Wow.
There’s an awful lot to unpack since we last visited the enthralling topic of this year’s FIA F1 Driver’s Championship.
Both in terms of the on-circuit action which has unfolded in the intervening months, as well as a seemingly innocuous social media post we created once the eventful Austrian GP had come to pass earlier in the summer.
And in the run-up to Silverstone; in an innocuous bid to gauge F1 fans’ thoughts and instigate conversation.
What we weren't expecting was the reaction to what turned out to be an opinion-polarizing post, as we take this opportunity to look back in a textbook 'just what happened back there?!' moment.
The upshot being an unprecedented level of response in the immediate aftermath which accounted for our largest social media engagement to date.
With a reach of some 60k accounts.
So a huge thank you to the tetchy Verstappen fans who rallied around their hero and sought to generate a lot of animated dialogue. We had no idea of quite how vocal Verstappen’s support was, and feel privileged/humbled to have witnessed it first hand.
The author mused whilst maintaining a straight face.
McLaren Taking The Fight To Red Bull
Anyway, with our gratitude out of the way (although as always, more on Verstappen shortly), onto the real drama of the past few months of Grand Prix weekends.
Particularly since Monegasque Charles Leclerc (remember him?) bagged the Monaco prize for Ferrari at the end of May.
At the same time the Scuderia were showing signs that they would be the team to take the fight to Red Bull early-ish doors, with Carlos Sainz’s highly improbable Australian GP victory another marker thrown down.
A succession parade made all the more seismic given that it was chalked up whilst the stitches were still melding after the plucky Spaniard’s appendix was removed just a week prior.
Since then however, the red cars have disappeared into the middle distance, to be replaced by the silver arrows and papaya orange indicative of Mercedes and McLaren respectively.
Although much more orange-y as the GP’s have panned out.
Although Red Bull’s number one driver claimed the spoils in Canada and Spain, both Mercedes and McLaren were very much in attendance and looming with prophetic intent.
Note To Selves: Don’t Rile The Max Army!
Fast forward to the Austrian GP though, when things suddenly became a little spicy as the enduring bromance between Verstappen and Norris was severely tested.
A coming together at turn three of the Red Bull Ring proving the catalyst for frenzied debate from everyone.
And effectively open season on any social media channels with an interest in F1.
Next up was Silverstone, where Lewis Hamilton recorded a fairy-tale British GP victory, and drove straight into the record books in the process.
Not before three British drivers locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying on the Saturday.
And an unprecedented scenario which very much pleased the partisan home crowd who’d gathered at this motorsport mecca to roar one of their heroes onto a victory which seemed highly improbable in more recent seasons.
Piastri Reminds McLaren That Norris Isn’t It’s Only Driving Threat
So with Verstappen and Red Bull dropping maximum points in these outings - and McLaren and Mercedes quick to capitalise on this courtesy of their winning combination of quicker automotive hardware and perhaps more tenacious drivers - the scene was very much set for the Hungarian GP.
Which was eventually won by Oscar Piastri after his McLaren teammate was unceremoniously forced into handing the advantage back to the ballsy Australian. But not alas until after a few laps of almost comedic radio messages pinging back and forth between Lando Norris and his race engineer, as an awkward ‘will-he-won’t-he’ scenario seemingly played out.
With pretty much every man/woman/their canine companion wondering if Norris would actually do the (apparently) ‘right thing’ and concede defeat.
Lando eventually succumbed to the inevitable, and ‘followed’ his team orders before everyone nearly choked on their popcorn.
Yet most of us can’t help but think that this was something which points-wise could yet return to haunt Lando as he closes in on his most realistic rival for this year’s Driver’s Championship, Verstappen.
That said, Daniel Ricciardo may have also proved a point in his last outing as a Red Bull understudy (more of which, sadly, at the end).
Oh, and did we mention how those protagonists of old, Hamilton and Verstappen were involved in more track histrionics on turn one of lap 63?
A lot of fall-out in the following week with accusations flying from both camps, including the drivers.
Taking a robust neutral view, and it’s clear to see that it was Verstappen’s fault.
Not least because of the amount of room that Lewis left him on both sides of the track.
Tempers Boil Over At The Hungaroring
But this wasn’t the only beef we witnessed at the Hungaroring that weekend, courtesy of a somewhat terse exchange between Lewis and a still peeved, Norris in the ‘cool down’ room post-race.
Not long after waving Piastri past and subsequently on to take the chequered flag, it was clear Norris was up for a fight with the first person who crossed him thereafter.
Sadly Hamilton bore the brunt of Norris’ ire, as a result of merely observing how fast the McLaren driver’s car was around the Hungaroring. With Lando instantly snapping back about Lewis’ car being equally quick 8 years ago, for absolutely no good reason.
We Will NEVER Tyre Of This F1 Season
And then there was the last race before the summer break at Spa.
The Belgium GP threw up yet more drama both on and off one of the most exciting circuits on the F1 calendar. With Verstappen relegated to 11th place on the grid (after incurring a penalty for Red Bull exceeding its engine allowance for the season), all was to play for in qualifying.
Despite Verstappen bossing the proceedings in a purely academic fashion.
In the eventuality it was forgotten man, Charles Leclerc who recorded the fastest lap time, whilst another forgotten man, Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez bagged the other spot on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton lurked menacingly on the second row, alongside of his special Hungarian GP chill out room friend, McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Tyres were the biggest talking point of the Grand Prix, but not in the more expected way. Rather it was the evident lack of degradation which won the day for surprising victor, George Russell.
