The release of F1 23 is just around the corner and the game’s driver ratings have just been announced. Here are the big changes and the top drivers to join your team.
It’s that time of the year. EA Sports and Codemasters are on course to release F1 23 this week, and with that comes the announcement of the game’s release day driver ratings. In fact, just yesterday, the developers unveiled their view on the current Formula One grid.
Overall, many drivers have lost rating from F1 22 whilst only the best in the business are heading skywards. This is sure to kick up debate online, but with many drivers switching teams and showing themselves in a different light in the real world, the game must reflect said adjustments.
These ratings are sure to change over the course of the game’s lifespan. However, for the time being, players will get to kick start their My Team careers with the current figures. Here’s all you need to know about where each driver sits going into the title’s release on 16 June.
10. Esteban Ocon
One of few non-top team drivers in the top 10 F1 23 driver ratings, Esteban Ocon must be proud of what he is achieving this year. In the eyes of EA and Codemasters, he is in fact one of the most improved drivers from last year.
In F1 22, the French Alpine driver sat at 83 as an overall rating. That rises to 86 in the new game. Gaining 3 overall ratings points in a year is no small feat. But what is even more impressive is that all but one statistic has shown clear improvement over the past 12 months.
A year further into his career, Ocon’s Experience rating has significantly shot up whilst his Racecraft and Pace are also on the up. Only his Awareness rating isn’t rising, but sticking to a modest 76 means it isn’t falling either.
9. Valtteri Bottas
Overall, the theme of this year’s driver ratings is a drop. One driver that isn’t fairing too badly considering the fortunes of others is Valtteri Bottas. In F1 22, he sat at 88 for an overall score, that drops by one point to 87 in F1 23.
Despite this drop, the Finn is far clear of his Chinese teammate, something we didn’t think would happen when we predicted the 2023 driver ratings last week. In fact, given recent results, we thought the two Alfa Romeo driver would sit close to one another around the 80 mark. Whilst his pace and racecraft is lower than before, large increases in experience and awareness show age is just a number of Valtteri.
8. George Russell
Last year, George Russell had the fourth best driver rating on the grid. In F1 23, he drops to being the eighth best racer. Many fans of the sport are sure to disagree with this one after several impressive achievements by the youngster already this year.
Russell loses 2 rating points for 2023 putting him on a total of 88. Somewhat surprisingly, this incorporates hefty gains in all categories bar racecraft. With strong race results throughout the year so far, this is a puzzling adjustment. But to allow for other drivers’ showing up on the radar, it had to be done.
7. Carlos Sainz
Sitting level with Russell on 88 rating points is Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard is showing good pace this year, something that has allowed him to close the gap to his teammate, Leclerc. Carlos’ rating increase from 87 to 88 comes mostly in the form of Experience and Racecraft according to EA.
As for his Awareness however, a sharp drop means his overall score doesn’t improve as much as it could. This must be a reflection of Sainz’s poor race strategies throughout the early part of the season, especially when it comes to wet weather tyres.
6. Sergio Perez
In last week’s F1 23 driver ratings prediction article, we thought Sergio Perez would lose a fair chunk in terms of his overall figure. However, the opposite is true following the announcement yesterday.
Perez is one of few drivers to gain rating, going from 88 to 89 in overall score from the 2022 title. The developers seem to be glossing over the Monaco Grand Prix antics of a few weeks ago, allowing the Mexican to preserve his ‘King of the Streets’ title a little longer still.
5. Lando Norris
McLaren isn’t showing excellent performance this year. But that isn’t stopping Lando Norris from showing what he can do behind the wheel. His results this year aren’t what he’s used to as he sits on a lowly 15 World Championship points after seven races.
Despite this, he sits level with Perez with a Driver Rating of 89 and remains towards the top as EA’s fifth best driver in F1. This does however represent a loss in all categories aside from his experience. And yes, that does include the overall score which drops from 90 in the last game.
4. Charles Leclerc
Another driver with poor results this year influencing his overall F1 game rating is Charles Leclerc. The season so far is a compilation of incidents for the Monegasque and that is reflected in his rating.
He was rated 92 last year but that drops to 89 in 2023, making him the third driver on the same figure. Much like Norris, this fall in overall score comes with a sharp decline in all statistics except for the driver’s experience.
3. Lewis Hamilton
Seven World Championships, countless years of experience and a renewed desire to win, Lewis Hamilton is a force to be reckoned with in F1 this year. That is reflected in his F1 23 driver rating, sitting on 92 as a total and with consistent figures across the board.
Losing a few points in racecraft and pace but gaining in experience and awareness, he now looks to be a ‘jack of all trades’ kind of racer. This is surely a good thing for any developing team. But with high costs, onboarding the Brit may require some sacrifices.
2. Fernando Alonso
Moving to Aston Martin this year, Fernando Alonso looks to be back to his old self. Consistent podium finishes and excellent race pace mean the almost ancient Spanish driver goes from 89 to 92 in overall driver rating for F1 23.
With low contract and salary costs all whilst featuring as the second best driver in F1 23, Fernando Alonso is surely a must-have member on your My Team career.
1. Max Verstappen
As one would expect, the reigning World Champion and current standings leader is number one in the F1 23 driver ratings as well. Max Verstappen kicks off the 2023 game’s lifespan with an overall rating of 94 points, identical to last year.
This stagnation may be hard to believe but what is even harder to believe is the Dutchman’s individual statistics. Max has lost pace and racecraft over the past year according to EA whilst his awareness and experience show small improvements.
Do you agree with the latest F1 23 driver ratings? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
