Race Review: Spanish Grand Prix 2024

It’s kind of hard to fathom that we’re only ten races into the longest season in F1 history. I generally feel as if we’re more than ready for the Summer break. However, is it any wonder that we’re knackered? With Red Bull coming under increased pressure from other teams, this Championship is FAR from being over. And, as with other recent races, the Spanish Grand Prix didn’t disappoint, as fans watched Max Verstappen put in more work to take another important win while on his journey to a fourth World Championship.

It was a weekend full of excitement from the get go, with McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, as well as usual favourites; Red Bull, all in the mix for a possible pole position. But, when it came down to the wire, it was Lando Norris in the McLaren that put in a lap in fast enough for pole. However, his race, on the other hand, seemed to be a tale of two halves. After falling from first to third as the lights went out, it was a very strategic based race for Norris who, at one point, dropped to sixth after his first stop, with a means of fighting his way back to the front. The adventure of Norris and his McLaren was a very focused point throughout the entire race, and one that kept every F1 aficionado hooked. Could he salvage what could have been? Well, yes, kind of. Sky Sports F1 may have kept promising us of a late race battle between Norris and Verstappen, but it just wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t win. We’ve established that, but he did finish second. Despite this, a strategic drive saw him earn another well deserved podium and driver of the day title. Is Norris the driver that can stop Verstappen in his tracks? His army of fans seem to think so!

The big story to come from the Spanish Grand Prix was, you guessed it, tyres. It was a field of softs on the starting grid, a perfect setup for those who love a good pit stop. And, pit stops we got, including a “hot” sub two seconder from Red Bull on Verstappen. A complete contrast to slow stops down at Alpine and Mercedes of Pierre Gasly and George Russell, respectively. With tyre changes starting to happen from around lap ten, it wasn’t long before everyone had made the switch to either medium or hards. The hard tyre was specifically interesting, with many a driver struggling to get speed or grip out of it. Russell was particularly vocal on this matter, quickly losing places to others around him. It became evident that the hard was not a good race tyre in this race, with the medium emerging as the favourite for longer stints.

Let’s be honest, this race wasn’t a nail griping extravaganza. It was quiet, without a single yellow flag or safety car making any kind of appearance throughout the 66 laps. However, we don’t always need that. The action was aplenty without. We’ve talked about Norris and his strategy, but what about that on track battle he had with Russell? Making moves that definitely would be ones for the history books. Verstappen was another one, again on Russell, failing to give up any chance of snatching a place. Further back, it was quiet, with Alexander Albon being the most memorable as his took his Williams for a quick jolly across the gravel. Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda would all find themselves with five second time penalties. Magnussen for a false start. Hulkenberg and Tsunoda for speeding in the pit lane.

Finally, we NEED to talk about Ferrari. Did we just witness the beginning of the end between teammates; Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc? I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but slight contact between the two in the opening stages of the race has since caused plenty of tension, with several “bitchy” comments being made about one another in interviews. It’s like being back at high school…

Regardless, this race may have just marked itself as a pivotal moment in the 2024 Formula One Season, with McLaren firmly proving the fact they are here to cause upset in Red Bull's dominant era. And, with Ferrari and Mercedes not overly far behind, could this soon become a four-way team battle? I mean, Sergio Perez isn't performing well enough for Red Bull to fly away with the lead this season. Watch this space.

Next up: Austria!

Race Review: Canadian Grand Prix 2024

Oh, Canada!

After the dismal race weekend that was the Monaco Grand Prix, Canada came and Canada delivered. It was a race that will and has many people talking for some time to come, despite it being another victory to add to Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ever growing list. But, we have to ask the question, is F1 really in Canada if it’s not a rain effected race? Probably not, so to speak. So, with the race start declared as wet, not wet enough for a Safety Car start thank the heavens, I’m sure many F1 aficionados were keeping everything crossed for a race on par with Canada 2011. Bar the lengthy red flag, we didn't need a repeat of that!

Let’s be honest, the start of the race was fun, and surprisingly clean. George Russell, who had qualified his Mercedes on pole ahead of Verstappen had a decent start, holding his lead into turns one and two. But, where everyone else was on the Intermediate tyre, Haas made the bold decision to throw their drivers on the Wets, giving Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg the chance to fly through the field over the course of the opening laps. And, flying they were, with Magnussen making it as high as 4th before the Inters came to life on lap six as the Wets started to wear away.

