Components 1’s shutdown is over, with groups heading to Zandvoort for the primary of 2024’s 10 remaining rounds. As F1 wakes up from its summertime siesta, here’s a refresher of some key storylines you might have missed, and a few lingering questions looking for a solution within the Dutch dunes and past.
Crimson Bull is backing Perez; will it’s a pricey mistake?
Shortly after the Belgian Grand Prix Red Bull decided to stick to its guns and keep faith in Sergio Perez… for now. The Mexican has struggled massively to be fast and constant within the RB20 since Could. He has tumbled right down to seventh within the standings, scoring lower than half of the variety of factors of team-mate and championship chief Max Verstappen.
Crimson Bull felt not one of the potential replacements inside its ranks have been a transparent and rapid improve and as an alternative determined to throw its weight behind Perez to show issues round. Chatting with Autosport, technical director Pierre Wache vowed Red Bull would do everything it can through its remaining upgrades to make the automobile extra comfy for Perez to drive.
The truth is that Perez and Crimson Bull stay in a tough place, regardless of the general public vote of confidence. For an organization boasting two F1 groups and a big younger driver programme, it’s puzzling that it discovered none of its different drivers well-positioned to take over from Perez.
In the meantime, McLaren has closed to 42 factors within the constructors’ championship, so Crimson Bull nonetheless desperately wants its wingman to begin contending for normal podiums. It could have determined to maintain backing Perez for now, however this key 2024 storyline is way from over.
Can McLaren really win the title?
Whereas Perez and Crimson Bull are stumbling, McLaren is sniffing blood. And because the rivalry between CEO Zak Brown and Crimson Bull boss Christian Horner has picked up in latest months, so too has the prospect of McLaren successful its first constructors’ title since 1998.
Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Underneath group principal Andrea Stella, McLaren has continued its spectacular improvement curve and has now had the quickest automobile on sure circuits, however a spate of errors have prevented the Woking squad from absolutely capitalising on its potential. Regardless of these errors, it has nonetheless been the highest-scoring outfit over the previous eight races, and if that pattern continues may catch Crimson Bull by Singapore or Austin.
Ferrari is simply 21 factors additional behind McLaren in third, however issues with its newest automobile improve meant the Italian outfit has misplaced second to McLaren and has been the lowest-scoring group within the high 4 since June. Fred Vasseur’s squad is beneath lots of scrutiny because it tries to seek out everlasting options to its high-speed bouncing points.
Mercedes has been rather more spectacular, going toe-to-toe with each Crimson Bull and McLaren due to a spate of iterative upgrades on its W15. With three wins for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell over the previous 4 races, F1’s previously dominant squad has lastly picked up momentum beneath the present period of laws.
Given it’s trailing Crimson Bull by 142 factors and McLaren by 100, its resurgence is probably going coming too late to be an element this 12 months. However as the highest groups take factors off one another, it should not directly affect its rivals’ fortunes.
Will Crimson Bull lose additional pillars?
After the departure of design guru Adrian Newey, one other determine Crimson Bull will be shedding is sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The 57-year-old will leave Red Bull at the end of the current campaign to develop into the Audi F1 group principal.
Rumours of Wheatley’s exit first began swirling across the Miami Grand Prix in Could, with the long-time servant but to comply with a brand new contract. Wheatley had been recognized to harbour ambitions to develop into a group principal someplace and given his 18-year stint on the outfit, Crimson Bull was understood to not stand in his manner if such a chance did open up.
That has now occurred at Audi, in what has been sold as a dual management role with former Ferrari F1 chief Mattia Binotto. He took over the reins of the group on 1 August because it prepares to morph from Sauber into the Audi works group in 2026.
Crimson Bull is adamant it will not be derailed by first Newey after which Wheatley abandoning ship, saying it will replace its sporting director from within because it sees a chance to refresh its administration construction. Nonetheless, Wheatley is one other key pillar that made Crimson Bull tick, so his alternative may have massive footwear to fill, whereas the group may even need to reassure the Verstappen camp that he’s not one other domino falling on the group.
Christian Horner, Staff Principal, Crimson Bull Racing
Picture by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool
In the meantime, the case into potential misconduct by Christian Horner is deemed absolutely closed after an appeal by the female employee involved was dismissed. The matter, which burst into the general public eye on the eve of the season begin in Bahrain, had been hanging over the group for months.
However the overarching energy wrestle on the squad stays unresolved for now, even when Crimson Bull advisor Helmut Marko has pledged to see out his current contract until 2026, taking the sting out of a break clause in Verstappen’s contract.
How will Oliver Oakes fare as Alpine boss?
Alpine additionally discovered a brand new group principal to replace interim boss Bruno Famin in Oliver Oakes. The bold Briton is well-known for his function on the helm of junior sequence stalwart Hitech, which he began main as a 27-year-old in 2015. Now 36, Oakes turns into one of many youngest group bosses of the trendy F1 period.
Following the signing of technical chief David Sanchez from McLaren, Oakes is the most recent piece of the puzzle Alpine is constructing to try to work its manner out of its present plight. The group is widely tipped to take Mercedes customer engines, because it abandons its personal Renault engine programme in France.
Nonetheless, the Alpine gig will a troublesome take a look at for Oakes as he navigates the uneven waters on a course set out by Renault CEO Luca de Meo and controversial former group principal Flavio Briatore, who returned in a hands-on function to get the Enstone-based group heading in the right direction.
Foolish season nears its conclusion for Audi and Alpine
A determine who will not be becoming a member of Alpine is Carlos Sainz, who lastly determined to hitch Williams after one of many longest foolish season sagas in years. With ‘blocker’ Sainz now off the table, it’s anticipated a number of the final remaining seats for 2025 shall be stuffed shortly.
Alpine is known to be leaning towards reserve driver Jack Doohan to switch Haas-bound Esteban Ocon as Pierre Gasly’s team-mate. Amid its efficiency woes on-track and rumblings off it, Sauber/Audi has didn’t land its precedence targets and is now more likely to retain one among its present drivers, Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu, alongside new signing Nico Hulkenberg.
Jack Doohan, Alpine F1 Staff
Picture by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The 2 remaining empty seats on the 2025 grid would possibly take longer to be stuffed, so do not maintain your breath on Mercedes or RB. Mercedes has on a regular basis on the earth to formally promote its junior protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli to switch Lewis Hamilton and will theoretically wait till the tip of the marketing campaign to take action.
However what is going to occur to Ricciardo and Lawson?
Crimson Bull can equally wait and see how issues develop over the second half of the marketing campaign to determine on Perez’s long-term future and fill the ultimate seat at its RB sister group. Horner and Marko determined to retain Daniel Ricciardo alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the rest of the year.
However Crimson Bull nonetheless has reserve driver Liam Lawson ready within the wings. He’s free to go if Crimson Bull does not hand him an F1 seat in 2025, so a call should be made on its plans for the New Zealander sooner quite than later.
Having impressed together with his 2023 cameos for the injured Ricciardo, Lawson has been the proper software to place strain on Crimson Bull’s present roster of drivers, nevertheless it now dangers shedding him altogether. Relying on how Perez and Ricciardo fare over the subsequent few weeks, Lawson would possibly but get his full-time RB promotion in 2025.
If that does not occur, Crimson Bull may flip to F2 frontrunner Isack Hadjar as the subsequent reserve driver in line.
