Tuesday 25 June 2024 8:58 am

F1: Is dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen over?

By: Matt Hardy

Deputy Sports Editor - Morning Wire

As Max Verstappen rounded the final corner at the Bahrain International Circuit in the opening race of the 2024 Formula 1 season, many would have been forgiven for believing they were in for another campaign of constructor dominance.

The sport has been plagued with supremacy over the many by the few; the last 14 team titles have been won by either Verstappen’s Red Bull or German giants Mercedes.

And when Dutchman Verstappen, chasing a fourth consecutive individual title, rounded the final corner of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in week two, fans would have been excused for resigning themselves to another Red Bull masterclass.

But then something happened.

Last 15 constructor wins

Verstappen teetering

In Australia, after having his appendix removed, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr won. Two further wins for Verstappen was followed with an inaugural win for Brit Lando Norris. Already the 2024 season had matched the last for the number of different winners.

Verstappen won again, in Italy, but then Charles Leclerc won in his native Monaco. And despite notching up his sixth and seventh wins of the season in Canada and, at the weekend, Spain, Verstappen has not had it all his own way.

On Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya he was pushed all the way by McLaren’s Norris and, in comparison to recent years, he has been under pressure throughout this season.

Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, who saw seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton achieve his first podium of the season in northern Spain, have closed the gap on the long-standing dominance of Red Bull. 

And though it has not manifested in the downfall of Verstappen – it would be a shame for him to drop out of the picture so suddenly – it has made the sport somewhat interesting again.

Once it was Hamilton versus whoever was alongside him, then Verstappen against himself. So this already beats that narrative and will come as some relief to Formula 1’s marketing chiefs.

But could that be about to change?

State of play

Formula 1 has just completed the first leg of a triple header which sees the paddock travel to Spain, Austria and Great Britain on consecutive weekends.

This part of the calendar is congested with races in Hungary and Belgium next month completing the first part of the season.

And in this string of grands prix it is common to see the upgrades come thick and fast; some teams may target aerodynamics and others may look at altering a shaft here or there.

That’s because this period is the last time teams get to try things in race conditions before the summer break, where mass upgrading begins and thoughts start turning towards next season.

It also comes at a time when team principal Christian Horner is dealing with the fallout of his recent investigation into allegations of inappropriate comments

Matt Hardy, Morning Wire

F1 woes at Red Bull

For Red Bull, though, this hiatus will be crucial. It will be their last one with Adrian Newey, the design guru credited with changing the way Formula 1 cars were seen and made for a generation.

It also comes at a time when team principal Christian Horner is dealing with the fallout of his recent investigation into allegations of inappropriate comments.

While Red Bull know they are being caught and will lose key employees soon, this is the time to strike for other teams.

McLaren and Norris have looked the most likely but a summer break can produce all manner of outcomes for each team. 

These final races before then, and especially this triple header fans are currently in the midst of, are crucial for the chasing pack to narrow the gap before Red Bull are given the chance to leap ahead again.

Whether the Raging Bulls can do that, however, based on their recent off-track woes, remains to be seen.