F1 2023 predictions revisited: A Nyck de Vries clanger and an apology to Williams

Forget about the World Championship, this is the real battle. It’s time to take a look back over the amazing predictions we made for the F1 2023 season.

Oliver Harden is the defending champion and desperate to hand in their wooden spoons are Mark Scott and Jamie Woodhouse. Making their debut appearance is Thomas Maher.

We made the following predictions all the way back in February, so please go easy on us. You won’t, though, will you?

Who will be Drivers’ World Champion? (1 point)

Mark Scott: Max Verstappen

Michelle Foster: Max Verstappen

Henry Valantine: Max Verstappen

Sam Cooper: Max Verstappen

Oliver Harden: Max Verstappen

Jamie Woodhouse: Max Verstappen

Thomas Maher: Max Verstappen

Verdict: It was never going to be anyone else, was it? We would all like to thank Max Verstappen for ensuring that none of us end this year’s predictions with a big, fat zero in the standings.

Scores: Mark 1, Michelle 1, Henry 1, Sam, 1, Oliver 1, Jamie 1, Thomas 1

Who will be Constructors’ World Champion? (1 point)

Mark: Red Bull

Michelle: Ferrari

Henry: Red Bull

Sam: Red Bull

Oliver: Red Bull

Jamie: Red Bull

Thomas: Ferrari

Verdict: Michelle and Thomas clearly got drunk on the pre-season Ferrari hype train and are left with nothing but a sore head for their troubles. Everyone else (also known as the sensible ones) grab another early point before things start to go south…

Scores: Mark 2, Henry 2, Sam, 2, Oliver 2, Jamie 2, Michelle 1, Thomas 1.

Who will finish with the wooden spoon in the Constructors’ Championship? (1 point)

Mark: Williams

Michelle: Williams

Henry: Williams

Sam: AlphaTauri

Oliver: Williams

Jamie: AlphaTauri

Thomas: Williams

Verdict: How on earth did Haas slip under all of our F1 radars for the bottom team? A lot of us owe Williams a sincerely apology for not being familiar with their game. Sam and Jamie looked in a great position with their AlphaTauri selections but they got their arses in gear in the latter stages of the season. Scores unchanged.

Scores: Mark 2, Henry 2, Sam, 2, Oliver 2, Jamie 2, Michelle 1, Thomas 1.

Now for your full 2023 Constructors’ pecking order from first to last… (1 point for each correct place)

Mark: Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Haas, Williams.

Michelle: Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Alpine, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, AlphaTauri, Haas, Williams.

Henry: Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo, Haas, AlphaTauri, Williams.

Sam: Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Alpine, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Haas, Williams, AlphaTauri.

Oliver: Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo, Haas, AlphaTauri, Williams.

Jamie: Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alpine, McLaren, Haas, Alfa Romeo, Williams, AlphaTauri.

Thomas: Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Haas, McLaren, AlphaTauri, Williams.

Verdict: Alpine had some very good off-season PR, didn’t they? We all absolutely lapped it up. The pre-season negativity around McLaren was justified in the early races but who would have foreseen such monumental improvement over the course of the season? Clearly not us. Some distance opening up between the field now…

Scores: Mark 6, Sam 6, Oliver 5, Jamie 5, Henry 3,  Thomas 2, Michelle 2

Onto some of the big driver battles…who will score more points: Hamilton or Russell? (1 point)

Mark: Hamilton

Michelle: Hamilton

Henry: Hamilton

Sam: Hamilton

Oliver: Russell

Jamie: Hamilton

Thomas: Hamilton

Verdict: After beating Lewis Hamilton in his first season, only Oliver backed George Russell to go 2-0 up in this particular battle. It wasn’t even close in the end, with Hamilton 59 points clear come the end of the season. It’s tied between those two and also Mark and Sam, the latter obviously being the much more important battle…

Scores: Mark 7, Sam 7, Jamie 6, Oliver 5, Henry 4,  Thomas 3, Michelle 3

Leclerc or Sainz? (1 point)

Mark: Leclerc

Michelle: Leclerc

Henry: Leclerc

Sam: Leclerc

Oliver: Leclerc

Jamie: Leclerc

Thomas: Sainz

Verdict: Thomas’ faith in F1’s smooth operator didn’t pay off but, in fairness, this was a very close head-to-head contest as only six points separated the two Ferrari drivers. It does leave Thomas holding the wooden spoon for now, though, as Michelle picks up a precious point.

