Max is F1 Champion of the World!
Posted on November 27, 2024 Tags: Qatar
Racing Back to the Middle East
LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, Max Verstappen is the F1 Champion of the World and – at just 27 – only the sixth driver in the history of the sport to win four or more titles.
That elevates the brilliant young Dutchman to the rarefied air that includes all-time greats Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel (who achieved the feat at 26).
Lewis was 32, Michael was 34, Alain 38 and Juan Manuel 45.
Consider This
Max won an extraordinary 19 races in 2023 that included an incredible streak of 10 in a row in what is considered one of the greatest years in Formula 1 history.
But this year he won just eight races – his lowest victory total since 2020 – yet still enough to win him a fourth consecutive F1 championship at last weekend’s exciting Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite only finishing fifth.
He just needed to finish ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris to seal the title with two races remaining in the season, in a year in which Red Bull’s dominance had been tested by Ferrari, McLaren and the aforementioned Papaya.
For my money, his win in the torrential rain of the Brazil was one of the best races of his career and truly, and clearly demonstrated the undeniable skill and the mettle of the man.
Max started 2024 with seven wins in the first 10 races, giving him a commanding lead in the driver standings.
But that seventh win was back in June when Red Bull fell in an inexplicable hole and allowing the real competition of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes to catch up.
Max found himself stuck in a 10-race losing streak and Lando Norris was quickly on his tail.
Whether he will still have to same drive he has now to match those record seven world titles of Lewis and Michael remains to be seen.
Max in illustrious company
His boss, Christian Horner sees it like this:
“You think back to races like Ayrton Senna at Donington in 1993 or some of the Michael Schumacher drives, some of Lewis’s greatest drives, Max is firmly in that club.”
And both Max and Christian are confident they’ll have the machinery to succeed in 2025!
Daniel for Cadillac?
With the latest news that Cadillac, a division of General Motors, is set to join Formula One as an 11th team in 2026 the rumours are now rife that Daniel Ricciardo is in the frame.
Well, they would be, wouldn’t they!
Now I don’t doubt Daniel would give any offer of a return to the F1 fold serious thought, and I would be delighted to see him get the chance. And there’s no doubt Daniel’s popularity in the States is still riding high.
But I do suspect an American team – and its squillion of supporters – might prefer American drivers like Pato O’Ward or Jak Crawford.
I really do I hope I’m wrong because I would love to see Daniel back in the saddle, happy and healthy and ready to rock.
- What do you think?
Constructors is the Main Chance
Formula 1’s final fortnight of the 2024 season sees the circus head back to the Middle East, where the race is on for the three teams still in with a chance of claiming the reported $AUD2.2 billion attached to the Constructors Championship title.
With McLaren leading Ferrari and Red Bull, in the longest ever season of F1, there is still everything to play for – with 103 points remaining on the table.
The first placed team stands to collect more than $230 million.
As we get underway this week, Qatar becomes the sixth Grand Prix in 2024 to be run to the Sprint format.
In Nevada, drivers had to deal with a street circuit featuring medium to low-speed corners with air and track temperatures only just above the 10 °C mark.
In Qatar the Grand Prix is held on the Lusail circuit, a permanent track with medium-high speed corners and ambient temperatures around the 25 °C.
It’s the hardest boots fort Qatar
Lusail is a venue where the tyres are subjected to energy levels comparable to those at Suzuka and Silverstone and so Pirelli has opted for the hardest trio of compounds in the 2024 range – the C3 Soft, C2 Medium and C1 Hard.
This is the third edition of the Qatar Grand Prix, with the two previous events held in 2021 and 2023.
It’s 13,000 kilometres as the crow flies and an eleven-hour time difference separating Doha from Las Vegas. Both are night races, held on the edge of large deserts, but that’s where the similarities end.
During the past few months, the FIA and Pirelli have worked together to ensure the pyramid-shaped kerbs – which caused havoc with tyres last year – have had their tips rounded off at seven of the track’s 16 corners.
And a gravel strip has been added to the outside of some kerbs to dissuade drivers from overstepping the mark to go quicker.
Lusail, Doha, Qatar
Last year’s race was held in the unusually high humidity of October, making life even more physically demanding for the drivers. Some felt ill because of the heat in the cockpit and one driver even had to retire from the race.
As a result, the FIA World Council authorised the use of a standardised cooling system in the F1 cockpit at the hottest Grands Prix, as from 2025.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen each have a win and a pole at Lusail, with Max recording the fastest lap on both occasions, as well as finishing second in 2021.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend also hosts the penultimate round of Formula 2 and the F1 Academy, two series that usually run in conjunction with F1. Both have Pirelli as their sole tyre supplier.
Race Schedule
Qatar Grand Prix
Perth WA Time
Lusail International Circuit | 29 Nov – 02 Dec
P1
Friday 29th November 21:30
Sprint Shootout
Saturday 30th November 01:30
Sprint
Saturday 30th November 22:00
Qualifying
Sunday 1st December 02:00
RACE
Monday 2nd December 00:00
NEXT EVENT
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina Circuit | 06 – 08 Dec
EDITED by AC
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