Brandon Horne
Carlos Sainz leads Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc down a straight with the rest of the field behind them.
With six races to go in the 2024 season, the stage is set for a potential championship-deciding race at Abu Dhabi. As of October 18th, Max Verstappen leads Lando Norris by 52 points and Charles Leclerc by 86 points. However, the car Verstappen drives is a far cry from the dominant machine he drove one season ago. The pure pace advantage has gone, leaving Verstappen with the third fastest car overall. In a shocking turn of events, McLaren, perennial midfielders, have completely changed their outlook, with a car well ahead of the current field. This gives Lando Norris an excellent shot at his first championship, as he has closed the gap to Verstappen by 32 points since the British GP.
Further down the field, many new changes are on the horizon. For one, the primary reason for Red Bull’s dominance, and now downfall, Adrian Newey, is moving to Aston Martin. This partnership needs to be successful. Lawrence Stroll, owner of Aston Martin F1, has injected his team with oodles of cash and talent, but so far, this has been for nothing. If Newey is unable to turn the team around, they will soon be branded the PSG of Formula 1, with all the money in the world leading to zero results. Even if they do produce a car worthy of Newey’s $40 million yearly salary, who will take advantage? Alonso has proved his worth despite his age, but it remains to be seen if he is capable of winning another championship, and don’t even get started on Stroll. He hasn’t been competitive since 2022!
Additionally, the most prolific driver on the grid, Lewis Hamilton, will be leaving for Ferrari next season, a truly riveting prospect. His career moves, to this point, have only resulted in world championships, and Ferrari is the last of the 3 major teams he has yet to drive for. If he can restore their former glory as Schumacher did 25 years ago, all will be well in Maranello. That brings us to my personal predictions for the season. So here we go.
I think McLaren has an extremely strong package, so I’m pretty confident they will win the drivers championship both this year and next. As for the drivers, I think Oscar Piastri will make the leap, and take the title. I don’t have a lot of confidence in Lando Norris’s ability, particularly under pressure. Overall, the year promises to be ultra exciting, with the potential for many teams to compete for both the constructors and drivers championships.
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