Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (20th to 11st)

> Our Top 50 drivers of the year 2023… (50th to 41st)
> Our Top 50 drivers of the year 2023… (40th to 31st)
> Our Top 50 drivers of the year 2023… (30th to 21st)

20. Nasser Al-Attiyah

Winner of the Dakar 2023, world champion of Rally-Raid 2023

Nasser Al-Attiyah has confirmed his reputation as a desert fox. / © DPPI

Nasser Al-Attiyah shares this 20th place with his official co-driver, Mathieu Baumel. Together, the Qatari-French pair confirmed their status as a rally-raid benchmark. As early as January, the duo created the slightest suspense on the Dakar from… the second stage! While 4x4s are becoming more and more powerful and advanced, Al-Attiyah and Baumel won the 2023 Dakar thanks to wisdom and careful driving. Indeed, all their rivals suffered several punctures on rough terrain, trying to drive too fast in the desert.

Subsequently, thanks to outstanding navigation and optimal mechanical management, Al-Attiyah and Baumel rode by hand until achieving a fifth success for the Qatari, a third for the Frenchman. The remainder of their season in the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) was almost a formality, even if an accident at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (abandonment) raised some hopes of suspense in the spring, which were quickly extinguished, however. To this domination is added a Toyota Hilux T1+ rightly considered the best machine for tackling the desert.

19. Antonio Giovinazzi

Winner of the Centenary of 24 Hours of Le Mans

With 62 Grand Prix F1 on the clock, he was the most prominent of the drivers selected by Ferrari to bring the brand's return to Sport-Prototype, and especially to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If he was also opening a new chapter in his existence, the big question concerning him touched on his deep desire to turn the F1 page. Was he even ready and, if so, did he really want to? Certainly, he had already had experience in WEC in 2016, in LMP2 (Extreme Speed ​​Motorsports. Editor's note), then competed in the 2018 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with AF Corse on a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, but this type of racing is very different from the car would it suit him? Impossible to doubt it now, when his name will forever be associated with the legend of Le Mans and Ferrari. Winner of the 24 Hours with his teammates James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, he is now part of the aristocracy of endurance. In 2023, the ex-pilot Alfa Romeo in F1 has found its way.

Antonio Giovinazzi celebrates the victory of the #499 Ferrari 51P at the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. / © DPPI

18. Alexander Albon

13th in the Formula 1 world championship

He should have gotten a lot more than he received in fiscal 2023, at least in terms of notoriety. If his results have not gone unnoticed, they would undoubtedly have deserved more than the simple success in esteem finally perceived at the end of a journey that was not far from perfect. Twenty-seven of the 28 points scored by the team, seven times classified in the top 10 of the Grands Prix, one point gleaned in a Sprint race, three starts – Zandvoort, Monza and Las Vegas – in the top six of the grid, he has only one real mistake to make, a spin, in Australia. Able to take advantage of the good straight line speed of his Williams, he was sometimes able to successfully defend his position against potentially faster cars. Not often enough, unfortunately, given his personal speed and what he was able to bring to the rapidly changing British structure. This season, Albon will have been the best asset of James Vowles in charge of the recovery of the glorious house, both on the track and behind the scenes. Leader and “team player”, the Anglo-Thai has taken a back seat in 2023. He is ripe for leading roles, if Grove can allow him to do so.

Alexander Albon deserves to be seen again in a top team. Can Williams be one again? / © DPPI

17. Raffaele Marciello

FIA GT World Cup winner, GT World Challenge Europe 2023 champion, GTWCE champion Endurance Cup 2023

For his last season as a driver Mercedes official, the Italian went all out, notably in GT World Challenge Europe where he dominated the general classification with Timur Boguslavskiy, and the Endurance Cup in the company of the same Boguslavskiy and Jules Gounon. Above all, Lelo had the best outing by winning without firing a shot in the treacherous streets of Macau for the big return of the FIA ​​GT World Cup. A few days later, Marciello was made official at BMW where he is expected in Hypercar for the firm's propeller debut in WEC with the M Hybrid V8.

Before going to make BMW happy, Raffaele Marciello said goodbye to Mercedes. / © DPPI

16. Ritomo Miyata

Super Formula Champion (2 wins) and Super GT (3 wins) 2023

Before Ritomo Miyata, only four drivers had achieved the Super Formula-GT 500 double in the same year: this shows the scope of the feat achieved by the 24-year-old Toyota driver this season. Already a double F4 Japan champion (2016 and 2017), and winner of Super Formula Lights in 2020, Miyata is also a reserve driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WEC. The Japanese hopeful made his debut in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship during the last 6 Hours of Fuji in the LMGTE Am category. Next year, Miyata will compete in the LMP2 category of theELMS under the colors of COOL Racing, but also, and this is a surprise, in Formula 2 with Carlin. The Toyota protégé proved in 2023 that he could successfully lead several very different programs at the same time.

