The 2023 season of Maverick Viñales: Promising start, but the year was inconsistent

In his second full season with Aprilia, Maverick Viñales showed significant improvements. However, like the team in general, he lacked some consistency, finishing in seventh place. The year started off well for the Spaniard, who finished second at the Portuguese GP. It was his fourth podium with Aprilia, hinting at a successful season. A result and performance that left Viñales encouraged, as he stated in a press conference at the time: ‘The new bike is working well, it is more suited to my riding style – we knew this from the beginning. The important thing is not to stop here. We know we have potential, but we must not forget that Ducati is the winner. So, we need to try to catch them.’

However, #12 was unable to maintain the pace: apart from the fourth place in the Americas, he would only return to the top five in Great Britain in the second part of the season, with four retirements in between. And, until the end of the season, he only managed to achieve top five four more times – including two second places.

The lowest point was after the Dutch GP, when he was in 12th place in the championship. He recovered from there onwards, reaching sixth place and fighting for the top five, but a less good final phase relegated him to seventh.

A drop in competitiveness that cost Viñales dearly, as he ended up losing the chances to fight for the top positions in the championship. It is certain that there were improvements compared to 2022: he finished four positions higher and scored more points, even considering only the main races.

The highlight for Viñales, as well as for Aprilia, was undoubtedly the Catalunya GP. Competing at home, he finished in second place with the fastest lap, helping the manufacturer achieve its first ever one-two finish by only finishing behind his teammate Aleix Espargaró. A result that, at the time, Viñales commented on as follows:

A bike swap, hugs and tears of joy 🤩

Amazing scenes from Barcelona as @AleixEspargaro and Maverick celebrated Aprilia's first 1-2! 🙌#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/eThXizwsG4

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 3, 2023

After an inconsistent phase, with some lack of competitiveness and technical problems, the year ended with a pole position in Valencia. Although Aprilia has not progressed as much as desired in 2023, lacking something to enter the title fight, the improvements are noticeable. The same goes for Viñales who, more adapted to the RS-GP, had better performances and was only two points behind teammate Aleix Espargaró. Will 2024 be the year he returns to the fight for the top positions?

Portuguese GP: 5th Sprint/2nd GP – 2nd in the championship
Argentinian GP: 7th Sprint/12th GP – 5th in the championship
Americas GP: 10th Sprint/4th GP – 4th in the championship
Spanish GP: 7th Sprint/Retirement GP – 5th in the championship
French GP: 9th Sprint/Retirement GP – 7th in the championship
Italian GP: 13th Sprint/12th GP – 10th in the championship
German GP: Retirement in Sprint and GP – 10th in the championship
Dutch GP: 7th Sprint/Retirement GP – 12th in the championship
British GP: 3rd Sprint/5th GP – 10th in the championship
Austrian GP: 8th Sprint/6th GP – 10th in the championship
Catalan GP: 3rd Sprint/2nd GP – 8th in the championship
San Marino GP: 6th Sprint/5th GP – 8th in the championship
Indian GP: 8th Sprint/8th GP – 7th in the championship
Japanese GP: 9th Sprint/19th GP – 7th in the championship
Indonesian GP: 4th Sprint/2nd GP – 6th in the championship
Australian GP: 11th GP (no Sprint race) – 7th in the championship
Thai GP: 18th Sprint/Retirement GP – 7th in the championship
Malaysian GP: 10th Sprint/11th GP – 7th in the championship
Qatari GP: 6th Sprint/4th GP – 8th in the championship
Valencia GP: 4th Sprint/10th GP – 7th in the championship