Formula 1 suddenly has a three-way championship battle

Red Bull are running away with the 2023 Formula 1 constructor championship, and their two drivers are both ahead of Aston Martin.

The Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome was yet another example of Red Bull domination in the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Max Verstappen overcame a disastrous qualifying session and a P9 starting position to win the race ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, who was more than 20 seconds up the road from third place finisher Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.

Red Bull are five for five to start the 2023 season in terms of standing atop the podium. They are four for five in terms of securing 1-2 finishes. Verstappen leads the driver standings by 14 points over Perez, with Alonso sitting a further 30 points behind Perez.

Aston Martin sit in second place in the Formula 1 constructor standings. But they have fewer points than both Red Bull drivers do individually.

Given how far ahead Red Bull have been so far this year ,and the fact that it looks very unlikely that anybody will challenge them, the three-way battle between Verstappen, Perez, and Aston Martin in total points could at least be a fun one to watch.

Alonso has scored 75 points through five races (exactly 15 each race weekend, in fact), while teammate Lance Stroll has only managed 27. With 102 points, they trail Perez by three and Verstappen by 17.

1. Max Verstappen – 119
2. Sergio Perez – 105 (-14)
3. Aston Martin – 102 (-17)

The world champion finishing ahead of the second place constructor is something that hasn’t actually been all that rare throughout Formula 1 history.

On 24 occasions, the world champion has outscored the second place constructor on his own. It happened most recently in 2013, when Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel outscored Mercedes, 372 to 348.

Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher have done it more times than anybody else with three apiece, with the former doing it in 1975, 1977, and 1984, and the latter doing it in 2001, 2002, and 2004.

But both of a Formula 1 team’s drivers outscoring the second place constructor is extremely rare.

It has only happened on four occasions in Formula 1 history, most recently in 1996 when Damon Hill scored 97 points to win the world championship. Williams teammate Jacques Villeneuve scored 78 points. Second place constructor Ferrari only scored 70.

Given the pace of the RB19, the 2023 season could very well produce the first instance of such a result in 27 years. While everyone likes to try to undermine the duo and create controversy where there isn’t any, the strength of this team is hard to mitigate.

After the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, the 2023 season’s sixth race is the Monaco Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at Circuit de Monaco on Sunday, May 28. Verstappen won the race in 2021, and Perez won it in 2022.