Ritomo Miyata (center) also tried his hand at the WEC at the 6 Hours of Fuji and will be at the start of the 24 2024 Hours of Daytona at the end of January. / © DPPI

15. Théo Pourchaire

2 FIA Formula 2023 Champion (1 win)

From Sunday November 26, 2023, Theo Pourchaire will remember it for a very long time. That day, the Habs became Formula 2 champions after three years in the category. There were a lot of ups, a lot of downs but the Grassois finally achieved his goals. It was not easy. He was even close to not returning for a third season but Sauber convinced him to return for the Der des Ders. The right decision in the end since Théo managed to put everything together. There weren't many victories, only one in fact, two pole positions, but the ART Grand Prix driver bet everything on consistency, like his 9 additional podiums and his 19 points finishes in 26 departures. There was no undivided domination as was possible Charles Leclerc, George Russell or even Oscar piastri but Pourchaire was incisive and always seized his opportunities. Unfortunately, this title does not (yet) open the doors to F1 for him, but his adventure in Super Formula next year should allow him to gain experience and get closer to his ultimate goal.

Despite his Formula 2 title, Théo Pourchaire will have to go into exile in Japan, in Super Formula, next year. / © DPPI

14. Sébastien Ogier

5th in the World Rally Championship (3 victories)

Ah, if only he had had a full season, Sébastien Ogier ! The eight-time world champion WRC continues to impress at the highest level of rallying, two years after his partial retirement from the discipline. A year 2023 which started off with a bang with a new success in Monte-Carlo (the ninth, a record for the event) and a victory in Mexico. Two triumphs in two participations, a perfect score which, at the time, raised a question: what if the Frenchman became champion without participating in all the rallies? A fiercely optimistic idea, perhaps too much, which will not be followed up. Of the six other participations, the Habs added the Safari Rally to its list of achievements, leading a historic quadruple for Toyota. A final podium in Japan will rank him fifth in the 2023 championship while missing five events! Impressive, but also worrying about the state of health of the WRC…

At each of his posts, eight-time WRC world champion Sébastien Ogier showed that he remained the leader of the field. / © DPPI

13. Sébastien Buemi

World Champion Hypercar Drivers 2023 in WEC (2 victories)

Sébastien Buemi remains one of the leaders in world endurance racing. / © DPPI

The problem with excellence is that you get a taste for it. Rightly considered one of the benchmarks in endurance racing in the premier category, Sébastien Buemi entered 2023 as the world title holder in the WEC and outgoing winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was difficult to do better, and it was indeed impossible. Faced with fiercer adversity in Hypercar, and a BoP which, according to Toyota, was not to their advantage in the Sarthe, the crew of the n°8 made up of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and therefore Sébastien Buemi had to settle for 2nd place. Which is not that bad !

Despite this legitimate disappointment, Sébastien Buemi has re-engaged for the rest of the season. Victorious twice in the WEC, and four times on the podium in 2nd place, it was only at Monza that he really needed, with three penalties including two for collisions. This did not prevent him from remaining Endurance world champion at the end of the season! Bonus mention for his good season Formula E with his new team Envision Racing (6th, best rank since the 2019-20 season with Nissan e.dams).

12. Oscar Piastri

9th in the 1 Formula 2023 world championship, 2 podiums, 1 Sprint podium, 1 Sprint victory

The Australian was eagerly awaited, both because of his controversial departure fromAlpine only because of its exceptional track record in promotional formulas. Faced with a Lando Norris without pity and in the form of his life, hell was indeed promised to the protégé of McLaren. Of course, everything was not easy; he scored half as many points as his British teammate. But even more than one could have imagined, the Aussie gave the Bristol native a hard time, achieving some exceptional results. On his list of achievements, he won his first podium in F1 in Japan and, above all, achieved a pole position in the shootout and a victory in the sprint race, all in Qatar. Best rookie in F1, Oscar showed McLaren that it had done well to release Daniel Ricciardo to give him a chance. In order to reach a new level and join our top 10 next year, the Australian will have to find the key to compete with Norris in race pace.

Oscar Piastri gave Lando Norris a hard time at McLaren. / © DPPI

11.Brendon Hartley

World Champion Hypercar Drivers 2023 in WEC (2 victories)

Brendon Hartley had a solid season this season in Endurance. Victory certainly eluded Toyota during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the Japanese manufacturer outrageously dominated the rest of the season, winning all the other races. Along with his teammates Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa, Hartley won two and the only time he did not reach the podium was during the 6 Hours of Monza after a race where the no. suffered several penalties sending the trio to 8th place. This year 6 is synonymous with a fourth world title for the former driver Toro Rosso in F1 after 2015 and 2017 with Porsche then 2022 with Toyota. To top it off, the 34-year-old driver also finished on the podium (2nd) at the 24 Hours of Daytona with the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura where he was accompanied by Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Louis Delétraz.

Brendon Hartley narrowly missed out on victory at Le Mans but he consoles himself with the world title. / © DPPI