Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (30th to 21st)

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

30. Scott Dixon

Vice champion IndyCar (3 wins)

A thrilling end to the season allowed Scott Dixon to delay Alex Palou's coronation in IndyCar. / ©IndyCar Media

Unwearable Kiwi! At 43, Scott Dixon could slow down, or at least reconvert into a gentleman driver in Endurance. But no, the New Zealander still has the flame to fight against the young people who populate IndyCar! Second behind Alex Palou (who was only 4 years old when Dixon started in IndyCar in 2001), Scott Dixon shows, as Fernando Alonso, that talent does not erode with the number of years.

Author of three victories in 2023 over the last four rounds, Scott Dixon each time came up with an original strategy (a single refueling stop in St Louis, a drive-through at Laguna Seca followed by a long stint on hard tires, fuel economy). gasoline in Indianapolis). The six-time IndyCar champion has erased his main fault this year, his lack of pace in qualifying. If he continues his momentum, he will be a title candidate in 2024.

29. Nick Catsburg

Winner of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023, 2023 LMGTE Am world champion in WEC (3 wins)

There are years when everything goes well for you. This was the case for Nicky Catsburg in 2023. The 35-year-old Dutchman won two of the most famous races in the world by triumphing at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring on the Ferrari 269 ​​GT3 n°30 of the Frikadelli Racing Team which he shared with Earl Bamber, Felipe Fernández Laser and David Pittard as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Corvette in the company of Ben Keating and Nicolás Varrone. With the Detroit (Michigan) manufacturer, he also added the title of Endurance World Champion in the LMGTE category to his list of achievements. A title acquired two rounds before the end of the year after victories in 1000 Miles of Sebring, 6 hours from Portimão and therefore in Sarthe. Catsburg can now boast of having won the four biggest 24-hour races in his career since Spa and Daytona were already on his list of achievements.

Nicky Catsburg has been a GT star for years. / © DPPI

28. Pierre Gasly

11th in the world championship Formula 1 2023, 1 podium at Zandvoort, 1 Sprint podium at Spa-Francorchamps

How to classify drivers Alpine ? Too fast for the four competitors behind, not fast enough for the five in front, the car du A fléché made its riders evolve in a no man’s land all season. Pierre Gasly, defector from Alpha Tauri, despite everything, managed a more than honorable season. If his first ten races were marked by adaptation and misfortune, Pierre nevertheless managed to sign off on a magnificent second half of the season. The result was the top 3 in the shootout and sprint race in Belgium, first, then above all the podium in Zandvoort a few weeks later. The Habs even finished the season with 4 points more than their teammate Esteban Ocon, yet a big regular at the stable. Gasly has clearly gained weight internally, and is naturally trying to take everyone along with him. Will it achieve even more in 2024?

Pierre Gasly, here at the end of season FFSA ceremony, will have experienced some highlights for his first season with Alpine. / © DPPI

27. Alessandro Pier Guidi

Winner of the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferrari

Associated with his compatriot Antonio Giovinazzi as well as his friend James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third time in his career after his two LMGTE Pro crowns with the Englishman (2019 and 2021) . The Transalpine had the opportunity to expand its enormous GT track record in the premier category of Endurance in the most beautiful way. On two occasions, however, the 39-year-old driver could have lost everything in Sarthe. Firstly, shortly before midnight, when he made a mistake in the first Mulsanne chicane while leading the race. When taking over from Antonio Giovinazzi two hours from the finish, the native of Tortona (Italy) had to perform a system reset to restart a recalcitrant 499P. More fear than harm for Pier Guidi who managed to reach the finish victoriously. The driver also stood out, in a worse way, for his mistake at Sebring during a collision with two GTs.

Only one highlight for Alessandro Pier Guidi in 2023 but the most important. / © DPPI

26. Victor Martins

5th and best rookie in the championship Formula 2 FIA 2023 (1 victory)

Theo Pourchaire was not the only one thanks to whom the Marseillaise resounded in 2023. Victor Martins was also responsible for promoting French motorsport on the Formula 2 circuits. Despite his discovery of the discipline, the Ile-de-France native knew quickly adapted, signing his first pole position in his second race weekend. His bad luck and personal errors cost him dearly during the first part but the protégé ofAlpine perfectly straightened the bar. The summer allowed him to confirm the trend with very solid results and above all a victory worthy of the name at Silverstone at the end of a largely dominated Main Race. No surprise to see him win the title of best rookie of the year. By continuing with ART Grand Prix in 2024, Victor Martins is already placed among the favorites for the champion title. After all, with him we were often treated to the strategy of one year to learn and another to win. Hoping that the next one will be successful.

