Tag: Formula 1

The Formula One season is well and truly underway and not much has changed since last year, with superstar Max Verstappen trouncing the opposition once again. He’s won every race he’s finished so far and has left his rivals with a lot of work to do to stop him.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s final season for Mercedes hasn’t started as he would have liked. Can he turn things around? Here’s everything you need to know so far from the opening five races of the 2024 F1 season.

F1 standings after five races

Position	Driver	Team	Wins	Podiums	Points
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	4	4	110
2	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	0	4	85
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	0	2	76
4	Carlos Sainz Jr	Ferrari	1	3	69
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	0	2	58

After sweeping all before him last year, Verstappen has a fourth consecutive championship in his sights. The Red Bull driver has picked up where he left off, starting every race in pole position and winning four of the opening five contests.

The Belgian-born superstar started in style in Bahrain, winning by 22 seconds and claiming the fastest lap. Stablemate Perez followed up in second while Sainz Jr completed the podium.

Verstappen then won the second race in Saudi Arabia but couldn’t make it three in a row as he was forced to retire in Australia, allowing Sainz Jr to claim his first win of the season. Having reported brake issues after just two laps, Verstappen managed one more lap before a brake failure saw him drop out of the race.

Lewis Hamilton also finished early, dropping out after 15 laps due to a power issue. Leclerc came second in the grand prix down under, while British driver Norris raced home in third.

Not one to let a disappointment affect his next outing, Verstappen bounced back as the championship headed to Asia. He came out on top in both Japan and China to claim four of the opening five races.

Can anyone stop Verstappen?

So, after five races, Verstappen is sitting pretty at the top of the pile, 25 points clear of Perez in second. There’s still a long way to go, with another 19 races scheduled, but at the moment it looks like nobody is going to stop him.

He won the title in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and is on the hunt for his fourth on the trot. Last year, Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races and his strong start to the 2024 season means he’s now won 32 of the last 38. He’ll be looking to continue his fine form as the championship goes to Miami this weekend.

Trio of drivers in Verstappen’s rearview mirror

While Verstappen has got a good head start, there are three drivers in particular that will still very much fancy their chances of toppling him. Sainz Jr won in Australia and has also claimed two other podium spots so far.

The Spaniard sits in fourth at the moment but his performance down under shows he’s got the quality to capitalise when needed. He’s targeting his first F1 title and looking to beat his best ever finish of fifth.

Perez currently sits in second with four podiums so far, including a hat-trick of second-place finishes. He knows Red Bull teammate Verstappen well and will be aware of any of his weaknesses (if he even has any!).

He finished second in the standings last year, winning two of the opening four races, and he’ll be desperate to go one better this time around.

Finally, Leclerc finished fifth last year and currently finds himself third, sandwiched between Perez and Sainz Jr. He came second back in 2022 and is also targeting a maiden title – the Ferrari man is yet to finish lower down than fourth in a Grand Prix this season.

Hamilton outshone by British rivals

Hamilton is targeting a record eighth Formula One title and has previously said he won’t call it a day until he edges past Michael Schumacher in the all-time standings. Yet based on his start to the 2024 season, he may have to wait another year.

He’s in his final year with Mercedes, having agreed to join Ferrari for the 2025 season, but his hopes of a sixth title while representing them are quickly fading. Hamilton was forced to retire in Australia and in the other four races, his best finish was seventh in the opener in Bahrain.

The 39-year-old has finished ninth in each of the other three and has been outshone by his rival drivers from the UK. He currently sits below both Norris and Russell in the standings, who have beaten him in every grand prix so far. Once the shining light of British racing, Hamilton has a lot to do if he wants to turn things around this season.

It’s that time of year again, the Formula 1 season is back under way and the new season is already promising to be an exciting one. Two races down and twenty-two to go, expect thrills and spills throughout. The racing action will be coming thick and fast with a record schedule length of 24 races in 2024. Will the magnificent Max Verstappen be able to sustain his dominance from last season or will there be a new champion crowned in the Abu Dhabi finale?

The 2024 Bahrain season opener provided some brilliant entertainment as it always does, with all the drivers coming together again after their off season with fans curious to see how the teams had improved their cars for the new campaign.

It was business as usual for Max Verstappen and Red Bull as the Dutchman banked another victory under the lights with his teammate Sergio Perez coming in second to complete the perfect weekend for the Red Bull team. Ferrari teammates Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished 3rd and 4th respectively rounding off a good weekend for their team.

Lewis Hamilton finished 7th with his Mercedes team as teammate George Russell was two places ahead in 5th. A slightly disappointing result for Hamilton in what has been a tough last couple of years for the Briton. However, his announcement of joining Ferrari in 2025 provides some hope of him getting himself back on the podium but he will be keen to put in a good final season for the team that saw him win 7 Drivers’ Championships including four on the trot.

Another poor drive from Logan Sargeant saw him finish in 20th place and after only one point last season, questions were raced about Williams’ decision to re-sign the young American alongside Alexander Albon who took the chequered flag in 13th position.

The oldest driver on the grid, Fernando Alonso still managed an impressive top 6 finish. In his 40s now the Spaniard shows no signs of letting up as he continues to challenge the best drivers in the world. How many more seasons does he have left in him?

And after the excitement of the season opener in Bahrain, it was onto Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the second round. A race that has caused much controversy in recent years off the track due to drivers’ unease to race due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record with Hamilton being one of the more prominent critics of the event and its decision to be held in Jeddah as well as many others threatening a boycott. With that said, the race still is a headline fixture in the F1 calendar and once again drivers arrived in Jeddah for the second round of the 2024 season.

It was déjà vu for Red Bull after Bahrain as Max Verstappen was once again the victor finishing an incredible 13 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez in second place. Oscar Piastri impressed for Mclaren as he took the chequered flag in fourth place with teammate Lando Norris in eighth.

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the weekend was 18-year old Oliver Bearman’s stand-in debut performance for Ferrari. With the Briton called up hours before the final practice to replace Carlos Sainz, the youngster qualified 11th on the grid and improved to take seventh place in the race.

A brilliant performance saw him hold off both Norris and Hamilton raising a few eyebrows in the process. It will be interesting to see how the youngster fares for the rest of the F2 season and whether he will be offered a contract to race in F1 in 2025.

Further down the grid, Pierre Gasly was forced to retire on the first lap due to gear issues as Lance Stroll crashed out on the 5th lap to end his hopes of placing in the points. It was a better performance for Logan Sargeant as he finished in 14th place, but there is work to be done if he wants to keep his seat for the 2025 season.

Next up is the Australian Grand Prix. Will it be another win for Verstappen and Red Bull? Will Hamilton be able to improve on his disappointing results? Can Ferrari have any response to Red Bull’s dominance? There is no doubt it will be another scintillating race on the Melbourne circuit, can Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo impress in front of the home crowd?

A perfect start for Red Bull and Max Verstappen sees them target their 3rd title in a row and Verstappen’s 4th Drivers’ Championship on the bounce. Can anyone actually stop them? Verstappen couldn’t do the impossible and go the season with a 100% record, could he? It would be astonishing if he did. Want to find out? Watch the F1 live from the best seats in the house with Engage Hospitality.