Max Verstappen is a 4-Time Champion of the World!
That’s right, Las Vegas was officially the moment where Max Verstappen was crowned as 4-time Champion of the World! This was fully deserved, Max is clearly the best driver on the Grid, and he did such a great job to keep putting in results despite all the struggles both on and off track at Red Bull! However, with the Drivers’ Championship now wrapped up, I’m very intrigued to see how Verstappen ends the season because the arguments that you can make for him not pushing as hard at the end of the season are exactly the same as why he could be even more aggressive than usual! I mean, I’ve been watching Formula 1 for a long time now, and when Lewis Hamilton used to wrap up his Championship Titles early, he wouldn’t win many of the remaining Races. However, Max Verstappen is kind of the opposite cause he tends to do nothing but win when the Championship is secured! All I know is it should make this weekend even more exciting for everyone watching (fingers crossed)!
Liam Lawson Needs a Strong Result
In 2023, Liam Lawson came in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo and did a terrific job, fully placing his name on F1 Teams’ radars! Now in 2024, after Danny Ric was dropped after Singapore, Liam Lawson has come in and had a mixed bag of a period to say the least! He started brilliantly to score points in Austin, got into a few too many incidents in Mexico City (not that they were his fault though), had a great weekend to score points in the crazy Sao Paulo conditions, and then had a pretty poor weekend last time out in Vegas! I feel like Liam is properly establishing himself as a very aggressive driver who’s happy to get into a scrap, and I think that has both its positives and negatives. However, the most important thing for Lawson is he has to beat his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, and there’s a lot of pressure on him, especially as Qatar was by far his worst weekend when he subbed in last season. I think Liam can do it, P9’s a great shout (if you know you know), but he honestly has to cause time is running out for him to get that Red Bull seat!
Let’s Talk About George Russell
George Russell’s victory in Las Vegas fully established what has been a very strong season from the Brit! George has been very consistent, very fast, and I think his year gets overlooked due to all the other things that have been going on in this 2024 Season! I mean, Russell is the only driver to have qualified inside the Top 6 in every Race since the Summer Break which is just amazing given Mercedes are usually the 4th-fastest team! Also, George Russell is always there when Mercedes give him a car to win, and I can see that happening again this weekend (I know a certain person in the crowd would like that very much)!
Nico Hulkenberg is Amazing!
I’m just going to go out and say it, Nico Hulkenberg is amazing! I mean, Nico is another driver I feel is getting overlooked recently, and I think a part of that is because Haas have improved and the German driver scored plenty of points earlier in the year. However, we should still be praising The Hulk for what he’s doing right now, I mean minus Sao Paulo where he was Disqualified, Hulkenberg has finished lower than 9th since Azerbaijan (that was over two months ago)! I honestly can see Nico scoring more points again this weekend, and not many people will mention it because it’s “expected now”, but that in itself shows how brilliant The Hulk has done this year!
A Big Weekend for Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri had a strong Rookie Season in Formula 1, and he’s only taken his game up to a whole new level this year! I mean, the guys won 2 Races and had another 5 Podiums! However, since Azerbaijan (and especially since Singapore), Oscar’s form has dropped, he’s been consistently outperformed by Lando Norris, and it kind of feels like a part of that was to do with the whole McLaren “Team Orders” thing. I mean, Piastri did have that brilliant drive in the Sao Paulo Sprint, but he ended up giving the win to his teammate anyway so that says a lot too! Now, Qatar brings back a lot of great memories for Oscar, he smashed Sprint Saturday last year to take his first-ever Formula 1 victory, and given he also finished second in the Grand Prix, this is a big weekend for the young Aussie!
My Predictions for Qatar Sprint Qualifying
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
Max Verstappen
Carlos Sainz
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