F1 heats up as Verstappen joins the immortals

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Championship title at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix this Saturday night. The 27-year-old Dutchman finished fifth in the race, which was won by George Russell of Mercedes. This historic achievement places Verstappen alongside the immortals, legendary drivers like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel, and Alain Prost who have all won at least four world championship titles.

Here are the main take aways from the race in Vegas:

    • Lando Norris, Verstappen's closest title rival, finished sixth: Despite a valiant effort and a late surge, Norris's challenge ultimately fell short.

    • Russell's Dominant Performance: The Mercedes driver secured his fourth pole position of the season and led the race from start to finish. He will be a force to be reckoned with in future.

    • Ferrari's Strong Showing: Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished third and fourth, respectively, demonstrating Ferrari's improved performance. The Ferrari engine is just fast right now.

    • Hamilton's Vintage Display: The seven-time world champion showcased his exceptional skills, climbing from 10th on the grid to second place.

    • Norris's Fading Title Hopes: McLaren's strong start to the season began to falter, and Norris's title bid was derailed by a series of setbacks.

Verstappen's fourth title cements his status as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Verstappen joined Red Bull in  2016. On his debut for the team, aged 18, Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. And he has consistently piled up the accolades and the titles since that very first season showing guts and competitiveness and a fighting spirit year after year, many times at the expense of relations with the other teams and drivers.  

However, Red Bull’s dominance is over now, and the future leaders in F1 remain uncertain. Real questions remain surrounding the competitiveness of Red Bull and the loss of key technical staff to other teams.  Their team is not performing as they once did.  In fact, Verstappen has won only once in the last 12 races, a virtuoso wet-weather triumph in Brazil. The car is just not competitive anymore. And with Red Bull having lost designer Adrian Newey to Ferrari and now losing sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber-Audi next season, leaving the Red Bull team more reliant on Verstappen's individual ability to "out-perform" his car.

Max Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, is a former Dutch racing driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1994 and 2003. Like any given Dutchman, he is known for his straight talk and “tough love”.  Jos created much unrest early this season by criticizing team boss Christian Horner, highlighted this when he said of Red Bull's dilemma: "At least they know where the problems are and what needs to be changed. Now, it's up to them to show how well they understand and what they are creating." Outpaced by both Mercedes and Ferrari this weekend in Vegas it was clear – as Jos Verstappen explained – that Red Bull will need a much-improved car. So yeah, if their car is not really really quick from the very first race next season, don’t expect Max to stick around with the Red Bull team for long. Max is only 27 years old and he wants more wins. The real question is, where would he go? Mercedes might be his only choice.  

Max will not go to McLaren.  Lando Norris, despite his disappointment in not winning the Driver’s Championship this year, is optimistic about the future for the team. And McLaren may still win the Constructors’ title this season, no small feat.  With McLaren's strong performance in 2024, the young British driver is poised to become a serious title contender in the coming years. After a year of gaining experience and learning, Lando believes he and McLaren will be ready for a sustained bid to win the drivers' title next year -– and may start 2025 as constructors’ champions and with the fastest car. This season Norris claimed his maiden win in Miami in May and led McLaren all the way to the top of the constructors’ championship. With only two races left this season, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, this is how close it is right now in the Constructors’ title race:

The last two races this year are going to be a dog fight between McLaren and Ferrari. Either one of those two teams could win it. It will be Lando and Oscar versus Charles and Carlos all the way down to the chequered flag. 

Speaking of Ferrari, that is another team where Verstappen will not find a place should he wish to change loyalties next year. The Italian team has committed to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as their drivers going forward, and they don’t change their minds in a hurry.  Hamilton's early move to Ferrari this year effectively blocked Max from doing the same. And Lewis, as a seven-time world F1 champion, will be eager to prove that he still has what it takes to challenge for more titles. What better way to do that than by moving to a team with a fast car and blocking his archrival from doing the same. There is no love lost between Hamilton and Verstappen. 

Should Hamilton win a season at Ferrari, he would have won a Driver's title with each of the sports three heavyweight constructors’ teams: Mclaren, Mercedes and Ferrari. These three teams have been in the sport of Formula One since the beginning in the 1950's.  Red Bull got involved in F1 racing in the mid 1990’s and only debuted their first team in 2005.  

So, if Max leaves the “young” Red Bull team, he will be breaking his contract which ends only in 2028.  And with the Ferrari and McLaren teams already set, Max can only go to Mercedes and join George Russell. This means, if he moves next season, he most likely takes Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s spot on the team.  There is also a small chance he could take Oscar Piastri’s spot at McLaren I guess, but that would be pretty shocking news.  Their CEO, Zac Brown, is  California born and raised, so, you never know, he may be okay mixing things up like that.  Brown has previously expressed his openness to talking with Verstappen about a move. Other than those few teams there is no other car competitive enough at present to deliver Max another world championship title, so who knows where he will go. He has only ever won championships with Red Bull, so he may be reluctant to change. 

As the world eagerly awaits the start of the 2025 campaign there are still two move races to run and a team title up still for grabs. A new era is dawning for F1 and the stage is set for many exciting battles ahead. The fans will be the real beneficiaries of all these changes, because the sport, at every level, is now truly competitive for the first time in decades.