Had you told the majority of fans early into this Formula One season that the title fight will be between Red Bull and McLaren—or that there will be any title fights to begin with—then I can assure that you’d have gotten plenty of funny looks, along with boatloads of opinion that tell you otherwise.
And indeed, I’d have gone on the latter and consoled whoever was hoping for a close title race, accepting the fact that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are simply unbeatable.
The sort of emotion I had felt as a Tifoso, back when Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were powered by the well-oiled machines that are Mercedes, allowing them to win five consecutive titles on the bounce—not to mention the three in a row back when the Brackley outfit were having headaches over Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
But alas, we are now in the tail-end of the season, and I firmly believe that this battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris—or the fact that McLaren are mopping the floor with everyone’s head—was never on anyone’s predictions.
Trust me, not even the employees in Woking would’ve expected this turnaround given how abysmal they were.
But this is F1, and this sport changes quickly … faster than you can blink.
Forget about the constructors’
The minute Verstappen did not feel invincible in his Red Bull was the moment rivals smelt blood in the water. And now that the team remain in disarray, those who touted that Christian Horner and Adrian Newey will hoist up another constructors’ title at Milton Keynes should admit defeat.
There is no way on earth anyone can catch the black and orange-laden car.
Down 41 points with six races to go, it is unlikely that they secure enough results to overtake McLaren at the top—unless they’ve done something magical over the short break, that is.
Also, in order to challenge for the constructors’ championship, they will need both drivers to have both their hands on deck. Something that their number two, Sergio Perez, hasn’t done (as well as he did in the past) this season.
With subpar Formula One 2024 results, the beloved ‘Checo’ now finds himself as the most underperforming pilot in the top three teams. To be fair, RBR do not expect him to battle closely with Max. Still, his job revolves around being a rear-gunner, and so far, he hasn’t been all that effective.
To make matters worse, there is a real and possible chance that Red Bull could slip into third place, with Ferrari breathing down their necks, some 34 points behind.
And unlike in Red Bull, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are both primed to end the campaign strong.
How can Max stay ahead?
No matter how close Norris is getting in Verstappen’s rear-view mirror, he still has a 52-point advantage at his disposal. And even if the Briton will be the favourite in the SBOTOP Formula One 2024 odds as the winner or polesitter in the last six races, all hope is not lost for the Dutchman.
Doesn’t seem all that hard, right?
But even if he’s got enough talent to make up for the lack of competitive juice his car has, achieving a P2 every race, in a tight battle with the Prancing Horse and the Silver Arrows, is a tall order.
Over the last eight races, Verstappen was only able to finish in the runners-up spot thrice; the proposition isn’t as simple as it looks.
Lest we forget, Verstappen isn’t exactly the most mild-tempered or the cleanest racer out there. And in a battle this close, one retirement could spell the difference between a champion and a runner-up.
He needs to be calm and collected from here on out, carefully picking his battles, else he might regret everything in the end.
Going all out on Lando
I thank the heavens that McLaren have finally come to their senses and bin the audacious ‘Papaya Rules.’
Well, technically, they’ve still got it. Just not in the way that compromises their team.
And with the season about to reach its exciting finale, everything is now clear: Lando Norris is the only one who can challenge ahead.
Starting in Austin until we reach Abu Dhabi, it would just be right for McLaren to put all their eggs on the Briton, if they want to win a first drivers’ championship since they’ve last won it with Lewis Hamilton back in ’08.
However, if Verstappen holds on by the tiniest of margins in the end, then I do feel like some questions will have to be answered by the McLaren hierarchy. Yes, the Bulls are leading, but it’s the Papayas’ title to lose.
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