Out of nowhere, the 2024 Formula One season has turned into one of the most competitive in a long while. What looked set to be a dominant year for Max Verstappen and Red Bull has produced different race winners from three different teams, including two drivers claiming their first F1 victories.
Wind the clock back to the end of April, after Verstappen’s fourth comfortable win in five races, and that scenario would have seemed farfetched. So how did the season flip around so dramatically?
Red Bull dominates as tension simmers
The start to Red Bull’s season was bizarre. Off track, the team and — and the series — was consumed by the controversy around the Christian Horner misconduct investigation, but on track, Red Bull’s early performance was ominous.
The reigning champions looked comfortably clear of the rest in Bahrain’s preseason tests and the run of easy wins that followed suggested a one-sided season would follow. Verstappen was not only comfortably beating teammate Sergio Pérez, Red Bull seemed to be a clear step ahead of its nearest rivals.
Verstappen seemed on pace to match or beat his record-shattering form of 2023. He might have won five straight to kick off the season were it not for a brake fire at the Australian Grand Prix, which forced him to retire from the race. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, fresh off the back of having his appendix removed, claimed a memorable win in Verstappen’s absence.
Verstappen’s victories either side of Australia were significant in winning margin. His advantage over the next non-Red Bull car was 25 seconds in Bahrain, 18 seconds in Saudi Arabia, 20 seconds in Japan and 13 seconds in China.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the world champions, though, as tensions escalated amid reports of internal power struggles within Red Bull GmbH. The team spent much of the Saudi Arabian GP weekend denying reports Verstappen was set for a blockbuster move to Mercedes in either 2025 or 2026, with the Dutchman saying he would not remain at the team if long-time racing adviser Helmut Marko was forced out. While having no bearing on the team’s on-track form, it has been hard to escape the feeling Red Bull’s dominant dynasty was creaking, and the months that followed the Chinese Grand Prix have proven that to be the case.
Norris’ breakthrough win
Everything changed at the Miami Grand Prix. The compelling off-track drama around Red Bull’s season had continued on the eve of the Florida race, with the team confirming
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