Formula 1 is back - who will win this year?
"Here we go again" might be an appropriate quote to say about the upcoming Formula 1 season. What shall we expect about it?
Formula 1 is indisputably the pinnacle of motorsport and one of the greatest sports in the world. This year, we expect to see 24 main races and 6 sprints throughout the season. Honestly, the number does not really matter, because the important thing is the on-track action. You might have 100 races in a year, nevertheless, without crazy crashes, magnificent overtakes or brilliant actions, they are worthless. Luckily, the first important impact is foundable among the previous articles - we have got 6 new rookies on the grid. Last year, it was quite unusual to see Safety Car deployed due to the on-track crash. The teams had not changed any driver in their teams for 2024, nonetheless, there were some changes in the middle of the season. After that, Safety Car became much more regular on track. As I said previously - carnage might be around the corner, because some of the rookies might be a little bit clumsy or overmotivated to reach appropriate results.
Crazy dramas might be interesting but the championship fight is the crucial aspect of Formula 1, in my opinion. And this year, we actually have same favorites as last year - it's McLaren and Max Verstappen. But to explain that more - based on tests in Bahrain from February, McLaren built a car with the fastest race pace at the moment. Lando Norris, McLaren's first driver, was ahead of Charles Leclerc, Ferrari's superstar, at race simulation by 12 seconds. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes rookie driver, was just 2 seconds behind Leclerc. McLaren should be dominant at the beginning of the season, nonetheless, development might be a bit different than expected. Both Ferrari and Mercedes have better potential to be faster than McLaren by the end of the season. And we saw something similar last year - Verstappen won 7 out of the first 10 venues but could not return to the top step on the podium consistently afterward.
But…what about Red Bull? This might be the most surprising element of this year - either in a good or in a bad way. Think about it - everyone is talking about McLaren, Hamilton in Ferrari, and possibly Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli. However, has anyone noticed that there is a guy who won 4 Drivers Championship titles in a row and who has literally no pressure on himself before the season opener? Although fanbase expects Red Bull to struggle in Australia as (almost) always, Max Verstappen should not be really stressed about the situation. That is the reason why we should not underestimate Max. Nonetheless, Verstappen's new team-mate Liam Lawson from New Zealand might be in a bit different position. He is Max's fifth co-worker since he joined Red Bull in 2016 and he has beaten almost all of them. Liam stands in front of an impossible challenge and it might be just a question of time when he will be replaced by someone else.
Formula 1 is back. The first race is on Sunday 16th of March at 5 o'clock in the morning. After the venue, many questions will be answered and the situation on this year's grid will be clearer.
Jakub Ondruš