Max Verstappen’s complete annihilation of the rest of the field last season had many journalists inside the paddock fearing the worst for 2024. The concern had also stretched up to Formula 1’s owners Liberty Media and despite the public support for the Dutchman and Red Bull’s success, it was also concerned by the dominance and its impact.
TV numbers were dropping and F1 had noticeably been bumped further down the global news agenda. It seemed interest in the series had peaked and the inevitable drop-off that comes with one person winning all the time was in play.
Of course, this fear was totally rational. The new audience that had been attracted by Drive to Survive had been fed a promise of drama and the spectacular; Verstappen winning by a mile each weekend was not part of the script. Nor is it part of the American sports psyche which looks to encourage competition and stop teams from dominating with methods such as the draft system.
However, we didn’t need to have worried, for the last few races have reinvigorated this season and with it perhaps, a wider interest in F1.
This week’s Hungarian Grand Prix might come before F1’s summer break but technically, it marks the start of the second half of the championship’s longest-ever season.
The British GP at Silverstone was the 12th race of the year and Lewis Hamilton’s victory meant he had become the sixth different driver to win a race this year.
At the same point in 2023, Verstappen’s win in Belgium, that was also the 12th race of the year, was his 10th of the season and an eighth in a record run of 10 straight wins that would reach until the Italian GP in September.
Verstappen still heads the standings but his lead is far less than in 2023
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
He still leads the championship by 54 points from Lando Norris whereas in 2023, the nearest non-Red Bull driver was Fernando Alonso, who was 165 points adrift from the world champion.
It is the same picture in the constructors’ championship too. Red Bull sits on 373 points, Ferrari on 302 and McLaren on 295, whereas last year Red Bull were on 503 points and Mercedes 247. That gives increased hope that this campaign will not turn out to be another procession but, in fact, could become quite interesting come the climax of the season.
So, what has changed?
Well, actually it is what has not changed which has been the biggest contributing factor. The rules for this season have remained largely the same and that has meant as teams refine their cars, there is a convergence on in lap times.
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Red Bull’s development rate has slowed as it near the maximum from its current package, plus the world champions are also slightly inhibited by a restriction in wind tunnel testing time as a consequence of winning the title last season.
F1’s sliding scale regulations on aero testing were introduced alongside the budget cap in an attempt to level the playing field, with the bottom team in the championship standings given 45% more testing time than that of the championship-winning squad – each of the 10 teams separated by 5% increments.
Then there is the behind-the-scenes turmoil at Red Bull at the start of the year. McLaren CEO Zak Brown reckons we have not seen the true impact of that power struggle just yet and that the problem may resurrect itself in the long term.
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
But the vacuum caused by the passing of long-time owner Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022 has undoubtedly caused a rift. On one side there is team boss Christian Horner and the Thai majority owner, and on the other, the Austrian perspective led by Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko. There is simply no way that the fallout following the internal investigation into Horner, following a complaint from a female member of staff, has not had an impact.
The other element is a legitimate competition for wins. The continued improvement from McLaren has thrust them into contention and served to put pressure on Verstappen and Red Bull, leading to some fantastic action in the last seven races – Monaco procession excluded.
The Woking-based team enjoyed a solid end to 2023 and took that form into this season and really should be a few wins better off than the solitary one Norris achieved in Miami.
Another team that has turned a corner is Mercedes and they genuinely look to be heading in the right direction for the first time since 2021. Back-to-back victories for George Russell and Hamilton in Austria and Silverstone not only broke the monotony but they served as a welcome boost to their long-serving supporters.
It all bodes well for the second half of the campaign as the convergence means we have a grid separated by the slenderest of margins. And we’ve still yet to find out who is racing where in 2025, for the driver market is still fluid and could well throw up more drama between now and the end of the season.
So far it has been anything but the predicted snooze-fest, and I’ve a feeling it is only going to get better in the final 12 races of this mammoth season.
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