The 2023 Formula 1 season was full of ups and downs for the team but we battled through and ended P2 in the Constructors' Championship.
In part three of our look back at 2023, we talk frustration, close calls and the fight for P2!
After the Summer Break it was on to Zandvoort and the Dutch Grand Prix.
It was a tricky weekend and our worst scoring race of the season – strategy and bad luck cost us valuable points in the Netherlands.
There was no time to take stock though and we were right back into it the week after at the Italian Grand Prix.
But before we got to action on the track, we were delighted to announce that Lewis and George had extended their contracts with the team through to the end of the 2025 season.
We have the strongest pairing on the grid
Toto
It was great news to continue our relationship with the drivers, a move Toto said was a “straightforward decision” because “We have the strongest pairing on the grid.”
P5 for George and P6 for Lewis was a solid return and we outscored Aston Martin and McLaren, behind Red Bull and Ferrari.
The Singapore Grand Prix was next up and it was the story of what might have been.
George was brilliant all weekend and with Lewis well placed in third, it looked like we’d be on for a P3 and P4 finish.
But with George pushing hard on the last lap, he clipped a wall and found himself out of the race – heartbreaking after such a strong weekend.
For Lewis a superb P3 and fastest lap highlighted how quick we were, but it felt like an opportunity missed for the team.
Japan followed and so did the frustration. P5 (Lewis) and P7 (George) was all we could manage, despite a valiant effort from the drivers on a day when we struggled for outright pace.
With just six races to go, we held a slender 20-point advantage over Ferrari.
The first Sprint race after the Summer Break came next in Qatar – it was another mixed bag for the team.
The car was quick and despite fading tyres, a P4 (George) and P5 (Lewis) finish in the Sprint helped us outscore Ferrari, but there was more drama in the full race.
Lewis clipped George on the outside of the first corner, which ended his race at T1.
George, in the heat and humidity even at night, dropped back to last but drove through the field to finish P4, which showed we had good pace in the car.
We were back in the USA after Qatar and before any of the feature racing our drivers celebrated the success of F1 Academy and its first ever champion, Marta Garcia.
We’re looking forward to more F1 Academy action in 2024!
Lewis was quick all weekend at COTA, starting and finishing P3 in both the Sprint and full races. It a frustrating weekend for George though, after being given a grid penalty for the Sprint, he couldn’t get as much out of the car as Lewis in the full race and finished P7.
Lewis’ success was short-lived however as he was disqualified for having too much wear on the skid plate, which came from running the car too low in FP1 and having the set-up locked in for the whole weekend.
We didn’t let the result in the US hold us back though and in Mexico we bounced back.
Before the racing, our Junior Driver Fred Vesti got behind the wheel of the W14 in FP1 in place of George, to get some valuable laps in an F1 car.
On race day, Lewis produced a stunning performance to come through from P6 to finish second and also take the fastest lap, while George made up a couple of places from eighth to end the race sixth.
The São Paulo Grand Prix was definitely one to forget.
In both the Sprint and the full race both drivers started strongly but went backwards. Lewis fought hard for P8, with the W14 not having the requisite pace of the cars around him.
For George, rising Power Unit temperatures eventually forced him to retire from the race and end a disappointing weekend.
After the disappoint of Brazil came the dazzlement of Las Vegas, the most recent addition to the F1 calendar.
A spectacular event held in the US, it showcased the glitz and glam of Formula 1 and nothing showed it more so than our Vegas Club.
The second Club of the season after our Miami success, Vegas Club was a masterclass from our hospitality team – once again setting the standard across the industry.
It also played host to some very lucky Mercedes fans who were the winners of our Vegas Club competition. Who knows, next time it could be you!
The race itself was a great spectacle and something to build on for years to come. For the team, it was a tricky race with collisions and time-penalties costing us at the end.
George finished P8, while Lewis, who made more overtakes in the race than any other driver at any other race in 2023 (15), made his way from the back to end seventh.
And finally, it was back to Abu Dhabi for the season-ending race with just four points separating us and Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.
Fred was back in the W14 once more, this time in place of Lewis for FP1. Straight after FP1, he raced over to compete in F2.
Despite an incredible effort to finish the final two races of the season P1 and P3, it was not quite enough and our Junior Driver ended the year in second place.
Back in F1, we knew we needed to better the Ferraris in order to help secure P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.
Despite a nervy end, George held on well to finish P3 – after Perez finished ahead before a five-second penalty – and Lewis claimed two valuable points for P9, which saw us beat the Scuderia by three points.
We are incredibly proud of the whole team’s effort last season and while we will always strive for more, our P2 finish in the Constructors’ Championship, coupled with Lewis’ P3 in the Drivers’ Standings, gave us plenty to cheer about in the off-season.
Here’s to 2024!