2023 F1 summer break: How did the drivers spend their holidays?

F1 is back from the obligatory summer break that takes place in August. All 10 teams and 20 drivers will soon return to racing on August 27 at the 2023 F1 Dutch GP. Since the summer break is three weeks long, almost all 20 drivers enjoy their time off from racing and take a breather.

Most of the drivers, including Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, and Pierre Gasly, were seen having fun in the water. They were with their respective close ones and posted pictures of them enjoying a dip and partying on their yatches. Of course, they must have done a lot of other relaxing activities aside from what they publicly posted.

You can see the pictures below:

On the other hand, a few drivers like Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri also posted pictures of themselves hiking and simply enjoying dinner with their loved ones. The Spaniard also posted a video of him doing donuts and zooming around in a go-kart.

Valtteri Bottas posted several pictures of himself cycling in a hilarious Duff Man costume at the SBT Grvl competition, while his teammate, Zhou Guanyu, uploaded a few pictures of himself back in his homeland, China.

Logan Sargeant, too, posted many pictures with his friends and close ones while enjoying his first F1 summer break.

In early August, a picture of both Daniel Ricciardo and George Russell blew up as they were seen together with their partners after unexpectedly meeting each other at a Martin Garrix concert.

Overall, it is safe to say that almost every driver, whether they frequently posted pictures of themselves enjoying the break or silently relaxed away from social media, had a good time during the summer break. They will return refreshed to race again at Zandvoort.

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Former world champion asks F1 to force the use of all three tire compounds

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill recently suggested a new rule that in each Grand Prix, all drivers must race on all three different tire compounds. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill said:

"I think there is definitely an argument to say that if you are going to look for excitement and a little bit more of a challenge, then why not? I have heard it put forward before, it would increase the number of pit stops so you get less of the one-stop factor."

He added:

"They want to have that scalp and so they come in and do the one-lap stop and that is a bit of drama at the end of the race. Having to use all three compounds would throw another challenge in there, so it is possibly a good thing."

Hill stated that it will not only increase the excitement level of the race since the drivers will switch more positions with each other, but it will also pose a new kind of challenge for them.