F1 – To become a Formula 1 driver is in itself an incredible accomplishment. Only 777 drivers have ever raced in the series in its 74-year history.
From that, only 34 of them have won a world championship and from those only 17 have won the title more than once. Max Verstappen, however, has just joined an even more elite group of drivers comprising Schumacher, Fangio, Vettel, Hamilton, Prost and now the newly crowned 2024 World Champion.
They are all drivers who have won four or more championships, and in Verstappen’s case, all four of those have been in consecutive years. By any measurement, he is now amongst the greats of the sport.
Whilst Verstappen didn’t win in Las Vegas over the weekend, he went into the race knowing exactly what was required and drove like a man who was firmly sticking to a plan. He was not tempted to be overly aggressive in defending overtakes or pushing too hard in qualifying in case he ended up in the wall. It was calm, measured and mature. All he had to do was to ensure that he finished ahead of Lando Norris in the race. And that is exactly what he achieved.
Throughout the course of the weekend, the Ferraris and Mercedes seemed in a different league to the rest of the field and both Verstappen and the two McLarens struggled in comparison. Mercedes in particular were hugely impressive.
George Russell drove an almost faultless weekend, claiming pole in qualifying, getting an excellent start at lights out and breezed off into the distance for a win that never looked in doubt. It was perhaps the clearest demonstration yet that if Russel has the right car then he can drive it to its absolute potential.
Hamilton was equally impressive with his second-place finish, although his path to the podium was somewhat more challenging than his teammates. An error in the last part of qualifying meant that he started back in tenth.
However, a vintage drive from the former champion enabled him to cut through the field, perhaps spurred on by comments in the week by his soon to be ex-boss, Toto Wolf, that every driver had a shelf life.
In any case, he delivered what was a comfortable one-two for Mercedes. Whilst such a dominant performance is too late to deliver silverware for this season, it bodes well for Russell and his new partner for 2025.
Further back, it was down to Ferrari and McLaren to continue their scrap for the Constructors’ championship. Going into the Vegas race, McLaren were 36 points ahead, a gap that had been narrowing in recent races as Ferrari’s relative performance had improved. That Ferrari form continued in qualifying as they took second and fourth on the grid, whilst McLaren could only manage sixth and eighth.
When it came to the race, whilst Ferrari could not get close to the pace of the Mercedes upfront, they were comfortably ahead of both McLarens and indeed managed to overtake Verstappen on track to deliver third and fourth place finish.
Norris finished just behind Verstappen in sixth with Piastri in seventh. On a track where McLaren was clearly struggling, they will have seen the race as a damage limitation exercise and no doubt were grateful for the pair of Mercedes up front, thus limiting Ferrari’s points haul. All this means that with two races to go Ferrari has narrowed the gap to McLaren to 24 points.
For Norris, whilst there may well have been some disappointment with the drivers’ title now out of reach for 2024, the fact that he was even in the title fight is a remarkable achievement when you take into account the start of his season. He was, as ever, gracious in defeat, congratulating Verstappen with an Instagram post of them both back in their karting days.
That time for nostalgia will quickly evaporate for Norris and the rest of his papaya crew as their thoughts turn to Qatar this weekend. As it’s a sprint weekend, there are a maximum of 58 points on offer, assuming a first and second for the team, whilst a third and fourth finish in both races would deliver a 38-point haul.
So, the opportunity for a significant swing either way is very significant. Qatar was a particularly good race for McLaren last year, with both drivers on the podium for both races, including a sprint win for Piastri. There is no doubt that the team would bite your arm off for a similar result this weekend. Perhaps Norris can draw some inspiration from his old karting buddy and now four-time world champion.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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