Verstappen selects best and worse races of 2023 season

Max Verstappen's 2023 F1 season was nothing short of extraordinary. The Dutchman dominated the competition, claiming a record 19 race wins from 22 races, including a remarkable 14 consecutive victories.

His relentless pace, exceptional overtaking skills, and unwavering determination, complemented by Red Bull’s outstanding RB19, propelled him to his thrid World Drivers' Championship title, cementing his status as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

Throughout the season, Verstappen delivered masterclass performances on a variety of tracks, from the high-speed circuits of Monza and Spa to the tight and technical layouts like Monaco and Hungary.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, the Red Bull charger nominated his best and worst weekends over the course of his 22-race campaign.

"I think Spa was still a very strong weekend again,” he said. “Probably Japan was very strong one – from lap one it was unbelievable to drive.

"I looked on the screen and I was like, ‘alright, that’s a good start!’ Balance-wise, probably Japan qualifying that was really nice to drive."

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At Suzuka, Verstappen put in a performance that was literally, probably perfect.

He swept all three practice sessions, claimed pole by over half a second from the rest of the field, strong-armed the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to keep the lead at the start of the race, and then cruised off into the distance to win by over a 19-second margin.

At the other end of the spectrum, Red Bull’s defeat in Singapore at the hands of Ferrari and Mercedes, a week before Japan, seemed the perfect “worst race” candidate.

Yet, Verstappen picked the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku as his worst executed weekend.

"The worst one was still Baku," he said. "I was just not being happy with how everything was going.

"In Singapore we were just off and probably made a few mistakes with the set-up as well. It was just messy. For me, Singapore didn’t happen in a way. I don’t count that one!"

In Baku, Verstappen was beaten to pole by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc while on Sunday he went on to finish runner-up to Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, which marked the Mexican’s second and final win of the season.

"It was maybe not the best stint of my life, but it was also just because I was trying out a lot of tools [changes] between brake bias, differential, engine braking," he explained.

"Because also the car was very new and that was also a street circuit which has 90-degree corners, so you might anyway want a little different behaviour from the car.

"That’s why I think it was a bit of hit-and-miss throughout the stint, but the end of the stint was actually very strong, where I think already I’d hurt my tyres quite badly from the beginning trying to pass.

"When I came out of that race, I said ‘Okay, I didn’t win the race but I actually learned a lot for the upcoming races’."

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