Seven eye-opening F1 2023 stats with surprise Sergio Perez fact revealed

For an F1 driver, it can be tempting to compare where you are now to where you were last year.

With some teams making huge improvements, there have been plenty of others who have gone the other way so we have taken a look at the points tally of each driver after 17 races in 2022 and in 2023.

For the sake of fairness, Daniel Ricciardo has been omitted from the list as has Nyck de Vries. The four rookies to have raced this year for the first time are also not present. Sprint races have also been included but it is important to note that we have had four so far this year compared to the two of last year. With those stipulations in mind, here are the biggest revelations to emerge after we crunched the data.

Even 2022 Max Verstappen cannot keep up with the 2023 version

It is no secret that Max Verstappen is having an incredible season but the very same thing was said about the Dutchman in 2022. By the end of that year, he had set a new record of 15 wins in a single campaign but he is already just one race away from equalling that tally this year.

In 2023, he has scored 92 more points than he did in 2022 which is the second biggest gain of any driver on the grid, a remarkable feat considering he won the title last season. That points gain alone would have him ninth in this year’s standings, showing just how good the Red Bull man has been this year.

Huge gain for Fernando Alonso

Alonso’s place on this list should come as little surprise but the numbers show just how impressive Aston Martin’s turnaround has been.

In 2022 and while still driving for Alpine, Alonso had registered 59 points by this stage but now he is on 183, an improvement of 124 points or an improvement of 210%.

The other big gainers are Lance Stroll who rose 262% and Alex Albon whose four points turned into 23 equate to a rise of 475%.

Improvement for Lewis Hamilton but a decline for George Russell

There would have been few to predict George Russell would beat Lewis Hamilton for points in his maiden Mercedes season but the W13 proved to be far more comfortable for the former Williams’ driver than the seven-time World Champion.

That has been reversed in 2023 though with Hamilton scoring 24 more points this season than he did at the same point last year. While that gain puts him at fifth in the biggest improvers, it is the form of Russell that has made Hamilton look better.

In 2022, Russell scored 203 points after 17 races but now he is on 132 making him one of the biggest droppers in F1. As for the biggest one…

Charles Leclerc suffers the biggest drop on the F1 grid

2023 has not been Charles Leclerc’s year. While Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz has appeared to have taken a step up, especially in recent races, Leclerc has been left frustrated.

At this stage last year Leclerc had 237 points to his name, the second most of any driver, but now that figure is 145 and he is P6 in the standings.

It is a fall of 92, the most of any driver on the grid, and a sign of how uncompetitive both he and the Ferrari car have been at times this year.

Leclerc has scored 61% of the tally he managed at this stage last year but that is not actually the biggest drop in terms of percentages. Valtteri Bottas has scored just 22% of his points while Kevin Mangussen is on 14%.

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Sergio Perez not having as bad a season as made out

Ask anyone and they would say Sergio Perez’s 2023 has been much worse than his 2022 campaign and yet the numbers show there is not too much of a difference.

In 2022, the Mexican had scored 235 points at this point in the year whereas in 2023 that number is marginally worse at 224, a drop of just 11 points. You would think it was 110 points given the ferocious nature of the speculation that surrounds him.

But it is the manner of the performances that have people wondering if he will continue. With a car that is a rocketship compared to the rest of the grid, Perez should comfortably be P2 and yet there is every chance he misses out on the position for the second year running.

It is Perez’s repeat failures to make it to Q3 that have been his weak point and considering he does not have the overtaking ability of his team-mate, his points hauls have been far lower than to be expected. He is 30 points ahead of Hamilton going into the final leg of the season and there are rumours the future of his Red Bull career may well depend on him holding onto P2.

Zhou Guanyu experiencing a remarkably similar season

A final mention should also be made to Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanui who is the only driver to have scored exactly the same amount of points as he did at the same stage last year.

Considering it was his rookie season, a score of six was a respectable first attempt but he would have been hoping to kick on in year two.

There was some speculation that Sauber were considering dropping Zhou in favour of young starlet Theo Pourchaire but the Swiss outfit have kept the fair and Zhou will be driving alongside Bottas once again next season.

How about the F1 teams?

Unsurprisingly, it is Aston Martin who have made the biggest jump up. Their early season form shocked everyone and has allowed them to score 193 more points than they did at this point last season, improving their score by 522%.

Next on the list of improvers is McLaren whose points have risen by 90 while Red Bull are not too far behind on 81, showing how even they have improved in 2023. Williams have also improved, scoring 17 more points this year than they did last season.

At the other end of the scale, it is bad news for Ferrari who have lost 141 points along the way while Mercedes, who many would suggest are having a better season, are actually down on their 2022 tally, scoring 47 points fewer this time round.

Alpine, AlphaTauri, Haas and Alfa Romeo have also scored less points in 2023 than 2022.

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