At the start of this decade, Formula One was on the precipice of a big crisis with the onset of the global pandemic in 2020. That year, the season shut down days before the first race in Melbourne after a few members of the McLaren team tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The economic fallout could have been catastrophic for one of the most expensive sports on the planet. However, F1 struck gold in a bleak time when a humble documentary series about the 2019 season got a new set of people — cooped up in their homes because of lockdowns — to discover the sport.
In 2021, when things returned to normalcy, F1 had a season for the ages where the title was controversially decided on the last lap of the last race in favour of Max Verstappen. Since that season, which further boosted the sport’s popularity, Red Bull and Verstappen have only grown in strength. A cruise to the drivers and constructors’ titles in 2022 became an obliteration of the field in 2023. Red Bull won all but one race last year, Verstappen claiming 19 of the 22.
And so, the 2024 season finds F1 at a crossroads again. It may not be facing an existential threat but it’s certainly nursing some headaches. Ahead of the 75th year of the F1 World Championship, The Hindu explores the storylines set to play out over the next 10 months.
Can anybody tame the Bull?
The big question on everyone’s mind is, who can stop — or even challenge — the Verstappen-Red Bull juggernaut? In sport, nothing good ever comes from predictability. When an audience feels that the result is a foregone conclusion, is there any incentive to tune in?
While it is essential to acknowledge, appreciate and even celebrate such feats of excellence, extended periods of dominance eventually turn off the neutral and casual fans.
Even for Red Bull and Verstappen, their achievements will have more lustre if they are made to work for it rather than just disappearing into the distance once the five red lights go out.
So, a lot rides on Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren finding the means to help both themselves and the sport by taking the fight to Red Bull. But it will be challenging as they have to first douse fires in their own backyards.
Moreover, Red Bull hasn’t stood still. Thanks to its significant pace advantage in 2023, the team didn’t need to update the car and was able to focus its resources on 2024. This season’s car is a fairly drastic evolution of its predecessor. Despite the potential to trip up, it looked quick right out of the box in testing. If it has uncorked new potential, it could be another long, dreary year for the rivals.
How the challengers measure up
It has been a chastening experience for Mercedes over the last two years after winning almost everything from 2014 to 2021. The car the team produced for the new regulations in 2022 looked visually different from the rest of the grid, but was neither fast nor driver-friendly, winning just one race.
The team retained the concept last year but made no headway and was forced to discard it. There were also changes within the team after its technical director, Mike Elliott, resigned and his predecessor, James Allison, returned to a day-to-day role.
Swansongs: Carlos Sainz, who will make way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari next season, will want to prove he still is a top player in his final season in red. Hamilton will be looking to end his farewell Mercedes season on a positive note. | Photo credit: Getty Images
The evidence from pre-season testing was reasonably promising, especially the feedback from the drivers. However, the headline times suggest it is probably third-fastest behind Red Bull and Ferrari, perhaps not enough for Lewis Hamilton to work with in his farewell Mercedes season.
Ferrari had a far more encouraging testing experience, and the drivers expressed happiness about the car’s handling. The drivability was something both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had complained about last year. However, Ferrari has in the past won a few pre-season testing championships before coming a cropper when the serious business got underway.
In 2022, the Scuderia had a race-winning car that was in the title hunt for half a season before things went down a spiral. It took until the second half of 2023 for Ferrari to get things back on track when it showed decent form in the final few races. This season is also a test of team boss Fred Vasseur’s leadership. The Italian marque needs to be regularly sniping at Red Bull’s heels this year to set the stage for a title assault from 2025 when Hamilton arrives at Maranello.
Open seats, closed doors and the domino effect
The driver market was expected to be buzzing this year, with a lot of contracts running out in 2024. However, that balloon was pricked at the start of the year with three big announcements. Leclerc and Lando Norris decided to extend their stay at Ferrari and McLaren. But the big bombshell, the Hamilton-Ferrari deal, dropped a few days later.
Though the principal actors are off the table, a handful will drive for their futures this year. The two drivers on top of that list are Sainz and Sergio Perez.
Sainz, who will make way for Hamilton at Ferrari next year, has to show that he is still a top player in the paddock. He was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race last year and has done well against Leclerc. The Spaniard will, no doubt, attract the attention of any team that wants a seriously fast driver with a great work ethic. Where Sainz goes next could well decide the career trajectories of many others.
On the other hand, it is a make-or-break year for Perez. Occupying the fastest car on the grid, the Mexican has underperformed Verstappen, which is putting it mildly. Red Bull hasn’t needed Perez’s help in the constructors’ battle or in taking points off Verstappen’s rivals in the last two years. But this will change if there is a threat from another team. It is the last chance for the six-time Grand Prix winner to step up and show what he can do.
The ever-changing sprint conundrum
The sprint format was introduced in 2021 at select events to liven up the proceedings on all three days of a weekend. The venues are chosen based on the circuit’s overtaking potential, and there will be six events this year.
It has undergone two format changes already. For this year, the format remains the same, but the flow of the events has changed. Sprint qualifying will now be held on Friday evening and the sprint race on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying for the main Grand Prix.
Last year, sprint qualifying and the sprint race were held on Saturday, making the middle day of the weekend a bit pointless. This is the latest attempt to make the sprint appealing, but the jury is still out on whether it adds to the spectacle.
