The cars are being unveiled and winter testing has concluded, as have the first official rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 season, which begins this weekend in Bahrain. We can ask ourselves several questions as we begin this new racing season, which promises to be explosive both on the track and in the paddock. Here are the 10 main topics in the big F1 circus this year.
• Also read: Red Bull boss Christian Horner has been cleared of allegations of “inappropriate behavior”.
• Also read: F1: It's school time again for Stroll
1. Will the Red Bull team continue their incredible dominance?
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With 860 points and 21 wins in 22 races, the Austrian team literally dwarfed the competition and scored twice as many points as Mercedes, who were second in the constructors' championship last year. Max Verstappen, record holder of 19 wins, is apparently as fit as he was last year, as the results of pre-season testing showed. The bull single-seater was even faster than last year and increased the gap to its competitors even further. So this promises a new rule.
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But the team has weathered a major storm in recent weeks, as director Christian Horner was the target of an employee complaint accusing him of “transgressive sexual behavior.” The big boss, who was appointed Commander of the British Empire last December, was cleared of the allegations on Wednesday as part of an internal investigation by the team's parent company, Red Bull. However, the scandal and investigation rocked the team. It now remains to be seen whether Verstappen and Sergio Perez can make history forget with their results on track.
2. Can Mercedes and Ferrari keep up with Red Bull?
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In Lewis Hamilton's final season with Mercedes, the team started with a new vehicle concept that revealed its strengths in pre-season testing. Completion of the “zero pontoon” concept. This example of the W15 returns to the more conventional pontoon, further limiting porpoising and on-track difficulties. The W15 particularly shines in the corners, but will it be fast enough to keep up with Red Bull? His drivers Hamilton and George Russell are more optimistic. Still, veteran Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso declared at the end of pre-season testing that “19 drivers in the paddock now know they won't win the title,” referring to Verstappen's dominance in the RB20.
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Ferrari has opted for continuity as the changes to the red single-seater have borne fruit throughout the 2023 season. As they wait for Hamilton to arrive in 2025, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have their hands full continuing the progress of the car that would be easier to drive this year.
3. Who will win the “Best of the Rest” title for fourth place in the Manufacturers’ Championship?
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The competition between McLaren and Aston Martin will be strong, while Alpine's start to the season promises to be just as bumpy as the Gilles-Villeneuve track! Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly left winter testing not very encouraged by the French single-seater's performance. Therefore, in the first rounds of the calendar it will be very difficult to configure it correctly. At McLaren, major investment in racing facilities points to an excellent season with two competitive drivers in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. By the middle of the 2023 season, they had been on the podium nine times. The aim is to fight together with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull and secure a regular place at the front of the peloton. Aston Martin is also aiming for podium places with a fast and balanced car. However, it will need to be more responsive to upgrades over the course of the season to stay in the fight.
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4. Can Lance Stroll bounce back and keep up with Fernando Alonso?
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For many reasons, Aston Martin team managers say, Lance Stroll deserves a better fate in 2023. However, his poor performance and numerous problems wiped out the race in the constructors' championship, while Alonso picked up points and podiums. The Spaniard surpassed him in the drivers' championship by 132 points. Will the son of the team's wealthy owner finally manage to follow the veteran in an identical car? Only he will be able to prove it, although he is the only driver on the panel whose contract terms are not known. Alonso drools over the place Hamilton will give up at Mercedes at the end of the season and promises to go full throttle. Son Stroll's task will be difficult.
5. A big game of musical chairs ensues: who will go where?
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The 2024 campaign promises to be hot behind the scenes of the big circus. Rumors will be circulating at high speed in the paddock. The contracts of twelve drivers expire next November, including those of Alpine, Stake Kick Sauber, Haas and Visa Cash App RB. No, these 2024 season predictions are not sponsored by teams with dubious names at the back of the peloton!
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The fact is that Carlos Sainz will leave Ferrari with the arrival of Hamilton. The other coveted seat is that of Sergio Perez at Red Bull. The Mexican will once again face the difficult task of following three-time world champion Verstappen and securing second place in the drivers' championship. The pressure will be strong, like in 2023.