Scores: Mark 8, Sam 8, Jamie 7, Oliver 6, Henry 5,  Michelle 4, Thomas 3

Norris or Piastri? (1 point)

Mark: Norris

Michelle: Norris

Henry: Norris

Sam: Norris

Oliver: Norris

Jamie: Norris

Thomas: Norris

Verdict: It was always going to be tough for a rookie to compete with a well-established F1 star like Norris, but Piastri still had a fantastic first-year campaign. If this question appears on next year’s predictions then it could be a lot harder for us to answer.

Scores: Mark 9, Sam 9, Jamie 8, Oliver 7, Henry 6,  Michelle 5, Thomas 4

Ocon or Gasly? (1 point)

Mark: Ocon

Michelle: Gasly

Henry: Gasly

Sam: Ocon

Oliver: Ocon

Jamie: Gasly

Thomas: Ocon

Verdict: And here comes Jamie Woodhouse! A three-way tie now for the Champion spot as both Mark and Sam went for Ocon over Gasly, leaving a gap open for those behind to snap up. A couple of nasty retirements helped swing this battle in Gasly’s favour in the second half of the season.

Scores: Mark 9, Sam 9, Jamie 9, Oliver 7, Henry 7,  Michelle 6, Thomas 4

And your one word answers for the rest of the driver battles at Red Bull, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Haas, AlphaTauri and Williams (1 point each)

Mark: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Hulkenberg, De Vries, Albon.

Michelle: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Magnussen, De Vries, Albon.

Henry: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Magnussen, De Vries, Albon.

Sam: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Albon.

Oliver: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Hulkenberg, De Vries, Albon.

Jamie: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Hulkenberg, De Vries, Albon.

Thomas: Verstappen, Bottas, Alonso, Hulkenberg, De Vries, Albon.

Verdict: And still a three-way tie! Unbelievable scenes. Sam rightfully ignored the Nyck de Vries hype to nick a point away from everyone else (what were we thinking?) but the door was left ajar for Mark and Jamie to come through when he picked K-Mag over the Hulkster.

Scores: Mark 14, Sam 14, Jamie 14, Oliver 12, Henry 11,  Michelle 10, Thomas 9

Predict a driver move ahead of the 2024 season (3 points)

Mark: Mick Schumacher to Sauber/Alfa Romeo/Audi.

Michelle: Norris to Red Bull.

Henry: Mick Schumacher to Williams.

Sam: Perez and Norris swap deal.

Oliver: Leclerc to Mercedes.

Jamie: De Vries to Red Bull.

Thomas: Perez and Norris swap deal.

Verdict: No points scored here but it was a very tough decision not to take 14 points off Jamie for his prediction. We can only presume he was a secret agent on his PR team and a full investigation is being launched. Leclerc to Mercedes and Norris to Red Bull were both powering the rumour mill but, like most rumours, it never materialised.

Scores: Mark 14, Sam 14, Jamie 14, Oliver 12, Henry 11,  Michelle 10, Thomas 9

And finally…what’s your bold prediction for the 2023 season? (5 points)

Mark: Fernando Alonso will finish on the podium at least six times and at least one of those will be a race win.

Michelle: Alpine will beat Aston Martin.

Henry: 12 drivers will get a podium this season.

Sam: Jamie Chadwick to take part in an FP1 session.

Oliver: Lance Stroll to leave.

Jamie: Max Verstappen finishes on the podium at all 22 rounds.

Thomas: Fernando Alonso will get a race win.

Verdict: Some very close calls, here. Jamie almost redeemed himself completely for his De Vries prediction but is now left with nothing but hatred for the Singapore Grand Prix. Mark got half of his prediction right but, like Thomas, was missing a Fernando Alonso race win. Henry was also just one driver short in his prediction.

So after all those thrills and spills, we are left with a three-way tie for PlanetF1.com champion! Oliver has lost his crown and Thomas is the unfortunate team member to be left with this year’s wooden spoon.

The creator of this predictions competition is now cursing themselves for not including a tie-break question. His role as quizmaster is under review with immediate effect. In the meantime, Mark, Sam and Jamie will be fighting between themselves over what parts of the week they can have the trophy.

Final scores: Mark 14, Sam 14, Jamie 14, Oliver 12, Henry 11,  Michelle 10, Thomas 9