Victor Martins will aim for the F2 title for his return to the category in 2024. / © DPPI

25. Ott Tanak

4th in the World Rally Championship (2 victories)

To Ott Tänak, the year 2023 is far from having corresponded to the expectations placed at the start of the season. The one who left Hyundai end of 2022 to regain true leadership status at M-Sport did not last long, and will go the other way next year. However, the campaign got off to a flying start with a victory in the second performance, on the snowy roads of Sweden. But the Estonian came up against the problems that have made life difficult for M-Sport since the introduction of the hybrid era: reliability. Often forced to make fantastic comebacks, the 2019 world champion saved the British team's record with two victories and two other podiums. A fourth place in the championship does not reflect all the efforts made by the taciturn Baltic driver, who will undoubtedly be one of the favorites for the title in 2024 with Hyundai.

Despite two great victories, Ott Tänak did not often have the opportunity to laugh with the Puma… / © DPPI

24. Louis Delétraz

2 LMP2023 world champion in WEC (3 victories)

The former test pilot Haas F1 Team is increasingly asserting itself as a leader in Endurance. Champion ELMS in LMP2 last year, the Swiss did it again at the higher level by winning in the WEC with his friends Robert Kubica and Rui Andrade. Delétraz also distinguished himself in Hypercar with great performances at the wheel of the Acura ARX-06 lined up in IMSA by the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport team. The only regret for the Genevan in 2023 is that, for the second year in a row, he must be content with finishing 2nd in the LMP2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Former single-seater hopeful Louis Delétraz has become one of the top prototypes in Endurance. / © DPPI

23. Elfyn Evans

2023 World Rally Vice-Champion (3 victories)

Another wasted opportunity for Elfyn Evans. As in 2020 and 2021, the Welshman failed in his quest for the title by finishing behind one of his teammates. Often out of contention for victory at the start of the season – except for the moving victory in a sad context in Croatia – the driver Toyota was able to revive in the second part of the championship with two other victories in Finland and Japan. Unfortunately, like three years previously, it was because of a piloting error that his chances of winning the title were wiped out during the Rally of Central Europe, when he was the only one who could challenge the supremacy of Kalle Rovanperä. In 2024, with the partial program of the double world champion in WRC, Elfyn Evans will be the leader of the Toyota team and will be the best chance of a title on the Japanese side. However, the mind will have to follow.

Elfyn Evans has scored as many victories this season as her teammate world champion Kalle Rovanperä. / © DPPI

22. Scott McLaughlin

3rd in the 2023 IndyCar championship (1 victory)

Former three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin confirms that his adaptation to North American single-seaters has gone very well. / © IndyCar Media

Scott McLaughlin's ability to adapt is astonishing. Former star of Australian Supercars and "old school" GT cars without aerodynamics or driving aids, the New Zealander had the courage to move to IndyCar, a discipline where aero settings are predominant. Well helped by quality staff, Team Penske being one of the benchmark teams, Scott McLaughlin provided a performance worthy of an old veteran in 2023.

Author of a single victory at Barber at the expense of Romain Grosjean, Scott McLaughlin was more consistent than his teammate champions Will Power (7th) and Josef Newgarden (5th). It is only at the Indianapolis 500 that he still has to make up some room for improvement. For the rest, it's hard to believe that this driver only arrived in IndyCar in 2021!

21. Jake Dennis

World champion Formula E 2023 (2 wins)

It may not have been the fastest, nor the most impressive, but certainly the most consistent! Jake Dennis won the title of Formula E world champion at the end of a mastered season, with a nice score of eleven podiums (and two victories) in sixteen E-Prixes! The first king of the Gen3 era was able to resist faster but less consistent drivers, like the New Zealand duo Nick Cassidy – Mitch Evans. At 28 years old, the Andretti driver won what is undoubtedly the best title of his career... won in front of his home crowd, in London, please! His magnificent season will even be rewarded by a contract extension at Andretti but also by an official test session in Formula 1 with Red Bull, during FP1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. What could be better ?

Jake Dennis, here at the 2023 FIA gala in Baku, will have demonstrated superb consistency to be crowned in Formula E this season. / © DPPI