Parc Ferme: F1 Half Term Report Part one

We start with the obvious, Max Verstappen and Red Bull's utter dominance of the 2023 F1 season so far.

Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen should register highest on the “chillometer”. Having produced an almost faultless F1 season to date at all levels.

The only blot on their exposure so far has been the reduction in Red Bull brand exposure during the race. A victim of his own success, the number of camera shots of Max leading the race was far and few between.

This was cleverly addressed by the number two driver having to drive through the field and struggle for the second step on the podium, a role played brilliantly by Sergio Perez.

Mercedes has continued where they left off at the end of the 2022 F1 season, consistently punching above their weight in race result terms due to an all-around Herculean Team effort.

In fact, apart from pit stops, their level of effort and competency matches Red Bull Racing in everything but results.

However, for the drivers, there is a marked change. The return of Lewis Hamilton to the room has shown George Russell who the real Daddy Mac in the Team is. Consistently out-qualified and out-finished this year by his teammate, there’s no shame here for George. He has continued to demonstrate that he is, without doubt, the heir apparent to Lewis’s Mercedes crown, just not right now.

Your time is coming, George.

Out of all the noobs who were likely to have a tough year, Oscar Piastri had to be top of the list. Arriving in a storm of acrimonious litigation between his team and Alpine, he would be partnered with Lando Norris.

Don’t be fooled by Lando’s foppish hair and laidback schoolboy looks; it’s all there to disarm. He’s laser-focused and an all-around “killer” in every aspect: on the track, in business, and of course, the careers of any teammate.

The only difference between Lando and Max is that Norris is by design, and Max, well… he just is.

However, the young Aussie was kicking the doors in even before McLaren's abrupt revival at the sharp end of the grid.

As each race came and went, he slowly closed the qualification gap on his illustrious young teammate, eventually beating him to a Sprint podium finish.

How do you like those apples Lando? Belgium also showed us Piastri still has something to learn in race-start terms, but he’ll get there.

Full marks for effort and results Oscar, Lando however….

Question: what do Nicolas Latifi and Logan Sargeant have in common? Answer: they both have an “L” in their name and produce the same type of race results.

Whilst Albon is “smashing” it in performance terms, Sergeant is “breaking” it. His radio transmissions only make it worse. When he’s buried it somewhere on the track, even he doesn’t sound like he believes his excuses, let alone his engineer.

I know it's Logan's first season, and someone has to finish at the back. However, he needs to pick up the pace and show something. Williams are having a relatively good year, but it could be better if the young American got in the war. At the moment, he looks and sounds like it's all a bit too much. Time to put on the big boy Nomex long johns, apply a little more gas than brake. Oh and stay on the racing part of the tarmac!

Next week we’ll look at the French version of Ferrari, who is currently living the old racing joke: how do you make a small fortune… take a big one and pour it into an F1 team.