Red Bull clean sweep, Hamilton’s contract and the other Formula 1 storylines to watch
Before you have had the time to dust the house and buy new uniforms, the school holidays have almost come to an end – and the Formula 1 break is coming to a conclusion, too, with the circus back up and running this weekend in the Netherlands.
Home hero Max Verstappen is well on his way to a third consecutive world title and his constructor Red Bull aren’t far off wrapping up the team title too.
So what else is there to look out for within the paddock?
1,000,000 into five
Everybody wants to be a racing driver in Formula 1 but the reality is that there are just five seats left for next season – and even a number of those may be out of reach.
Valtteri Bottas is awaiting an Alfa Romeo team-mate next year, with Zhou Guanyu currently not confirmed for 2024.
AlphaTauri, which is set to rebrand next season, has not announced a single driver yet but could keep on Daniel Ricciardo, having poached the former Red Bull, Renault and McLaren driver midway through this campaign.
Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll is yet to confirm his team will still have a seat for son Lance, while Williams, too, are in the market for a driver.
But the big one comes at the Silver Arrows. Lewis Hamilton’s current contract at Mercedes runs out at the end of the year. The seven-time world champion is close to a new deal but until it is signed his future is anybody’s guess.
For some of the drivers, the remaining 10 races could be the difference between job security and the job centre.
Red Bull records
Though the continued success of a single driver or team can get tiresome, it will be truly fascinating to see whether Verstappen and Red Bull can continue to set records.
Red Bull toppled McLaren’s benchmark of 12 successive race wins earlier in the season and can still complete a clean sweep, which would see them win 22 races in all.
It would be a feat of incredible dominance and engineering. Although it may be unwanted by some fans, it would be a sight to behold.
As for Verstappen, he has won all but two races on the calendar thus far and will have no intentions of losing his home race this weekend in Zandvoort.
The Flying Dutchman has become a serial winner, much like the dominance shown by Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the past, and he will be targeting individual records as much as team success.
We’d be so lucky
In complete contrast to the above, Formula 1 simply needs alternative winners. Sure, there’s some competition further down the Team Standings, where one point can be the difference between a seven- or eight-figure pay-out at the end of the season, but at the top is where it counts.
And with the dominance of Verstappen and Red Bull, the sport is in danger of becoming a parade of predictability.
Imagine a series of Drive to Survive where everything is curated around off-track moments because the on-track side is boring. It doesn’t sound great.
The sport needs variety, or at least for Verstappen to be rammed – safely – off the track at his home grand prix by team-mate Sergio Perez. Utter dominance should be praised, but not at the expense of a weaker product overall.
Other teams have had time to develop their cars over the summer break and, hopefully, close the gap. Fans may well be hoping that it has been closed by more than Red Bull have been capable of extending it.