Coming into the 2024 Formula 1 season, the gap could not have been more clear. Other than a freak win for Carlos Sainz and Ferrari in Singapore last year, Red Bull had experienced a never-before-seen period of dominance across 22 races.
Max Verstappen, the 2023 Drivers Champion, pulled off an unbelievable season, breaking records like the most race wins in a single season (19), most consecutive wins (10) and most consecutive pole positions (8). Red Bull and Verstappen’s dominance was so strong that they won the Constructors Championship in September and the Drivers in October, months before the final race in December.
So when the energy drink sponsored team proceeded to win the first two races of the season, no one batted an eye. That was, until, Australia.
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix had started as anyone expected, with Verstappen on pole and retaining first place coming into the first corner. As the third lap began, Carlos Sainz managed to overtake for first position in a very slow Ferrari, at which point everyone realized Verstappen’s car was failing and he would have to retire from the race. From this point on, the season changed.
A similar situation occurred three races later at the Miami Grand Prix, where a lucky safety car and more car problems for Verstappen helped McLaren’s Lando Norris achieve his first race win and McLaren’s in more than three years. This was the first time in years that three different constructors had won a race in the same season.
Things proceeded to escalate over the summer thanks to upgrades making the McLaren the most dominant car in the field and teams like Ferrari and Mercedes making the competition even more fierce. Long gone are the days of the Red Bull beating every other car by 20 seconds. Now it has become Red Bull being left in the dust.
The last time Verstappen was on the top step of the podium, in first place, was the Spanish Grand Prix, back in June. He has been unable to win for the last eight races, a feat that hasn’t occurred since early 2020. With him gone, McLaren has been more than happy to pick up the wins.
Thanks to a first place win for Oscar Piastri and fourth place finish for Norris at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix just two weeks ago, McLaren Racing is back on the top of the Constructors Championships standings. The last time they were first in the standings was during the 2014 season and the last time they won the trophy was in 1998, more than two decades ago. With the strongest car and one of the strongest driver pairings on the field, it is safe to assume they have the Constructors Championship in the bag.
As of the latest Singapore Grand Prix, which was another Norris win, Verstappen sits just 52 points ahead of Lando in the Drivers Championship standings. With six races to go, the silverware is still up for grabs.
This season has also been unexpected for the rest of the field. Lewis Hamilton was able to achieve another win at his home race at Silverstone, in his final year with Mercedes, the team that helped him to a record-equalling seven Drivers Championships. Charles Leclerc, similarly, finally broke a long-standing curse and won his home race in the principality of Monaco.
The season so far has seen seven different race winners from four different constructors, a feat unseen since 2012. With three sprints and six races going until this December, there is still no set conclusion to this wild year.
