Formula 1 is Finally Back!
After using that title less than 2 months ago, a month break following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix has brought me to using it again! It’s been a weird break because whilst there haven’t been Races going on, teams and drivers have still been at the factory which is the big difference between the Autumn and Summer breaks! So, with 6 rounds to go, what are the key things to look out for? Well firstly, Max Verstappen has a 52 point lead over Lando Norris in the fight for the World Drivers’ Championship, and McLaren currently lead Red Bull in the Constructors’ by 41 points (that’s not even a contest anymore)! Elsewhere, there’s just 8 points separating Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri in the fight for P3 whilst in my personal favourite battle, Visa Cash App RB find themselves just 3 points ahead of Haas in the fight for P6! So, let’s get started shall we?!
Haas’ Home Race
Whilst we now get Races in both Las Vegas and Miami, the true American Race takes place at COTA meaning this weekend is properly Haas’ Home Race! Currently, Haas are arguably having their second-best ever season, with the team sitting 7th in the Constructors’ on 31 points! However, as alluded to before, the American team are only 3 points behind VCARB in the fight for P6, and based on recent form, there’s a good chance that they could secure what would definetly be their best-ever season behind 2018! Unfortunately for Haas, COTA has never been a particually good track for them, with the team scoring just 3 points in their 7 visits to the circuit! Still, at least Haas have a pretty cool livery!
The Return of the Sprint!
After no action for ages, Formula 1 decided to be nice to us and give us some more action in the form of a Sprint Weekend (who am I kidding, they didn’t plan anything out, I honestly think my Cat could’ve organised this calendar better)! Anyway, I’m a big fan of Sprint Weekends so I’m pretty excited for it, but who should we be looking out for? Now, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri have been the strongest drivers in the Sprint Format this year (which follows on from them being the two best last year) whilst Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, and Yuki Tsunoda have also all faired pretty well! On the other side of the spectrum, the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll as well as the Williams of Alex Albon have all really struggled in the Sprints this year so it’ll be interesting to see if they can turn it around (I wouldn’t bet on the green cars that’s for certain)!
Can Lewis Hamilton Deliver at COTA Yet Again?
2024 has been a very weird season for Lewis Hamilton, the 7-time World Champion currently sits 6th in the Drivers’ Championship, 19 points ahead of his teammate George Russell, but minus a couple of terrific drives in the middle part of the year, it’s not been a particually stellar year for the Mercedes man! However, whilst tracks like Silverstone and the Hungaroring get mentioned as Hamilton’s special tracks, I think COTA honestly goes under the radar! Lewis is a 5-time winner around the Circuit of the Americas, and he’s only missed the Podium twice (he's also been crowned World Champ there in both 2015 and 2019)! Now, funnily enough, one of those times came last year when he was Disqualified after originally finishing second, and the thing that really needs to be mentioned is despite how far off Mercedes were compared to Red Bull the previous two years, Lewis Hamilton nearly won both of those Races at COTA, so I think that says a lot!
Liam Lawson Has Arrived!
Whilst the way it happened wasn’t great, I have to say that it is very cool to have Liam Lawson back on the Grid! Now, Liam has previously won both the NZ F1600 Championship Series (2016-17) and the Toyota Racing Series (2019), and he’s also finished second in the likes of Super Formula, DTM, and others (he also finished third in the 2022 Formula 2 Championship)! To be fair, most people will know about Lawson from his small stint at AlphaTauri last year, where he famously knocked Max Verstappen out of Q3 on his way to scoring his maiden points! The craziest thing about this situation with Liam Lawson is if he smashes it out of the park, he could well find himself in a Red Bull seat next year! However, if it goes horrendously wrong, there’s no guarantees that the Kiwi will even be on the Grid next year!
My Predictions for United States Sprint Qualifying
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris
Max Verstappen
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