The three valuable F1 battlegrounds left to play for in 2024

Six races to go: the calendar’s final quarter. The business end of the year. The last push. That bit of the year where all the races turn into an amalgamated blob of half-remembered overtakes at weird times of the day, before finally concluding in an Abu Dhabi encounter that will either be saturated in tedium, or offer a masterclass in how to put on a championship finale. And never the twain shall meet.

Thankfully, unlike 2024, the final run-in of flyaways is not a series of dead-rubber races; millions of pounds are not being expended for little material yield. This time there’s a championship battle on the cards, at least only notionally unless the gap between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris comes down to a tangible range in the final couple of races. There’s a lot left to play for, which means the usual winding-down period in development to focus on 2025 is a much more precarious situation to manage.

But it’s the constructors’ championship that pays the big bucks. Aside from who wins the title, there’s little more than honour in the other drivers’ placings; the difference between 14th and 15th in the standings will be inconsequential.

What price the difference between, say, ninth and 10th in the constructors’ title? That’s circa an extra $10 million, depending on the size of the prize pot, and can demonstrate the disparity between operating at the cost cap and falling short. Alternatively, perhaps the extra $10m pays for some new infrastructure, covers off a debt, or allows for a little more fidelity with simulations. The possibilities are endless.

That’s why the constructors’ placings are valuable, but there’s also said to be a couple of extra payment columns that also reward recent success in the championship, with extra payments made to those who have finished in the top three in recent years. The flipside to a better championship position is in reduced aerodynamic testing. Would a team rather have extra $10m, or the extra 10% in wind tunnel testing time? If so, that determines whether a team wants to force the issue for a position change in the final few races of the season.

Still, there are plenty of key battles available in the championship, with varying levels of prestige. Here are the three main ones that remain hotly contested.

The battle for first and second

Contenders: McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari

McLaren took the lead in the constructors’ championship after Oscar Piastri’s…