The weather conditions in this race were perfect for fans, but a headache for team strategists. As the Inters started to loose their grip, the threat of rain increased and the question mark as to when and whether drivers would pit was widely discussed by commentators alike. It would be Logan Sargeant, hitting the barrier in his Williams, that would bring out the first Safety Car, making up the minds of many teams as to whether they should pit before the rain. Three of the leading quartet - Russell, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri; Lando Norris was out in front leading in his McLaren, all pitted for fresh Inters. Norris would pit a lap later, losing his lead to Verstappen on pit exit. Down the back end of the field, Charles Leclerc, who’s Ferrari was having severe technical issues, took a gamble that shocked many an F1 enthusiast. He switched to Slicks just as the rain started to fall. You’d be correct in thinking that he came back in a couple of laps later for the Inter, after crawling around the circuit like a snail.

More fun came after the rain had gone away, with Pierre Gasly being the first brave sole to take a chance on the slicks. After a couple of slower laps, getting the compound up to speed, his times were getting good enough for other teams to take notice, and thus, we were in the middle of a tyre chain reaction.

Moving on from tyre and strategy talk, several drivers found themselves having a nightmare of a race. Take Leclerc, after his technical difficulties and faux pas on the Slicks, he ended up retiring, as did his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, who sustained damage from a spin that also took out the Williams of Alex Albon. Daniel Ricciardo found himself on the end of a 5-second time penalty for jumping the start, and Sergio Perez and Gasly came close to blows on the opening lap. Yes, I said Perez. It’s almost the norm that the Red Bull driver finds himself involved in incidents in one way or another…

Things would get painfully worse for Perez as the race went on. After trying and failing to make up positions after another dismal qualifying, Perez would hit the wet track while on the slicks, sending him into a frenzied spin, backwards into the barrier and breaking his rear wing in the process. With the car still running, his team advised him to bring it back to the pits in its unsafe condition, something Perez will pay for in Spain with a grid drop. But why did Red Bull advise him that? Oh, we do love a good conspiracy, but it seems they did all they could to avoid a Safety Car while Verstappen was in the lead. A bit of a “moo point” really, when it was deployed only a couple of laps later to rescue a stranded Albon.

But, why do we watch Formula One so? Well, for the speed, the adrenaline and, most importantly, on-track battles! And boy, we were in for a treat in the latter stages of the Canadian Grand Prix.

A drying track, cars on slicks and enabled DRS were the perfect ingredients for a late race battle for the final point positions. Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Gasly and Hulkenberg were the drivers finding themselves going wheel to wheel with 8th, 9th and 10th all up for grabs! Three laps to go and after spending the majority of the race in the points, Tsunoda makes a mistake, locking up and spinning, dropping the VCARB driver to a dismal 14th. For the others, they would fight until the end with Ricciardo coming out on top in 8th. After a bought of team orders, Gasly would finish 9th ahead of teammate Ocon in 10th, who was less than impressed with how his team had treated him. I mean, he is leaving them at the end of 2024. Hulkenberg, after taking evasive action to avoid a backwards Tsunoda, had to settle for 11th.

However, while this battle was raging, the battle at the front was also starting to heat up, as it had done numerous times over the course of the 70 lap race. Verstappen, in the lead, had pretty much checked out, leaving Norris, Russell, Hamilton and Piastri to it, with Norris and Russell in particular having some nail biting, wheel to wheel battles. This included a hairy moment that saw Norris leave the track at Turn One, potentially gaining an on track advantage, an incident that race control deemed unnecessary to investigate. And, it wasn’t just Norris that Russell was battling with. The Mercedes driver attempted a move on Piastri into the final chicane, having to take to the run off to avoid an incident. The latter stages were very much Mercedes vs McLaren or McLaren vs Mercedes.

As we already know, despite the woes Red Bull faced going into the Canadian Grand Prix, this was Verstappen’s race all along. However, it wasn’t easy for him with both Russell and Norris making the reigning World Champion’s life that little bit more harder. Joining Verstappen on the podium in 2nd was Norris - another impressive performance from the McLaren driver has firmly proved that he is one to watch in 2024. Russell would finish 3rd.

Canada, you did us proud in 2024. Can Spain top it in two weeks time? Who knows!

2025 F1 Driver Market Updates and Rumours - Some of My Thoughts, Opinions and Predictions

Formula One in 2024 may be fielding the same driver line up as in 2023; but for 2025 things are looking somewhat different, with big names moving around and plenty of seats yet to be claimed. Silly season, as we call it, is far from being over. And surely, the best is yet to come?

As we know, the driver market was triggered early for 2025 with Lewis Hamilton making a shock move to Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz who is currently without a contract for future F1 seasons. Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez were confirmed to be staying at their respective teams - Ferrari, Aston Martin, Williams and Red Bull, joining Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Max Verstappen who all are already locked in for 2025. Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving Haas and moving to Sauber - which will become Audi in 2026, with Esteban Ocon recently confirming his time with Alpine will come to an end at the end of 2024. With 10 seats left up for grabs, there is everything to play for!