6. When will the pace slow down with a record 24 race calendar?
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Formula 1 has never had such a long calendar, which stretched from the end of February to the beginning of December and included 24 races. The list, which has included 22 stages for three years, is being expanded to include two stations. It is the return of the Chinese Grand Prix, which will take place in Shanghai in mid-April, and the Imola Grand Prix in Italy, a month later. Despite its efforts to consolidate regional events to reduce its carbon footprint, the grand Formula 1 circus will circumnavigate the world twice, crossing the Atlantic four times and the Pacific Ocean twice. It's also a new logistical challenge for each of the 10 teams that expressed fears when it was announced last season. As for the riders who complained about the significant time differences in 2023, both young and old, like the peloton's veteran Fernando Alonso, worked hard during the two months of “vacation” to prepare for this demanding marathon event in 2024 The calendar will be hit with two grueling sequences of three Grands Prix in as many weeks. The first at the end of June and the other at the end of October.
Additionally, the first two races of the season will take place on Saturday as they take place in the Middle East, where Ramadan begins on Sunday, March 10, on the weekend of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. However, this event was scheduled for Saturday, March 9th. And to comply with the rule of seven days before a race, the first event in Bahrain will take place this Saturday. The Las Vegas Grand Prix will also take place late in the evening on November 23rd.
7. What is the new format for sprint races?
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When applying for the fourth season, according to Nielsen research, they have achieved more than interesting television ratings since 2021, but the format of the sprint races has been changed. Qualifying takes place on Friday after free practice. The sprint races, the distance of which is set at 100 km, will be held on Saturday, but their results will no longer be included in the Grand Prix starting grid. The six races will take place in China (April 20), Miami (May 4), Austria (June 29), Austin (October 19), Sao Paulo (November 2) and Qatar (November 30).
8. A hat-trick from Verstappen in Montreal to join a select group?
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To ask the question is to answer it, according to experts' predictions for the 2024 season. Could Max Verstappen take a third consecutive victory at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit on June 9? Pedro Rodriguez, Jacky Ickx and Alan Jones had no success in the 60s and 70s, as did Michael Schumacher in the late 90s, before taking three victories at the wheel of his Ferrari from 2002 to 2004. Lewis Hamilton responded with Mercedes from 2015 to 2017. With a third victory in Canada, the Red Bull driver would also join renowned Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet.
However, the prize belongs to “Schumi” and Lewis, who has seven.
9. Which team will end up at the bottom of the field?
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Williams and Haas have been competing for this participation medal, awarded to the last of the ten teams in the field, for just over five seasons. But Williams appears to have regained control since Dorilton Capital took over the company. Especially since the company has invested large sums of money in the tens of millions to regain some of the aristocratic letters from the Frank Williams era. Last year the British team finished 7th in the constructors' championship. Driver Alex Albon finished 13th among drivers, scoring points in seven races.
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The American team Haas remains at the bottom of the rankings as it continues its trend for the 2023 season in which it recorded 12 small points. A slight improvement compared to zero points in 2021. Magnussen and Hülkenberg only got their car back into the points four times. The big boss, star of the Netflix series Drive to Survive for five seasons, the very colorful Günther Steiner, has left because his contract was not renewed. Technical director Ayao Komatsu now leads the team, which faces many challenges including improving speed and tire wear. Steiner isn't far away, however, as he is now an F1 expert for a German television channel.
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With one of the worst, if not the worst, names in the history of the formula, the Visa Cash App RB stable is not destined to reach the bottom of the rankings. The same goes for the other ignoble name Stake Kick Sauber, which now goes by the lime worm while it waits for the Audi rings in 2026.
10. What are the most important new rules in 2024?
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As the major rule changes planned for 2026 approach, Formula 1 continues to adapt and evolve. Among the technical changes this season is that each driver has four engines, rather than just proposing three “mills”.
Activation of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) during the race is expected to occur one lap instead of two after the start or start after the safety car. The post-race appeal process will be shortened from 14 days to 4 and will cost approximately 10,000 Canadian dollars.
To prevent riders from holding back the peloton and putting obstacles in the way of competitors during a fast qualifying lap, as dangerously happened in Montreal last year, riders must maintain a maximum time in each sector of a circuit.