Mercedes and McLaren are former F1 champions. They have been nowhere close to Red Bull in the last few years. Since 2022, the Austrian outfit has had a complete hegemony in the grid. They have won back-to-back constructor championships. Moreover, the number of races they have won in the last three years is quite staggering. In 2022, the Milton Keynes outfit won an impressive 17 races, while the reigning Driver’s champion, Max Verstappen, himself, won 15 GPs. On the other hand, in 2023, the Dutch racer managed to win a record 19 races. Moreover, Red Bull went on to win 21 of 22 races. Hence, last year completely belonged to Christian Horner’s team.
However, this year, things have been looking a little different. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. started it in the Australian GP, and at present, McLaren and Mercedes are proving to be real threats to Verstappen and his team in 2024. The Dutch racer started the season with two back-to-back wins in Bahrain and Jeddah. Then, in Melbourne, he had a shocking DNF, which now seems to be an early sign of decline. Lately, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton seem to be potential contenders for the title, in addition to Verstappen.
2024 F1 Season Has Come Alive After The Revival Of McLaren And Mercedes
Mercedes used to dominate the previous generation, which was called the turbo-hybrid era. No other team could win the constructor title even once between 2014 and 2021. In the yesterdays of F1, McLaren used to win several titles. They are the third most successful team in F1’s history, with eight constructor’s titles and twelve Driver’s championships. However, since Lewis Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2013, McLaren has been finding it hard to fight for the title. But the duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri has been performing really well throughout the season. Then, Norris won the Miami Grand Prix this year after a close battle with the reigning champion, Max Verstappen.
Later, in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris helped his teammate Piastri win his maiden GP following team orders. They had a one-two finish in the Hungaroring circuit. Lewis Hamilton had a podium finish in Hungary. Recently, in Spa, Belgium, Mercedes had a one-two finish, with George Russell crossing the finish line first. However, due to Russell’s underweight car, he was disqualified. Hence, the 2024 Belgian GP winner was Lewis Hamilton. As a result, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished second, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got third place. Moreover, the sport finally seems to match the excitement and drama of the Netflix documentary series ‘Drive To Survive.’
Heartbreak For George Russell At Spa
George Russell had a terrific race in the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. At least, that’s how it seemed. Later, Russell’s car came in 1.5kg underweight. As a result, they received disqualification from the race. It was quite a heartbreaking news for the young Mercedes racer. But he is trying to be positive as he believes, “There will be more to come in the future.”
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He won the Austrian GP this year. Anyway, after the results of the race came out, Toto Wolff said as per Forbes, “There is really no excuse.” The Mercedes boss added that they have to take it on the chin, accept that they made a mistake in that race and learn from it.
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.
