The rumours circulated after Swift’s break-up from long-term partner Joe Alwyn and in Alonso’s trademark coy way, he was not one to rubbish the speculation.

In the end, it proved to be just that but for a while it seemed we may have another famous face in the F1 paddock.

Read more:Big benefit for Fernando Alonso revealed after Taylor Swift rumours

管家在奥地利的一个漫长的夜晚

Have you ever been nearing the end of your shift when your boss lands a huge project on your desk and asks for it to be done right away? Well that’s exactly what happened with the stewards in Austria.

Track limits were the buzzwords of the weekend and Turn 10 proved a particularly challenging part of the track for the drivers to keep it between the white lines.

There were warning signs, Sergio Perez being one of many to miss out in qualifying after his time was deleted, but the race was another story.

Penalty after penalty was announced as the race was going on it was only going to get weirder after the chequered flag. Aston Martin immediately protested that some infringements had gone unpunished but the stewards announced they had more than 1,200 instances to analyse.

Eventually, the stewards unleashed a slew of new penalties including for Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Gasly and Ocon with the latter receiving 30-seconds worth of penalties.

The decision took a full four hours to be announced meaning that Lando Norris, who moved up to P4 after Sainz’s penalty, was already back in the UK by the time he found out.

Read more:Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz among eight drivers with post-Austrian GP track limits penalties

Felipe Massa sets out to right some wrongs

One of the stranger incidents off-track this year so far has been a proposed legal action by Felipe Massa in relation to the 2008 title.

That year’s crown was won by Hamilton but his bid was helped in part by the infamous Crashgate affair at Renault. At the time, FIA and F1 bosses claimed they were unaware of the cheating until after the prize giving ceremony which is officially the end of a season.

但这是伯尼埃克莱斯顿那的口风不紧t brought the incident back up. In an ill-advised interview earlier this year, Ecclestone let slip that he knew during the 2008 season and therefore Massa believed he has a case.

“You fight them to the last corner of the last race, pass the chequered flag as the champion and then everything changed. For sure, a fight on the track,” Massa told Sky Sports F1.

“Then you discover what has happened in Singapore. People, important people like Bernie, like Max Mosley, like Charlie Whiting – they knew in 2008 and they didn’t do anything.

“That is really a massive surprise for me. It’s really [an] injustice and I think definitely we need to study everything that happened because It’s not fair what has happened.”

Read more:Felipe Massa labels Lewis Hamilton 2008 title win an ‘injustice’ and vows to ‘study everything’

Esteban Ocon receives a rare podium and plenty of crates of beer

Away from Max Verstappen and Red Bull, it has been a competitive season especially when it comes to podium getters.

While Alonso had somewhat of a lock on the P3 spot in the opening stages of the year, Aston Martin’s advantage fell away and after 12 races, we have had eight different drivers on the podium.

Perhaps the most surprising of them all is Ocon’s in Monaco which not only earned Alpine some valuable points but ensured their staff would not be short of beer any time soon.

During the race, former Top Gear host and F1 fan Jeremy Clarkson said: “Come on Alpine. I’ll buy you all a pint if you get a podium here” and they duly delivered.

Clarkson, whose farm is eight miles away from the F1 base, made good on his promise and arrived at Enstone with beer in hand ready to distribute amongst the Alpine staff. It’s a good job no one has made a similar bet with Verstappen…

Read more:Special delivery for Alpine as Jeremy Clarkson delivers on podium promise

Lawrence Stroll wants a knighthood

Speaking of off-track moments, the usually vocal Lawrence Stroll has been rather quiet this season but there was one notable line out of his mouth.

For a man who previously recorded a video angrily denying any accusations of copying, this time he was a little more subdued when he suggested that he should be knighted for his work in saving one of Britain’s most iconic brands, Aston Martin

“I should be knighted for what I’ve done,” he declared as per AutoCar. “I’ve saved thousands of jobs and built a new Formula 1 factory with hundreds of millions of investment.

“The investment is staggering.”

Canada may well be part of the Commonwealth but unfortunately for Mr Stroll, Canadians are prohibited from accepting knighthoods.

Read more:Lawrence Stroll – ‘I should be knighted for what I have done’