Who opted to pit for tyres just the once, telling his team that they felt good for the long haul. Apparently justifying his audacious radio call by taking the chequered flag 44 laps later.
The Lighter Side Of Fail
We say ‘apparently’ because it was the shock events which followed the podium champagne-spraying/swigging a few hours afterwards which both shaped the final outcome of the race, as well as literally beggaring belief.
Russell’s car was 1.5kg underweight immediately after the race according to the scales, ultimately meaning that Russell was disqualified. With his Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton automatically elevated to Belgium GP winner.
Probably something to do with the minimal rubber his car crossed the finishing line wearing.
Either way, the journey from elation to disbelief (and eventual heartbreak) being a particularly quick one.
F1 Is Pure Box Office In 2024
So, where did this topsy-turvy Formula One season go from there?
Well, summer holidays for all the teams, as it happened.
Cue drivers being spotted in the crowds at the Olympic Games in Paris, and Lewis collecting washed-up plastics off some far-flung beach destination on social media.
Of course, the big question was whether or not things would pick up where they left off once the mid-season break was over.
Fast forward to F1’s big late summer return at Circuit Zandvoort, where the stage was obviously set for Verstappen to resume normal service after the summer break, and simultaneously kill off the romance of the 2024 season to this juncture.
After all, it was his home GP played out in front of his adoring fans. The type we enjoyed rapid-fire exchanges of the completely unbiased nature with during the lead-up to the British GP a month earlier, if you recall.
In the event the victor DID take their spoils against a backdrop of a sea of orange.
Only not the Dutch hue, but rather the McLaren saturation; as Lando Norris continued to gnaw away at Verstappen’s increasingly slender Driver’s Championship leader’s tally with a third of the current campaign remaining at that juncture.
Norris ‘edged’ this hard fought victory over the Red Bull driver by just three days.
Sorry, 23 seconds.
And to rub salt into the wound, the British driver bagged a bonus point for recording the fastest lap of the day too.
The Italian GP at Monza came and went (well, it did for me, as I was away and didn’t see it so can’t really report much), save to say Fezza’s Charles Leclerc bagged the spoils, with Lando standing on the third step of the winner’s podium.
Baku For Good
The visually stunning street circuit backdrop of Baku provided further Herculean actions, not least because Norris failed to progress from Q1; while Verstappen lined up in lowly 6th position on the grid.
Despite heroics from Lando to haul himself and McLaren back into the points, both the Brit and his quarry, Verstappen could only finish 4th and 5th respectively; with Piastri claiming his second win this year.
Therefore doing enough for his team, McLaren to leapfrog Red Bull in the race for the Constructors Championship.
In terms of histrionics, Perez and Sainz offered some gladiatorial spirit in the closing stages as they came together; the subsequent fall-out threatening to get a bit spicy.
There was also a muted call for Verstappen to be penalised for speeding/overtaking under the virtual safety car which was deployed in the direct aftermath of the unfortunate coming together of the aforementioned on the penultimate lap of 51 around the Azerbaijani circuit.
Singapore was next up, and the awesome - if not a tad sweaty - night race under the lights.
Norris romped to victory with time to spare, yet Verstappen cruised to second place in a largely uneventful GP. Ensuring some clean air between the two combatants.
That said, from nowhere Scuderia Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo managed to pull out a fastest lap in the closing stages to ensure that Lando didn’t chisel away any more at Verstappen’s overall lead in the driver’s standings.
A futile aside maybe, yet a point which might prove instrumental when everything’s tallied up at the end of the season. Especially should everything ultimately rely on fine margins between Verstappen and Norris.
With Just 6 Races Remaining, Can YOU Call It?
With a squeaky bum-instigating 52 points now being the slightest of numerical differences between Verstappen and his pursuer, Norris, and with 6 races left to decide the title, just who’s brave enough to call it now, eh?
With everything up in the air, Norris is still very much in with a shout. However, as we all know, both Verstappen and Red Bull are very shrewd customers.
That being said, if McLaren continue to bring upgrades to GP’s of the magnitude of their most recent examples, then it’s going to go down to the wire as autumn turns to winter.
We’d be keen to know your thoughts on the matter.
Do YOU think Lando Norris can chip away at Verstappen’s lead even more in the weeks ahead, or are you of the belief that the Dutchman will once more discover his mojo and beat off the nominal threat of McLaren’s pretender to his throne?
BREAKING F1 NEWS: Ricciardo Exits VCarb
It's been announced that the driver with the broadest smile in F1 has parted company with Red Bull Racing’s sister team, VCARB as we release this blog.
Set to be replaced by rookie, Liam Lawson for the remainder of the current campaign.
Paying tribute to what the hugely popular Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo brought to the sport, Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner wrote on his Instagram account about how “it was obvious you were so much more than just a driver,” continuing that “your constant enthusiasm, sense of humour and attitude will leave an indelible legacy on the team and F1 as a whole.”
Concluding that he’ll “always be a special part of the Red Bull family”, most Formula One fans will agree that Ricciardo’s are some shoes to fill.
And that’s without the trademark champagne.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton added his own words, echoed we're sure by everyone in the world of F1.
Let’s sincerely hope that this isn’t the last we see of one of the sport’s biggest and most affable characters.
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