We did not have an exciting 2023 in terms of the battle for either the constructors’ or the drivers’ championship. Max Verstappen and Red Bull made a mockery of the competition and redefined dominance in F1. However, that is not to say that we didn’t have some amazing overtakes and last-lap battles that blew everybody’s socks off. This is the exact reason why F1 shortlists the best overtakes in F1 and announces a “Best Overtake of the Season” at the end of the year.
We had quite a few amazing fan favorites for overtakes this year. Fernando Alonso almost unanimously topped the charts with his two battles, one against Sergio Perez in Brazil, and one against his former teammate Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain. Both these times, Alonso showed the whole world that despite being 42, the two-time world champion still has what it takes to be better than most drivers on the current grid.
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Alonso also had an amazing overtake on Carlos Sainz in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which would have found its way to the top, if not for his other brilliant moves over the season. Charles Leclerc had an amazing Las Vegas Grand Prix overtake as well, as his last lap move secured him a P2 ahead of Sergio Perez in the last few meters of the race.
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Despite the Monegasque’s best efforts, fans were almost expecting the Aston Martin driver to top the list off, with an honorable mention to the Ferrari driver. However, when the official voting decided to side with the Tifosis and announce Charles Leclerc’s move against Sergio Perez as the best, the internet collectively lost their minds. They felt that the Spanish driver deserved the award, and let their feelings known.
Alonso Robbed of Overtake of the Year
Some fans immediately started to go off on the majority of fans who thought Leclerc deserved the top step in this category. “Seems like the voters don’t get what real racing is,” one fan wrote.
One fan even went to the length of posting 4 very logical questions that he might never get the answers to. “I have 2 questions: 1- Who voted for this? When did they vote? Where was I when they were voting? Have they seen Alonso vs Perez?”
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Alonso vs Perez wasn’t the favorite overtake for some fans, as his move against Hamilton in Bahrain took the top spot for some of the fans on Instagram. One user, while congratulating Charles Leclerc on winning this category, also expressed his dismay. “Pure class. But Alonso on Hamilton in Bahrain come on.”
Most of the internet seemed to agree on two words though. “Alonso robbed.”
Some fans even felt that Fernando Alonso lost because these votes were a popularity contest. “Poor Nando. Losing another popularity-based contest.”
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Who do you think deserved the best overtake of the season? Did you have any other contenders for the top spot? Let us know in the comments section below.