The most talked about seats in the driver market are those at the top end of the field. The likes of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, with the biggest question mark being where current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will end up. Will he make a move to Red Bull or Mercedes? With Perez’s recent contract extension and Verstappen locked in for the next few seasons, this team looks to be out of the running; as does Mercedes, with several drivers linked to their vacancy. So that leaves Sauber/Audi, Williams or Alpine, three other teams the Spaniard has recently been linked to. Wherever the 3x Grand Prix winner goes, not only would it play a pivotal role in the future of his Formula One career, but it could also trigger more movement in this already crazy silly season.

One thing Formula One has been lacking in recent seasons is Formula 2 graduates. Could all this be about to change, with rumours of the Mercedes seat going to Kimi Antonelli? There is no denying that the Italian youngster is talented, but with only a few months of F2 experience under his belt, is a jump to the Mercedes F1 team to premature and optimistic? Would Williams be a better fit? Possibly. Then there is Ollie Bearman. The young Brit has already got one foot in the door after a fantastic F1 debut in Saudi Arabia where he deputised for an unwell Sainz. With Hulkenberg off to pastures new (or old, he's been to Sauber before) could Bearman find himself at Haas for 2025. This HAAS (pun intended) to be a given. Past F2 drivers Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson are also linked to teams for 2025, meaning we could be about to have an influx of rookie drivers - the most in recent seasons.

With the vacant Red Bull seat going to Perez, it leaves the question as to who will fill the open seat at Mercedes. As mentioned above, Antonelli is an option, and so far, maybe the only valid option? But, what about Ocon? He has strong Mercedes links through his manager - Toto Wolff. That’s right, despite his rocky journey with Alpine, don’t be too surprised if we start seeing Ocon’s name being thrown around for that Mercedes seat. He’s definitely an option if the team want Antonelli to gain more experience before making the step up to the front of the F1 field.

Max Verstappen, although locked in for 2025, is another name being rumoured to make a shock move to a different team - in this case, Mercedes. With a lot of ongoings behind the scenes at Red Bull, and his father being very influential on his career, I wouldn’t rule this move out. I mean, it’s unlikely, but possible. Especially with the likes of Mercedes and other teams starting to come in strong with their car developments, getting ever so closer to Red Bull on track and on paper. With this in mind, have the team done the right thing in resigning their second driver; Perez? Despite his “minor” setbacks in recent times, Perez is a relatively good racing driver, as he has proved during his Sauber and Force India days. If it’s continuity that the team is looking for, then fair dos. Will it work out for them? Time will tell.

There was no secret to the fact that Red Bull were planning on reuniting Daniel Ricciardo with Verstappen for 2025. However, it’s also no secret that Ricciardo is struggling at VCARB, consistently getting out-qualified and out-raced by the younger teammate that is Yuki Tsunoda. With rumours circulating left, right and centre, it’s almost disappointing to hear that VCARB are looking at keeping Ricciardo on for 2025. This is nothing against the Australian other than that isn’t this supposed to be a Junior Team after all? In some ways I can understand the method to their madness. With not many drivers coming through the Junior Team programme at this moment in time, continuity and experience may help the team in the longer term. But, where is Tsunoda in all of this? Is a Red Bull exit on the cards for 2025? Could it be a seat on the sidelines at Aston Martin before they join forces with Honda, whom Tsunoda has ties with, in 2026? Or simply, could he stay with VCARB? Does this put a potential seat for current reserve driver - Liam Lawson into doubt? It would be one of the biggest shames in Formula One if he misses out for a second consecutive season.

With everything I have talked about in mind, this leaves a whole bunch of current F1 drivers without contracts for 2025, and of course, the rumour mill is in full swing. Could Valtteri Bottas be off to Haas? Could Zhou Guanyu be a shoe in at Alpine? Is Mick Schumacher about to make a spectacular F1 return? Is Logan Sargeant's time at Williams and F1 about to come to an abrupt end? Oh, it's juicy stuff! Too juicy in fact that I'm afraid to make any kind of prediction as to what the 2025 grid is going to look like. Regardless, here is where we stand as of writing: (Drivers in red are out of contract but tipped to stay with their respective teams)

Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes: George Russell and Vacant

McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll

Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Vacant - (Surely this will be Doohan?)

VCARB: Daniel Ricciardo and Vacant - (My feeling is Tsunoda)

Williams: Alex Albon and Vacant

Kick Sauber: Nico Hulkenberg and Vacant

Haas: Vacant and Vacant - (One will be Bearman 100%)

So, with that being said, what are your thoughts and opinions on 2025? Let me know in the comments! It's going to be a very interesting remainder of the 2024 season - and we're not even half way yet! I just hope Sainz gets himself somewhere. Ya'll know how much of a fan I am of his!