It wasn’t too long ago that everyone and their cousin had written off the 2024 F1 season, thinking this would be a season similar to last year where Red Bull had won 22 of 23 races with Max Verstappen winning 20, the season started that way with Verstappen winning four of the first five races and Sergio “Checo” Perez finishing second three of the first five races. F1 fans went into panic mode as we would see a repeat of 2022 all over again, and then the Miami Grand Prix happened.
McLaren F1 Upgrades
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At the Miami Grand Prix McLaren brought upgrades, much like Silverstone in 2023, these upgrades were highly effective. McLaren has been consistently faster than Red Bull since Miami. McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Miami Grand Prix McLaren’s first F1 win since Monza in 2021.
McLaren was also faster than Red Bull at Imola. Thanks to a slipstream Max was able to get on pole and McLaren struggled with handling early in the race Verstappen was able to escape with a win. Red Bull still has a fast car and has the luxury of having the most talented driver in F1 on the grid in Verstappen. However, Red Bull fans’ anxiety continues to grow as McLaren and Ferrari get faster as Red Bull’s car designer Adrian Newey departs at the end of the season.
Ferrari F1 Upgrades Hit
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Ferrari brought their major upgrades at Imola. It did make the cars faster but not to the level of McLaren and Red Bull. However, the upgrades began to work a Monaco. Charles LeClerc Born and raised in Monaco became the first Monaco native to win in the 93-year history of the Grand Prix.
At Monaco, McLaren and Ferrari were the class of the field Verstappen finished a season-low sixth just the second time since 2023 Verstappen finished outside the podium. After the crash that involved Checo on lap one of the Monaco Grand Prix Red Bull has mentioned they may need to abandon future upgrades should a massive wreck happen again to one of the Red Bulls.
Red Bull Struggles to Continue in Canada?
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The alarms are going off in Red Bulls fans around the world. Verstappen commented about his expectations in the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix:
We have to wait and see, new surface as well I think, that might also give us some surprises, But it is probably also not going to be our strongest weekend because of that. But probably a little bit better than Monaco, any track that is bumpy or has curbs, or you have to ride a lot of curbs, so the street circuits will probably be a little bit tricky. But hopefully, by then we have a little bit of understanding of what is going on.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner talked to motorports.com:
It’s a track that we’ve performed well at previously. They’ve resurfaced the whole circuit again. So let’s see, But Ferrari, McLaren, they’re quick. It was always going to happen that there was going to be convergence. This has been a tough weekend, but we’re still leading both championships.
With the repave it is hard to tell what is going to happen and how much drivers will use the curbs in the race and qualifying, Red Bull appears to be bracing for the choppy waters ahead. Verstappen won in Canada last year by just over nine seconds over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. LeClerc finished fourth 18.64 seconds behind Verstappen.
Red Bull’s second driver Checo Perez has been in a free fall. Perez was knocked out of the first round of qualifying and wrecked out at Monaco on the first lap of the race. Perez also struggled in Imola finishing eighth. Perez struggled the back half of the season last year missing the podium in seven of the last eight races and did not finish in two of those races. If this is the beginning of another slide Checo could lose his seat at Red Bull and maybe in F1.
Also Read: 2024 Detroit GP Preview: Can Chevrolet Protect Home Turf?
The Battle For The Championship is On!
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Verstappen sits just 31 points ahead of LeClerc in the drivers standings Norris sits 56 points back of Verstappen. The Constructor’s Standings are just as close Red Bull leads Ferrari by 24 points, and McLaren is 92 points back. If Perez continues to struggle the Red Bull constructors’ title hopes will turn into a distant dream.
The Canadian Grand Prix starts at 2 pm Eastern time on June 9th on ABC and F1TV. The lone race in North America before F1 goes back to Europe for the next seven races. Could we see a new leader in the Constructors Championship?
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with his favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch.
