Another round of the 2023 F1 season is behind us and after another interesting race, I’m back to bring you the latest edition of the F1 team power rankings.
As always with any power rankings, these are subjective and based purely on opinion mixed with results. Are these 100 per cent accurate? Inside my mind, yes! Outside of it, no. But it’s a nice way to spark some discussion, showcase some form and allow a conversation that brings F1 fans closer together – and maybe also further apart at the same time. Fun, right? Always!
You can also check out my driver power rankings too for a similar analysis.
Let’s get to it.
10. AlphaTauri (-1)
A point on the board at last but the team just continue to struggle. There seems to be no pace in the car and no real improvement. Considering how good their sister team are doing, it’s a surprise to not see some of that form tinker down. They’ll definitely take the point, that’s for sure.
9. McLaren (+1)
Moving up a position is only really reflective on AlphaTauri seemingly getting worse. Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris lucked into bigger points on Sunday, although to be fair Norris was going to finish in the points before all the chaos at the end. Still look a long way back with not a lot of hope in the immediate future.
8. Alfa Romeo (-2)
Another team that lucked into some points during all the chaos on Sunday, Alfa Romeo weren’t really anywhere during the weekend in Australia. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu drove decent races and avoided the chaos to claim their points. But there will be a bit of a worry at the Swiss team given the pace drop off that came across the weekend.
(Photo by Stellantis)
7. Haas (-)
Take a bow Nico Hulkenberg. His lap to get him into Q3 was incredible and he remained a very solid runner during the race on Sunday. Want to put them higher on this list but given the teams around them had incredible races themselves, it’s hard to do so. But let’s just say that Guenther Steiner wouldn’t be worried about any doors being smashed anytime soon if this form continues.
6. Williams (+2)
No points for Williams in Australia doesn’t seem right. They had pace. Hell they were super fast, being clocked as the second fastest team in the speed trap all weekend. And there’s just something about Albert Park that clearly Alex Albon loves as he stormed his way into Q3 and lined up 8th on the grid. An even stronger start by the Thai driver was sadly put to waste after his crash in the early stages, but there is definite pace and hope for the team. Logan Sargeant deserves a mention too. Yes he didn’t get out of Q3 again and yes he outbraked himself on the third restart to take out an innocent Nyck De Vries. But he once again showed some solid driving and pace across the weekend to continue to be arguably the most impressive rookie so far in 2023. Watch this space Williams fans. 2023 is looking like it will continue to improve.
5. Ferrari (-1)
This hurts. Hurts so much. Because it just seems to be getting worse for the Scuderia. There just wasn’t any pace it seemed all weekend, with both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc having a fairly poor qualifying before Lecler was taken out on lap 1 in the race and Sainz received a penalty that let’s be honest, shouldn’t have been given to him from a lap that technically didn’t count. It’s a result that meant no points were scored by the team and they now find themselves close to 100 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors Championship. A year ago they led Red Bull by 49 at the same stage of the season. While Williams fans have hope, us Ferrari fans seemingly have the opposite for 2023.
4. Alpine (+1)
An amazing weekend for the French team that came to nothing through no fault of their own. They were cruelly denied a strong double points finish, and an incredibly solid fifth place for Pierre Gasly, due to the shambles that was the FIA’s decision making. With all that aside, the pace was great from both drivers and it will bring some big smiles to everyone involved at the team for the rest of the season.
(Photo by Motorsport Magazine)
3. Aston Martin (-1)
Only drops a spot due to the improvement of one team above them. The strong form by Aston Martin continued with another podium for Fernando Alonso and a strong fourth place by Lance Stroll. They definitely won’t be disappointed with that and the team now sits in a very strong second position in the Championship.
2. Mercedes (+1)
The team don’t even know where that pace came from, let alone anybody else, but they for sure will take it. Nearly secured pole on Saturday and led the race early on Sunday before Lewis Hamilton took a second position that he never looked like losing. Had George Russell not blown up, he for sure would’ve also been on the podium. Toto Wolff would be a happy man after Australia.
1. Red Bull (-)
Another dominant win by Red Bull easily sees them retain top spot. Max Verstappen continues to be in a league of his own, while Sergio Perez had a weekend he’d like to forget but still scraped home some points for the team. Can anyone honestly stop them this season? I think not.
What do you think of these rankings? Do you agree with the positions? Let me know what you think in the comments below.