The year is 2023, the month is September and Formula 1 has completed round 15. A Red Bull hasn’t won for the first time all season. Now, in 2024, just six rounds in and three different drivers in as many teams have won a grand prix. Has F1 shown signs it could be exciting once again?
The word in the off-season was that things were going to be closer, the field was converging. However, the opening round at Bahrain was a processional Red Bull one-two, led by Max Verstappen with ease. Heading into the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Verstappen had only been beaten once, once again by Carlos Sainz and Ferrari (the same duo that stopped Red Bull’s streak in 2023). Verstappen’s charge at Melbourne was halted through a technical fault, but there was plenty of talk that Sainz and Ferrari had the pace to win regardless. Moreover, it took until the third round for Red Bull to come unstuck in 2024, not 15. Fast forward to Japan and Red Bull was again out in front, winning at ease. Verstappen then went on to win the Sprint/GP double in Shanghai.
But a dark horse was emerging in China: Lando Norris’ McLaren. The Brit was lapping a near identical pace to Verstappen during the latter half of the race en route to a fine second-place finish and the Woking-based outfit was teasing a sizeable upgrade package for Miami.
Roll onto the Sunshine State and Norris’ McLaren sported as many as 10 revisions at Miami, with team-mate Oscar Piastri receiving an ‘upgrade-lite’ MCL38. Straight away the pace was there as Norris looked odds on for Sprint Qualifying pole on the Friday at the semi-permanent venue until that speed dissipated come SQ3 and he started the Sprint in ninth place – an encounter that would end at the first corner on the first lap as he was an innocent bystander.
But things changed in the main grand prix. Norris qualified fifth, three and a half tenths off of Verstappen’s pole time, showing just how tight the front of the pack has become over a single lap since the start of this season. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified second, a little more than a tenth behind Verstappen’s benchmark time. Sainz, in third, was just over two-tenths adrift.
Despite leading the first half of the race, Verstappen wasn’t the only candidate for victory and his off-track kerfuffle with the infamous Miami bollard showed that he was vulnerable when things weren’t seamless behind the wheel of his RB20 and Red Bull’s rivals were closer in pace. The obtuse characteristics of the Miami circuit coupled with a Sprint weekend meant the Dutchman was never quite happy with the balance of his car.
Then, lady luck intervened.
A Safety Car intervention timed itself just right for Norris to pit from the lead and remain out in front. Had it fallen a lap or two earlier, we could be talking about a Sainz victory or even an Oscar Piastri victory, for there were more than a few names in contention at Miami. However, it was Norris who was able to capitalise and he banished all notion that he could not handle pressure, absorbing Verstappen’s advances at the restart to maintain the lead before checking out. Over the final stint, Verstappen wasn’t a match for Norris. The McLaren was undeniably the quickest car in the field. The Woking squad leapt into the best of the rest candidacy last season and showed promise of challenging Red Bull in 2024. In Miami, we were all seeing it bear fruit and Norris romped away to take a well-received maiden victory in the top flight.
Yes, the Safety Car helped Norris, but you have to have the pace to capitalise and as his close friend Carlos Sainz put it, “luck comes to those who deserve it.” Or in Verstappen’s words, “if my mum had balls she’d be my dad.” Quite.
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur put it best post-race. “Honestly, I think Red Bull is still ahead and that Max could have won today without the story of the Safety Car,” he said. “I don’t want to draw any conclusion on this but they did the pole position and they have still a small advantage. What is true is that, compared to one year ago, when we are able to do a good job and to put everything together, we are there. We are putting them a little bit under pressure – they have to be a bit more aggressive with the strategy.
“They are not anymore in the comfort zone of last year when, last year, it didn’t matter what happened – after Lap 2, they were in front. I think it’s a game changer in the management of the race and this is an opportunity for us because, if you are doing another small step, I think we will really be in a position to fight with them every single weekend.
“It will be like this until the end of the season. I think that we, McLaren and us, probably catch up a little bit on Red Bull.”
Indeed, Red Bull is still the quickest team and without any surprise intervention will be odds on for every Grand Prix win. But the chasing pack is now close enough to force the reigning champion’s hand when the need arises. Red Bull isn’t invincible. Ferrari and McLaren can beat them, and the Scuderia has a major upgrade package debuting at Imola this weekend. Plus, who knows what Mercedes and Aston Martin can deliver in the coming months?
That is reason enough to get excited about F1 again. At last.
