Opinion: Is It Time for a Resurgence in F1?

Team and driver dominance over the rest of the field isn’t new to Formula One. In fact, dominance has played a big factor in the sport for some time now, with several drivers winning two or more consecutive championships since the late 90s/early 2000s. Because of this, you can easily see why I, someone who has watched F1 for more than two decades, is perplexed that so many “aficionados” are disgruntled at the fact dominance is big in Formula One.

Take the current form of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. When the regulations changed for 2022, they got it very right, whereas other teams got it, not wrong, but just not right. You could the say the same for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in 2014 onwards and Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel before that. And, then there is the big and probably the most infamous duo - Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. Dominance has become a normality and has proved itself to be part of the force that makes legends within our sport, but could things be about to change?

As already discussed, although in little context, since 2022 Formula One has been all about Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Sure, Verstappen’s Championship win in 2021 helped to propel the team into their “comeback era,” but with a change of regulations, Adrian Newey at the helm of design/engineering and Verstappen at the wheel, they were always going to be a force to be reckoned with. However, did anyone actually expect them to become as dominant as they have been? Even so, while their second driver; Sergio Perez, went through, and is still going through, some tough and demanding times on track? I’ll let you perceive it how you want.

Let’s jump to the present day - 2024, and, as of writing, it’s the eve of the highly anticipated British Grand Prix, where the top three on the starting grid consists of George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. Two Mercedes and a McLaren. But, where is Verstappen and Red Bull, I hear you ask? A difficult qualifying session saw them make Q3 by the skin of their teeth, with an eventual starting position of 4th. Sure, Verstappen had floor damage, after a short trip across the gravel in Q1, but all weekend Red Bull have been off the pace, something we’re starting to see all too often over the course of race weekends. But, are they really as off the pace as they look? Or, are other teams FINALLY bringing packages that can rival the best? Either way, Red Bull’s dominance seems to be teetering on the edge of being over. Something that could be, in some sense, a godsend for the sport.

As we know, Formula One, in recent years, has grown a HUGE community over several social media platforms such as X and TikTok, and many users have made no secret of their distaste of Red Bull dominance, with some calling it boring and too predictable. Others, however, seem to dislike Red Bull and Verstappen’s dominance due to the fact that they dislike just that; Red Bull and Verstappen.

It’s an interesting aspect, seeing how social media can have a chain reaction effect on people, with the hatred of Red Bull/Verstappen becoming almost mandatory to join the fan base of Lewis Hamilton, as an example and from my observations, but not a given. That’s my disclaimer. This does suggest that social media has a big influence on fan behaviour and that maybe dominance in F1 isn’t as bad as it is being perceived by some people. I mean, it hasn’t stopped them watching, no?

Perhaps it’s easy to forget that F1 isn’t just a race between drivers, but also an engineering race between teams. This isn’t Formula Two or Formula Three where each chassis is provided by one supplier, oh no, everything in F1 is done individually by each team. It’s a case of fending for themselves. Surely, it’s a given that one or two will reign highly above the rest? But still, people watch for the racing and, specifically at the front of the grid, it’s been lacking.

Regardless, for the FIA and Formula One Management, team and driver dominance seems to be the least of their concerns. Drive to Survive is consistently bringing in new fans from the streaming platform; Netflix, social media is abuzz with F1 chatter, race weekends are selling out and the owners are richer than ever. Why should they change something that isn’t broken in their eyes? From a fans perspective however, it may seem broken, as we watch, what seems to be, a driver parade each race day. It does get tiresome. But, as recent race weekends have shown, a resurgence is coming. With, McLaren, Mercedes and occasionally Ferrari, bringing the fight to Red Bull, F1 is starting to become exciting again. And, that’s exactly the type of resurgence F1 needs. But, let’s make the most of it while we can. With a change in regulations in 2026, we could find ourselves back to square one and in another era of pure dominance.

At the end of the day though, we can’t take away what Red Bull and Verstappen have achieved. We’re extremely lucky to have witnessed such greatness, just as we witnessed Mercedes and Hamilton, Red Bull and Vettel, Ferrari and Schumacher. F1 is an exciting sport, and it still can be, and still will be regardless of one team/driver's dominance.

Race Review: Portland EPrix Race 1 & 2 2024

Formula E rarely disappoints, and rounds 13 and 14 in Portland, Oregon were no different, with plenty of on track battles and wheel to wheel action to keep the viewer hooked to no end.

