A quick glance at the record books reveals the 2024 Formula One season was won easily by Max Verstappen. The Red bull driver claimed his fourth consecutive driver’s title sone 61 points clear of his closest rival, McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Whilst Max technically clinched his winning season in Las Vegas with two further rounds remaining, it was the drive of the century in Brazil which ended the title race which in fact was a lot closer than it looked come the final points tally. The season was one of two halves for Verstappen and Red Bull, who came out the blocks in similar fashion to how they had ended their uber dominant year of 2023.

Verstappen was on to match his own F1 record of ten consecutive wins in Melbourne, but for brake failure to thwart his effort handing the win to Carlos Sainz. Even so Max won seven of the first Grand Prix of the year before the longest winless streak for the Dutch driver since the season before his first world title.

 

 

 

Norris begins the chase

The end of Max’s run came in Austria, where in a car which looked slower than the McLaren, he led Norris in what was a fierce battle for the Grand Prix win. Lap after lap the pair duelled for the lead of the race, with the hairpin turn three being the centre of heat of the fire.

With just eight laps remaining, Norris once again made a run on Max, but the pair collided as Verstappen attempted to block the McLaren car. Both sustained punctures and a wide eyed George Russell cruised by to inherit the lead.

Red Bull managed to repair Verstappen’s car and send him back out, but for Norris this would be the end of his day. Whilst not a win for Verstappen his P6, with Lando failing to score, this was a fifteen point swing in favour of the world champion.

The Red Bull Ring was to prove to be the start of a winless streak for Verstappen not seen since his F1 campaign back in 2020. It would be a startling ten long weekends before the Dutch anthem rang out at the presentation ceremony, and then only following a remarkable race in the monsoon conditions of Sao Paulo.

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Stella refuses to change course

Whilst Verstappen’s run developed, it was clear that McLaren with the quickest car were capable of hunting down Red Bull Racing. Norris to became Verstappen’s closest rival which drew calls from certain quarters in the paddock for the team to back the English driver, issuing team orders to his Australian team mate.

Yet McLaren continued unfazed with team boss Andreas Stella repeating the mantra each week that they will do ‘what is best for the team.’ Then the F1 circus rolled into Budapest, which for some became the defining moment of Lando Norris’ season.

Max Verstappen in his RB20 was off the pace in the Grand Prix, coming home in just P5 opened the door for Norris to eat into his lead in the drivers’ title race. Meanwhile the McLaren’s were running away with the show, but despite having started on pole, Norris lost out to his team mate at the start.

Come the final round of pit stops, Lando was offered the first stop to fit new medium tyres to cover off the outside chance of him being undercut by Lewis Hamilton. By the time Piastri had fitted his final set of rubber, Norris was in the lead of the race and now the fun and games would begin.

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McLaren battle toughness questioned

McLaren invoked team orders for Norris to give way to Piastri, yet  the British driver argued with the team that it was he who was fighting for the drivers’ championship and therefore the team should back him with the extra seven points for the win.

The team radio coded messages to Norris were embarrassing, as his engineer attempted to persuade Lando we could suffer consequences in the future should he not comply wit the team order. Eventually with two laps remaining, Norris slowed on the straight to allow his younger team mate past to take the chequered flag.

The paddock was buzzing with the McLaren dirty laundry washing in public, though some kind of consensus appeared to emerge amongst the media personnel, that the Woking based team was not battle hard enough due to their years in the championship wilderness.

Whilst Lando Norris was peerless in the Dutch Grand Prix, winning by the largest margin of the season, next time out McLaren were again to face criticism as they failed to manage their advantage over Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix.

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‘Papaya rules’ failed in Monza

With Norris and Piastri on the front row of the grid, the team had been publicly discussing their ‘papaya orders.’ This simply out meant you can race each other, but do nothing to the detriment of the team. Norris got away well, but come the second chicane he was mugged by his team mate in a move which allowed Charles Leclerc past Lando too.

Failing to contain the Ferrari’s proved fatal for McLaren as Leclerc finally made his tyre advantage count, taking the chequered flag and a home win in Monza for Ferrari. Yet even when the die was cast, McLaren failed to order Piastri to move over for Lando and the extra three points that would have accrued.

Ahead of the next race in Singapore, McLaren team boss Andreas Stella finally relented and declared there would be an appropriate “bias” towards Lando for the remainder of the season in support of his driver title aspirations.

Yet it wasn’t until Brazil where the team could switch drivers and create an advantage for Norris. There Piastri gifted the win of the Sprint event to his team mate, meaning an extra single point cu from Verstappen’s advantage. Yet Max’s epic drive from P17 to the race win in the Grand Prix at Interlagos, meant that McLaren’s late season tinkering with their ‘papaya rules’ was ultimately futile.

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McLaren to refresh ‘papaya rules’

Norris now explains the ‘papaya rules’ will be refreshed for the coming 2025 season, with Piastri being allowed the opportunity for fight for the championship. He told assembled media at the MTC in Woking, “A lot of what you guys write about and talk about has been because of the championship fight, the Drivers’ Championship fight, and that’s where a lot of talk and things started.

“And I earned my right to have some of those privileges. I earned my right by doing a good job through the whole season, to be given that opportunity.

“I don’t go around asking for it. And it’s certainly not how I want to win a championship. I want to go out and give Max a fair fight and do my part and earn it my way,” concluded Norris.

McLaren will be hoping they start this year’s campaign in better fashion than the last, where they claimed just one podium across the first four rounds of the year. Piastri too will be given the opportunity to race for the drivers’ title, although to succeed he will need to improve his qualifying which saw him beaten 16-8 by Norris last year.

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“Always a few races late…” Mercedes introspective criticism

Mercedes criticises its own design development: “Always a few races later” as there is a changing of the guard in Formula 1 – The 2021 Formula 1 season marked a pivotal moment in the sport’s history, as Red Bull Racing won the Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, ending Mercedes’ dominant run that began in 2014.

The following year saw the introduction of ground-effect cars that reshaped the competitive landscape. Since then, Red Bull has maintained a firm grip on the championship, leaving Mercedes struggling to recapture its former glory. At the end of the 2024 season, Mercedes find themselves trailing not only Red Bull but also Ferrari and McLaren, effectively playing fourth fiddle in the championship hierarchy.

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Chief Engineer, sheds light on the team’s struggles, highlighting a development process that lags behind the competition and hinders their ability to deliver consistent performance throughout the season… READ MORE