The 2024 F1 season so far: Verstappen on the back foot heading into the second half

The 2024 F1 season so far has been a tale of two halves. The first was one largely dominated by Max Verstappen who looked set to romp to a fourth straight Formula 1 Drivers’ title completely untroubled. Then came a turning point at the Miami Grand Prix, as the face of the season was turned on its head.

Four teams have risen, and some have fallen in the past 14 races, and with seven winners – two of them first-time victories with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – F1 has had its most different race winners since 2012 (8). The racing is the most captivating in recent memory, and the off-track narratives have been equally engaging, so how has the 2024 season panned out for each of the main protagonists thus far?

Verstappen picks up where he left off

With one of the most dominant seasons in the sport’s history notched in 2023, it seemed an inevitability that Max Verstappen would be the driver to beat in 2024 and when he took four commanding victories – all of them Red Bull 1-2s – from the first five races, it looked like history was going to repeat itself.

A brake failure in Melbourne was the only blot on a near-perfect copybook, but then came Round 6 and the Miami Grand Prix. Although Verstappen’s comparatively disappointing second-place finish was the result of Safety Car timing, Piastri had kept him honest throughout the early phases of the race and following the intervention, Norris could comfortably keep him at bay. The McLarens were on the move.

Victories the Dutchman did secure from that point on were much harder earned. He was pushed all the way to the chequered flag at Imola, Montreal and Barcelona, with Norris chasing him home mere seconds away on each occasion.

Monaco was an anomalous weekend for Red Bull and tensions famously boiled over between Max and Lando at the Austrian Grand Prix, but at the 2024 British Grand Prix, he reminded spectators of the guile that had earned him his three championships. Shrewd strategy calls when the weather demanded them gave him a shot at victory and ultimately earned him the second spot on the podium.

The result at Silverstone was his only podium in the last four Grand Prix, however, and two of them have featured collisions to his race’s detriment. This dip in form was punctuated by contact with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary and a generally poor weekend in Belgium.

Continuing on this trajectory after the summer break could spell trouble for Verstappen in the standings, but equally, if the other protagonists continue to take points from each other and not the #33 driver, he may still hang on to the top spot by the time Abu Dhabi arrives.

Street circuit cameos for Ferrari 

Ferrari may have the joint-least wins of the top four constructors (2), but remarkable consistency and a string of podiums for both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc mean they are only 60 points shy of the summit of the standings.

The season started strong, with Sainz as the nearest Red Bull challenger in Bahrain, Leclerc their closest rival in Saudi Arabia and a spectacular 1-2 in Australia headed by the remarkable Sainz recovering from appendicitis.

More podiums came for Charles in Miami and Imola before that fateful day in Monaco. Like in Melbourne, Ferrari seemed to have genuine pace from the outset, their car seemingly adapting to the kerb-riding intricacies of street circuits well in 2024, just like it did in Singapore last year.

And, of course, Charles Leclerc leapt at the chance to win his home race, claiming pole position and remaining unphased for 78 laps to become the first Monegasque to win the race in 93 years.

A lucky podium in Austria for Sainz and a pole-podium weekend for Leclerc in Belgium followed, but their early-season pace has somewhat diminished as other contenders have risen to the challenge.

McLaren ups its game

Aside from a podium owed to Verstappen’s Australia retirement and a second place in China that showed promise, the first five races of McLaren’s season were lacklustre, to say the least.

Then came the Miami Grand Prix; the team had brought significant upgrades to the event, the benefits of which were immediately evident. In the early race, it was Piastri who easily kept pace with Verstappen, but a well-timed Safety Car intervention allowed for a ‘free’ pit stop for Norris thrusting him into contention.

Lando utilised McLaren’s new-found pace advantage to pull away from the indomitable Verstappen, securing his first victory in F1 and McLaren’s first since Monza 2021.

Miami was no fluke, either, with Norris chasing Max to the line at Imola and Piastri having a strong showing to take second in Monaco.

The battle for the win in Canada and Spain played out much the same as it did in Italy, with Norris looking to have the superior package at his disposal and chasing Verstappen to the line, crucially failing to capitalise on his Catalunya pole position.

Then, in Austria, the same ingredients were on course to deliver the same result. Norris’ superior pace put him on course to catch Verstappen, but this time the pair went into combat.

Never to be intimidated on track, Verstappen got his elbows out and after several laps of nail-biting action, they collided ending the Brit’s race. Fortunately for McLaren, Piastri was there to pick up the spoils and second at the flag.

In the races that followed, Norris was in contention for the win at Silverstone, but questionable strategy calls meant he ultimately finished third, while team order controversy put a dampener on a superb Hungarian Grand Prix 1-2 finish led by first-time winner Piastri.

Last time out, Norris didn’t look to have his usual 2024 pace and it was Piastri who was the stronger of the two, pushing the Mercedes pair all the way to the chequered flag to take third on the road.

The McLaren package appears to be the most consistently competitive of the top four teams, but Mercedes’ pace in recent races has shown the papaya cars won’t have it all their own way for the remainder of the season.

Mercedes comes on song

Like McLaren’s early season, Mercedes was a distant challenger to the front runners for the first eight races of 2024, but when a development package was parachuted in, the silver arrows were propelled into regular race-winning contention.

The first signs of a resurgence came in Canada, when George Russell headed the field in changeable conditions. Although he made several unforced errors and slipped back to third, he remained in contention throughout and brought home the team’s first podium of the season.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton followed that up with a podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, before Russell’s fortuitous day in the Styrian hills. A lucky win, but a win nonetheless and Mercedes’ first victory since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2022, which signalled its readiness to challenge at the front.

From Silverstone onwards, though, George has been subject to more bad fortune than good. Crushing blows came with retirement at Silverstone after qualifying on pole and fighting for the lead, as well as disqualification from winning in Spa for an underweight car, neither of which are representative results of his recent performances.

Hamilton, meanwhile, has been on a hot streak with a record-breaking ninth win at the British Grand Prix, followed by a podium – undeterred by contact with Verstappen – in Hungary and another win after his team-mate’s penalty was applied in Belgium.

Mercedes is the in-form team then, but as this new-era development war has shown, a team can gain huge performance with an overnight upgrade package. Could Red Bull have another trick up their sleeves and get Verstappen back to winning ways? Could Ferrari have its time to shine on the remaining street circuits? Or could there be even more teams joining the fray after the summer break?