Race One came across as the quieter and more simple of the two races. A clean start by all saw Jake Hughes in the Neom McLaren lead into Turn One, while others raced side by side, jostling for position. However, it wouldn't be long before the McLaren driver found himself having to take to the grass after a slight collision with Mitch Evans' Jaguar, in a move the latter would come to rue after a five second time penalty would deny him his third win of the season. As for the second Jaguar of Nick Cassidy, he was, as we've become accustomed to, biding his time, saving energy in the mid-pack before coming out of no where to take the lead in another peloton style of race. However, he would also loose a potential win, and a potential chance to secure the championship, by having a moment on the penultimate lap of the race.

As noted by the commentators, attack mode comes across as more of a hindrance rather than a benefit at this track, which would suggest why many were looking at getting rid of their mandatory attack mode activations early on. Despite this, it gave us valuable movements within the field, with many going wheel to wheel into turn one and as many as five wide along the straights. But, it wasn't until Lap 21 where the real racing for positions began. With no added laps, it was a straight race for the finish line for all bar Jehan Daruvala, who would go for a spin, and Max Guenther who DNF'd. Evans would come home across the finish line first before being demoted to a lonely 8th. Antonio Felix Da Costa would inherit the win, his third in the past four races. Robin Frijns and Jean-Eric Vergne would also finish alongside him on the podium.

Race 2 could potentially turn out in being THE pivotal race in this season's championship battle, with Nick Cassidy and Pascal Wehrlein both vying for the title. As with Race 1, it was a clean start for most with early attack mode activations; an ideal strategy for another peloton style of race. However, unlike the day before, things got chaotic... fast. Sebastien Buemi would pick up an early penalty for a technical infringement, both McLarens would lose front wings, Edoardo Mortara would get a puncture, Sacha Fenestraz would be another driver to find themselves with a penalty, Nico Mueller would lead the race and Hughes, Bird, Mortara and Nyck De Vries would all DNF. Phew.

Hey, that's not all! What about that Championship battle between Cassidy and Wehrlein? It's something you may need a bucket of popcorn for.

In the opening laps of the race, Wehrlein found himself with front wing damage after slight contact with Sam Bird in the McLaren. Where Bird eventually retired from the race, Wehrlein continued despite loosing his sh*t at one point over team radio. By mid-race, drivers were getting desperate with several of them coming together at turn one, creating a lovely shower of carbon fibre and the deployment of the one and only safety car of the weekend on lap eighteen. Jake Dennis, De Vries, Caio Collet and Cassidy would all pit at the same time for repairs and new front wings. Yes, I said Cassidy, as in the Championship leader.

With both Wehrlein and Cassidy mulling around in the mid-field, the Safety Car came in on lap twenty, adding one extra lap to the race. After his win was taken off him the day before, Mitch Evans was preparing for a late race charge. And, late race charge he did, crossing the finish line in 3rd. But, this weekend was all about Da Costa, as he took his 2nd win of the season and 3rd win in a row. Frijns would finish second. Cassidy would finish in 13th, Wehrlein in 4th.

Going into the final rounds of the season in London, 7 drivers can still mathematically win the championship. Evans has firmly entered the chat, moving into 2nd ahead of Wehrlein. And, with Da Costa's form, is it too late for him to ruin Jaguar's party? So many questions and so much action awaits!

Race Review: Austrian Sprint and Grand Prix 2024

I completely forgot that it was a Sprint Weekend until I watched Sprint Qualifying, completely confused as to why qualifying was on a Friday. My distaste for Sprints is well known, so can you really be surprised that I nearly erased the format from my mind completely? Regardless, we still get cars on a track and, as a motorsport fan, that is why I am here.

The Sprint wasn't the best sprint that Formula One has seen. However, it was kicked started with an extra formation lap, to add to your excitement. Or not, as it meant less laps in an already short "Sprint" to the line. Talking of the line, in this case the starting line, it was once again Red Bull versus McLaren. Or, Max Verstappen versus Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, which transpired into a very interesting battle once it was lights out. Norris would go on to make a successful lunge on Verstappen several laps in, with the latter not giving up the fight easily. He would get pass Norris and take the lead once again, after the McLaren driver failed to close the door and defend his lead. Piastri would also take advantage of this, moving up into second. If Norris is serious about becoming a challenger in the battle with Verstappen, he need's to avoid mistakes like these. Mistakes Verstappen wouldn't dream of making. Or would he?

