Another year of motorsport has flown by, and 2023 was as action-packed as ever.
From Brazil to Brands Hatch, challengers in Formula 1, the World Rally Championship and the British Touring Car Championship fought to finish the year at the top of the standings, with many surprises along the way.
So: without further ado, read on for our top moments from this year's motorsport calendar.
Formula 1
World champion: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing - Entitled and petulant but a seemingly unstoppable force
Was this a dull Formula 1 season, given the throttling domination displayed by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing? It’s easy to write it off as such.
Yet while the relentless Dutchman set new records for the number of wins in a season, 10 of them consecutively, somehow each race threw up enough intrigue to keep F1’s balloon of hype inflated – and still rising: look no further than the glitz of the Las Vegas GP.
The best stories came from the unpredictable swings in form of those trailing in Verstappen’s wake, as the 26-year-old stroked all too easily to a third consecutive world crown. Behind him, predictions were often futile.
Early on, Sergio Pérez matched and even outscored his team-mate, snatching a couple of wins. But talk of the Mexican mounting a real challenge was just a mirage, and his subsequent spiral into mediocrity - driving a Honda-powered RB19 that should now be considered among the greatest F1 cars yet seen - accelerated questions about his future.
Partnering Verstappen is a thankless task, but Pérez too often proved unworthy of the seat. Behind Red Bull, Aston Martin exceeded expectations - not least its own - with a flying start, the evergreen Fernando Alonso relishing six podiums in the first eight races at the age of 42.
But the team slumped after the summer break as Alonso and Lance Stroll, who surely only remains in F1 because his father owns the team, slipped back into the midfield. Both Mercedes and Ferrari failed to find the key, in this sophomore year of the ground-effect technical regulations, to challenge Red Bull. But as Adrian Newey's elite band of engineers turned their attention to preparing for next season, both had their moments.
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For 2023 I recorded the highlights of F1 and if Verstappen didn't win I'd consider watching them.
He's already got a reputation of being a dirty and dangerous driver. Then the FIA changed their own rules to gift him a championship. I felt F1 died that day.
Then you had new FIA president Ben Sillyman threatening Lewis for not turning up to the awards ceremony, to have his nose rubbed in to the prize he would have won had the rules been followed. That told me enough where F1 was going.
After decades of watching F1, from the days of Senna, I can't say I'm an F1 fan any longer.
i know name calling is childish but it's really funny when FIA President Ben Suleman calls you "Semanskier".
I'd like to see Red Bull get a worthy driver to replace Perez, obviously MV is blocking such a thing but then he may end up a multiply WDC who's never completed in the same car as a past, present or future f1 WDC.
I hope F1 doesn't go all marching bands and fireworks, there are plenty of fans at each race, they didn't need any more, Verstappen as a person?, he's Marmite to me, he's relatively young,but his attitude stinks,he often sounds as if the word no wasn't said to him often enough and let's face it, if he wasn't in the best car he wouldn't have been three time champ would he?, will he beat Schumacher? 8 titles, more than Hamilton? I'd like to eat my words but I don't think so, let's see him do it again in another team.