The Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday saw Carlos Sainz take his second victory of the season marking the 20th race of the 2024 Formula 1 Campaign. The Spaniard took the win over McLaren’s Lando Norris to win vital points for Ferrari in the Constructors’ title race. The result means with only four races to go, it is all to play for. Here at Engage we take a look at how the rest of the season may pan out.
A great race and a vital win for Ferrari saw them close the gap on McLaren but Mexico certainly wasn’t without its drama. Three-time World Champion, Max Verstappen, finished in 6th place after he was awarded a 10-second time penalty for two separate incidents involving Lando Norris.
It was the second consecutive week the pair had clashed after an incident the week prior in the US when Norris tried to overtake Verstappen and both ended up off the track. The incident in Mexico only added fuel to the fire for an already bubbling rivalry, with Damon Hill describing Verstappen’s racing as like Wacky Races’ character ‘Dick Dastardly’. The spat saw Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship over Norris go down to 47 points with four races to go.
Max Verstappen’s dominance from last season seems to be a thing of the past this year, however, he still leads the way with seven victories. There have been seven different winners this year across 20 races this season, suggesting the playing field is levelling out compared to his 19 wins last year, an astonishing record.
Lando Norris is in hot pursuit of the Dutchman as the Brit tries to claim his first ever World Championship, however, with at least 12 points per race more needed to surpass Verstappen, is it just out of his reach?
Norris is closely followed by Charles Leclerc with the pair tied on 3 wins while Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz round up the top 5 with two victories.
The title race is certainly closer than last year and it’s safe to say if Norris can get substantial points this weekend in Brazil, the last three races will be gripping.
There is a three-way battle for the Constructors’ Championship with Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all in the race for the title. Red Bull find themselves in third place on 512 points, a far cry from their comfortable victory in 2023 where they won by an astonishing margin of 451 points. With seven wins in 2024, all courtesy of Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez risks his future in the team as the Mexican has only 4 podiums in 2024. Perez, who finished 17th in his home race on Sunday, may see his Red Bull career coming to an end.
After Carlos Sainz took victory on Sunday and Charles Leclerc finished third, Ferrari saw both drivers take to the podium finding themselves in 2nd place with four races to go. The team in red have been quietly consistent this year with 5 victories and 18 podiums in 2024. For their efforts they have gained 537 points and certainly hold a good position going into the last four. Could they win their first title since 2008?
However, leading the way is McLaren. The team consisting of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, lead the Constructors’ with 566 points. McLaren haven’t won the title since 1998 and after a 26 year absence at the top, they will be looking to change that narrative. With 5 wins and 19 podiums, they are certainly looking likely to do it, but can they hold on with only four races to go?
So will Verstappen defend his title? This weekend the F1 heads to Brazil as drivers will battle it out to gain points for themselves and their team. Will we see more drama as Norris and Verstappen go head-to-head? Or will their rivalry prove too much for the pair to handle, opening up the opportunity for Ferrari to snatch the Constructors’ title?
It’s safe to say all three teams will be cautious of a possible upset if Verstappen and Norris carry their spat into the final four races, something Ferrari will definitely be looking to take advantage of.
Fancy finding out for yourself how the final races will pan out? Check out Engage Hospitality’s brilliant Formula 1 packages to watch the rest of the season live from Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi! Don’t worry if you can’t make the rest of the 2024 campaign, after the battles of this season, Formula 1 in 2025 is about to be a cracker. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Formula 1 and Engage have you covered for every single race! Don’t miss it!
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