Racing champions of 2023: how domination is the trend

In the wake of Max Verstappen dotting the i’s on his third consecutive Formula 1 world championship, the 2023 roll call of winners in motor sport’s patchwork of codes has continued to emerge – and a pattern suggests the theme of one-driver domination is far from confined to the pinnacle.

Among the notable landmarks, Ash Sutton’s fourth British Touring Car Championship in seven years stands proud. At 29, the Hertfordshire racer has already drawn level with joint series record holders Colin Turkington and Andy Rouse and appears to have the BTCC at his mercy. A tally of six pole positions, 20 podiums from 30 races and 12 victories – matching Alain Menu’s total from 1997 – are the tip of Sutton’s level of domination in his Alliance Racing Ford Focus. It was only a surprise that title rival, 2022 champion Tom Ingram, clung on to take their battle to the last rounds at Brands Hatch. But with a buffer of 45 points, Sutton stormed to another pole position and won the first race to seal the crown, then made it a clean dozen for the season in the second of the day’s three races.

Sutton’s achievements have astonished regular BTCC watchers, who already consider him among the best tin-top specialists of any era. “He’s head and shoulders the best right now, and that’s not to denigrate the fantastic drivers he’s up against,” says 1992 BTCC champion Tim Harvey. “In MotoGP terms he’s Marc Márquez or Valentino Rossi in their prime, or a Verstappen in F1 terms.”

In sports car racing, Toyota might have lost the Le Mans 24 Hours this year to Ferrari, but it remains the benchmark in the World Endurance Championship. Its German-based Gazoo Racing has gained further silverware by earning a fifth consecutive constructors’ title, while its two crews of three drivers will battle for honours at the Bahrain 8 Hours season finale on November 4.

At least in the US the IMSA SportsCar series has bucked the domination trend with a battle that almost went down to the final hour. Cadillac became the first IMSA champion of the new Hypercar GTP era as Pipo Derani and Britain’s Alexander Sims edged out Wayne Taylor Racing’s Acura at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans finale – in Derani’s case quite literally. The crown was earned under a shadow of controversy when WTR’s Filipe Albuquerque challenged Derani at Road Atlanta’s Turn 1 with just over an hour to go, only to find himself run off the road and into a heavy impact with a barrier. No action was taken by the stewards and Derani secured the sixth place he and Sims needed to become champions in their Action Express-run Cadillac V-LMDh.

Back in September Álex Palou claimed his second IndyCar crown in three years for Chip Ganassi Racing from a season in which he was comfortably the most consistent performer. The Spaniard scored five wins, 10 podiums and two pole positions to secure the title with a round to spare, amid a second round of tug-of-love rows over his future services. Having tried and failed to switch to McLaren last year, this time Palou angered the team by choosing to stay at Ganassi and will set his aim for 2024 on conquering the one that has got away from him so far in his young career: the Indianapolis 500.

In the junior single-seater ranks, Trident’s Brazilian teenager Gabriel Bortoleto – a protégé of Fernando Alonso who has just signed as a development driver for McLaren – was a surprise yet convincing champion in FIA Formula 3, having led from the start of the season. The FIA Formula 2 title will be decided in Abu Dhabi on November 26, but ART Grand Prix’s Théo Pourchaire holds a commanding 25-point lead over Prema Racing’s Frederik Vesti.

In the World Rally Championship deadlines have beaten us on the question of whether 23-year-old Kalle Rovanperä has already wrapped up his second title with a round to spare. As Motor Sport closed for press, the Finn was heading to the new Central European Rally, which spans the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria, with a 31-point lead over his only title rival Elfyn Evans.

“When Sébastien Ogier turned out he proved a major force”

Up to this point, it’s been another season of what might have been in the WRC thanks to eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier’s insistence on only competing part-time. When Ogier did turn out the Frenchman proved he remains a major force, scoring wins on Monte-Carlo, Rally Mexico and Safari Rally Kenya. Yet instead of bidding to equal Sébastien Loeb’s record of nine titles, Ogier steadfastly refused to be drawn in for what could have been an epic season-long duel with the impressive Rovanperä.

New hope to end the theme of domination in the WRC at least springs eternal for next year now that 2019 champion Ott Tänak has confirmed his return to Hyundai following a frustrating season with M-Sport Ford.