Formula 1 is back.
In numerous methods, it appears absolutely nothing has actually altered.
For the very first time in the history of the sport, the specific very same chauffeur lineup that completed the 2023 season will require to the grid to begin the 2024 project. Rather of a “ridiculous season” filled with chauffeur motion, all 20 motorists are back in the very same seat to start this year.
Offering it a really familiar feel as the year beckons.
What likewise feels familiar? The concept that everybody is going after Max Verstappen. “Ominous” was among the significant words utilized to explain what we saw throughout pre-season screening recently, as Verstappen and the RB20, Red Bull’s opposition for the 2024 season, looked called in throughout the week.
Possibly more threatening? Verstappen’s statement that the RB20 is “for sure” much better than the RB19, among the most dominant automobiles in the history of the sport.
The next couple of months will settle whether Red Bull really leads the field, and if so how the chain of command gets arranged behind them. It will likewise form how the grid looks when 2025 starts. With over half the grid– 13 chauffeurs to be precise– set to see their agreements go out at the end of the 2024 season, numerous chauffeurs are defending their F1 futures this season.
There is the matter of Lewis Hamilton, set to embark on his last year at Mercedes before he moves to Ferrari for 2025.
Yes, F1 has a familiar feel to it ahead of the 2024 season, and we might see a familiar face at the front all year long.
So lots of things are about to alter.
Team-by-team sneak peeks
Picture by Mark Thompson/Getty Images Can Haas take an advance as a brand-new period starts?
Huge modifications have actually pertained to Haas in the last couple of days, not just with the departure of Steiner, however likewise the departure of Simone Resta, the group’s Technical Director. Ayao Komatsu enters Steiner’s function, having actually formerly worked as the group’s Director of Engineering.
That relocation shines a light on where the group requires to enhance.
As kept in mind above, one-lap rate was not the issue for Haas, however race speed definitely was. Expecting their 2024 opposition, they require to do much better in this department, and to prevent the tire deterioration problems that pestered them a season earlier. When reports of Resta’s departure appeared, there was speculation that a distinction in between Resta and Gene Haas, the group’s owner, was at the heart of the circumstance. Resta wished to concentrate on advancement for the VF-23 throughout last season, while Haas wished to advance with a vision comparable to Red Bull’s RB19 for the 2024 project.
When you are the one signing the checks, you get to make the huge choices.
