With the 2024 season now already 20% complete, time is already running out to mount a serious challenge to Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Winning 20 from the last 22 Grand Prix, the Dutch ace is storming towards his fourth consecutive F1 drivers’ title.

When once it was the British national anthem ringing out most weekends as Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominated the scene, it is now The Dutch and Austrian anthems and flags which mostly adorn the top step of the podium celebrations.

 

 

 

 

Max to top Hamilton’s win % in Miami

Max is on target to take down more of Hamilton’s records this season and in Miami should he win, Verstappen will move ahead of the seven times champion in terms of percentage of wins to entries. Last year Max broke Vettel’s record of nine consecutive F1 race wins and in Australia was on the verge of matching the run of ten in a row before mechanical problems developed with the RB20.

Hamilton is pinning his hopes of adding to his tally of victories with his move in 2025 to Ferrari. He appears to have accepted defeat to his team mate conceding on more than one occasion that George is either ‘doing a better job’ or ‘finding the car more to his liking.’

With all but one of this year’s five F1 Grand Prix under his belt, Verstappen has only been thwarted by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz charge to victory in Australia. McLaren are hoping to close the gap to Red Bull but Mercedes for now are lost at sea over how to set up their troublesome W15 car.

All this is bad news for the British drivers – Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris – who are not able to push for victories. With Max breaking records left right and centre he joked during a live gaming session about the lack of challenge from his rivals.

Mercedes to control Hamilton car setup in future

 

 

 

Verstappen swipe at winless Hamilton

While playing EA FC with friends, the British national anthem was to be heard in the background. “Haven’t heard that one in a while!” quipped Max referring to his early days in F1 when Hamilton was dominating the sport.

George Russell is the last Brit to claim F1 victory when he led home a Mercedes 1-2 in Brazil 2022. This today is the last win for Mercedes with Lewis starting now 50 races without a win since Qatar 2021.

Lando Norris meanwhile is knocking on the door of his first F1 win and McLaren believe their incoming upgrades could have them pushing the Red Bull car. Norris has a known friendship with Verstappen and has finished second to the Dutch driver on no less than 8 occasions. He has the unfortunate record of being the F1 driver with the most podium places not to also have claimed a Grand Prix victory.

This is a stat Lando is targeting to erase and the British driver has candidly revealed he believes McLaren will win at least one race this season. “I have already said it, I don’t need any more confidence. There’s more evidence [from China],” Norris told Sky Sports. “I said it at the beginning of the year that I think we can fight against Red Bull and we’ll be able to get a win this year.

Rosberg spills juicy contract details

 

 

 

Piastri struggling with tyre wear

“It’s not going to come easy. I don’t think it will come for a while, but right day, right time, good conditions, things which suit our car a little bit more – 100 per cent I have the faith in the team and I have the faith in my ability to be able to pull it off. But it does need to be right place, right time. I don’t think on average we’re close enough for the time being. But I want to believe.”

Lando’s team mate Oscar Piastri has suffered the bump of returning to planet earth after a stunning rookie season in 2023. The Australian won the Sprint race in Qatar last year after qualifying on pole and leading from start to finish.

Yet after five races this year Piastri is 20 points behind team mate Norris as he continues struggle with tyre degradation as happened last time out in China. Lando’s P2 in the Shanghai GP was something of a surprise to the McLaren team given they had been talking down their chances due to the characteristics of the track.

This new breed of McLaren cars go better on circuits with medium and high speed turns and at the Shanghai International Circuit turn 1-2 is one of the slowest sections of track which F1 cars race along.

Red Bull rejects Perez contract demand

 

 

 

Norris on F1 victory

“Whenever I finish behind Max [Verstappen], I feel like it’s a win, so [today is] a great day,” Norris said to Sky after the race.

“[I’m] really surprised, was not expecting a day like today, so very happy for myself, for the whole team, more importantly.

“[It] definitely exceeded our expectations, but a lot of things just went our way – I didn’t make a mistake in Turn 1 this time and I could have clean air, I could control my own race and it made a big difference today.”

Update: Decisions from F1 commission meeting

 

 

 

Sauber ditch Bottas and Zho

The Formula 1 driver market is gaining momentum. The rumour mill is heating up, and more and more drivers are being linked to a move to another racing team. The current Sauber duo, Bottas and Zhou, are out of luck it seems as paddock whispers indicate they already have had significant decisions made for them.

Formula 1 is a challenging journey for each driver, and the paths of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas are no exception. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, they found their paths converging at Alfa Romeo Racing, operated by Sauber Motorsport…. READ MORE