Another driver racing a little bit too optimistically was Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas. A late and aggressive lunge on Fernando Alonso took both drivers onto the runoff area, with the latter losing two places in the process. Hulkenberg would pay for his crimes with a 10 second time penalty and 2 penalty points for the German driver to take home.

Elsewhere, DRS proved itself to be ever so effective here at the Red Bull Ring. As shown by the Alpine drivers of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, as they battled for the lower places of the top ten. But, it would be Sergio Perez to take home the final point for Red Bull in 8th, as his teammate took the chequered flag for another Sprint Race win. Contrast, much? The McLarens of Piastri and Norris would join Verstappen in the Top Three.

The Sprint may have been one of cleanliness and respect between drivers, however the main Grand Prix was anything but, particularly in the latter stages in scenes that resembled some of the fallings out of 2021. Some may have been unsurprised to see that Verstappen was once again involved in the calamities, but with Norris racing alongside the Red Bull for a long period of time, there was almost a gut feeling that this battle was going to end in tears despite the respect that the two have (or had) for each other. More on that later.

The start of the Grand Prix was simple. Much like the Sprint the day before. Everyone bar Zhou Guanyu was starting on the medium tyre, the latter on the hard and in the pit lane. There were some early entertaining battles, including one between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri on lap one that would see the Ferrari have to pit for a new front wing. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton found themselves in a tense battle for 3rd and 4th in the early stages of the race also, before Hamilton had to give up his place to the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz after overtaking the Spaniard off the track on lap one. Piastri, now behind Perez, made a stunning move on the Red Bull around the outside of turn six. Something that isn't done there too often. And, then there was Alpine, with both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly racing wheel to wheel, sensibly, for once.

Two of the most impressive drives of the race came from the Haas drivers of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, who finished 6th and 8th respectively, taking home a good haul of points for the American team. The duo were also some of the first drivers to make their first pit stops, choosing to pit early than expected in a strategy that obviously worked wonders. As did Magnussen's reluctance to look after his tyres, telling the team "f**k that!" Ah, never change, Kev!

Leclerc had a miserable race. From having to pit at the end of lap one, to making a 3rd stop before it was even half ran. You can imagine the pain the Ferrari driver was going through as Alex Albon's Williams sped past him at one point. And, it seems that many were having a time of it out on track. From being stuck in DRS trains to struggling on the hard tyre, for some it was not ideal. For others, penalties became the bane of their race, keeping the stewards hot on their heels throughout the 71 laps. Both Hamilton and Albon would be on the receiving end of 5 second penalties after crossing the pit entry line, Perez would also receive 5 seconds for speeding in the pit lane. Red Bull would also find themselves being investigated, with no further action, for an unsafe release with Verstappen as he was released into Norris' path. However, it would be a down-beat Fernando Alonso taking the brunt with a 10 second penalty after contact with Zhou at turn three. But, of course, the big story to come from this race was the chaos that was born out of the lead battle between Verstappen and Norris that was initiated after a very rare slow stop from Red Bull.

The latter stages of the race saw Norris catching Verstappen at a rapid rate, helped by the fact that the Red Bull was struggling for grip. Over several team radio messages, Norris would complain about Verstappen moving under breaking, or several times during a defense. If you know motorsport, you will know that this is not the safest thing to do and is actually against the rules. However, Norris would get a chance to pass going into turn three, where he locked up, taking to the run off, before repeating it all again a few laps later with Verstappen being the driver having to take evasive action. With Verstappen still leading, and Norris ever so closer, it was a matter of when, not if, for a Norris overtake on the reigning World Champ. However, third time lucky quickly became third time unlucky, with the duo colliding, both coming away in scenes that was full of chaos, punctures and damage. Verstappen would come in for for repairs, coming back out in 5th, the position he would finish in. Norris would DNF. To add to Norris' woes, he would also receive a 5 second time penalty for track limits after being given a black and white flag while battling with Verstappen. Talking of Verstappen, the stewards would decide he was to blame for the collision, giving him a pointless 10 second time penalty that effected him to no ends. Is this the beginning of 2021 all over again? I for sure hope not. We want fair and entertaining racing.

So, who won, I hear you ask? Well, that feat went to Russell, with Piastri and Sainz joining him on the podium. Phew, what a race. Could this end up being quite a pivotal point in this year's championship? We'll have to wait and see.

Next up: Silverstone!