Opinion: The 2023 Season Has Proved That We Need A Battle At The Front

Posted on August 5, 2023 | by Charley Williams Look, there is no denying that Formula 1 has become more… predictable as of late. I still, in essence, enjoy F1, but many factors contribute to why fans believe the sport has become the ultimate snoozefest this season.  Now before you come at me with pitchforks, I know dominance in F1 is by no means a new thing. Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari era from 2000 to 2004 was unbelievable, and in that final year he took home 12 wins in the first 13 races – sounds familiar, huh? And it’s not just driver dominance – in 2016, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton won 19 out of the 21 races that season, and the early years of the turbo-hybrid era were largely a Mercedes show. But as much as I hate to admit it, the last two seasons have felt much different to any other ‘dominant’ spell I can remember watching. This was meant to be the “who knows what will happen?” era, but as teams maximise regulations like they always have, we’re back to seeing cars struggling to follow. And despite the cost cap and tighter windtunnel allowances, there haven’t been too many shocks. It doesn’t help that because Verstappen is so world-class, we’ve even been robbed of a title fight between teammates. Sergio Perez was never really up to the task, but for a small moment the win and added tension of Jeddah had us hoping he could step up and be another Rosberg. Turns out that wasn’t the case. But then I remember that this is just the vicious cycle of F1: it starts with a big regulation overhaul, which results in one team building a very strong package. As the rules remain stable over time and other teams attempt to catch up, the grid very slowly comes back together. So, in the meantime, should we just accept and enjoy what we can from the sport? Which, at the moment, is a very, very close “midfield”. As a McLaren fan, I’ve become accustomed to getting excited over even the smallest of achievements over the years. But for me personally, the last year of on-track “action” has proved that I need some kind of title fight, or at least the odd battle for a race win, for F1 to excite me again. All I want is that edge-of-your-seat anticipation for what will happen injected back into the sport I love. It actually annoys me that the ongoing battle between Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ferrari, and now McLaren doesn’t thrill me in the same way, and I’ve received a few messages of “There is more to life than finishing first!” and “But the rest of the field is a proper race!” over the past few weeks. I just… can’t say I’ve ever screamed “WHAT A MOVE!” for P13. That’s all. But it got me thinking: who else feels this way? So, we decided to ask the fans what they thought, too – and here are some of your responses! So, what do you think? Do the battles from P2-P20 make up for the lack of a title fight?