On track Formula One was an almost prosaic affair in 2023. Max Verstappen’s canter to the title was as assured and dominant as any the sport has seen. Yet after the final chequered flag had fallen behind the scenes there were further indications of seething disquiet, a distrust and conflict at the very heart of the sport.
Two days before Christmas, it was revealed that Steve Nielsen, the sporting director of F1’s governing body, the FIA, had resigned after being in the post for less than a year. Appointed in January, he had been brought in to address what were seen as failings in the FIA’s management of race control, not least after the controversy over the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that had so angered Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team.
