Janice R. Andrews
Max Verstappen, who is currently the Formula 1 winner, has more to worry about than just other cars at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Verstappen has been the face of Red Bull Racing’s power for a long time. Now he has to tame a car he has called a “monster.” Not only are McLaren and Mercedes trying to take down Red Bull’s dominance in Formula 1, but the team is also going through some big changes.
A Hard Road Ahead in Baku
There are signs that Verstappen’s Red Bull team isn’t as strong as it used to be in Formula 1. The Dutch driver hasn’t won any of the six races before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This is a big change from earlier in the season, when he was in great shape. Lando Norris, who drives for McLaren, is one of the main competitors who wants to stop Max Verstappen from winning another world title.
Now that Norris is better than his friend Oscar Piastri, McLaren will pick him over him. This gives him a strategic advantage. However, Verstappen has a huge 62-point lead, so Norris would need either Verstappen or Red Bull to make a big mistake in order to have a real chance of passing the Dutch driver in the last eight races of 2024.
A Tougher Battle for Constructors
Verstappen is still a strong favorite to win the individual title, but the more interesting championship is the constructor’s title. Only eight points separate Red Bull and McLaren, and that difference could easily shift in favor of the British team during the race in Baku on Sunday. The head of Red Bull’s team, Christian Horner, knows what’s going on and said, “It only takes a couple of bad weekends and big weekends from Lando, and suddenly it’s an awful lot closer.”
If the team wants to keep their lead, they will have to do everything they can, especially since Red Bull’s car is far from reliable.
That “monster” car you need to tame
One of Verstappen’s biggest problems is not his rivals, but his own car. The winning driver used to love the Red Bull car, but now it’s hard to control. When he won the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this season, Verstappen was very happy with the car. He said, “The car was basically on rails, and I could do whatever I wanted.” After a few months, the changes that were supposed to make the car better have made it less stable and caused the tires to wear out faster.
Verstappen recently vented his anger by saying, “In the space of, what, six to eight months, we went from having a very dominant car to an undriveable car.” The Baku street track is known for having conditions that are hard to predict, so Red Bull’s technical team will have to make quick changes if they want to get back ahead of the competition.
Changes at Red Bull and New Competitors
The pressure is getting worse because Red Bull is going through big changes inside the company. Adrian Newey, who designed the team’s cars, has left to join Aston Martin, a team that is quickly rising through the ranks thanks to the money of billionaire Lawrence Stroll. Fernando Alonso, the driver for Aston Martin, has already called them “the team of the future.” They want to take advantage of the new Formula 1 rules in 2026, just like Newey did for Red Bull in 2022.
Red Bull’s sports director, Jonathan Wheatley, is leaving at the end of the season to lead the ambitious Audi works team, which will also appear in 2026. This will make things even more complicated. These leavings show that Red Bull is losing its edge as new competitors with the skills that once made Red Bull the best start to appear.
“Papaya Rules” by McLaren and “Ascent” by Lando Norris
McLaren’s new preference for Lando Norris over his partner Piastri is going to make things more difficult for the other teams. But McLaren’s so-called “papaya rules,” which are their vague team orders meant to keep drivers from fighting with each other, are still not clear. At the Italian Grand Prix, these rules caused a controversial moment when Piastri passed Norris. However, neither driver won the race because of a mistake in strategy that let Charles Leclerc of Ferrari take the win.
McLaren’s “bias” toward Norris should help him in future races, but it’s still not clear how the team will handle any problems that might arise between its drivers. In fact, Norris said that Piastri might have to give up “lower positions,” but he would keep a win if he “deserved” it. The team needs to be clear on its plans for the future, especially if they want to take advantage of Red Bull’s recent problems.
Practice sessions show promise, but problems still exist
During practice on Friday in Baku, Red Bull showed signs of being as strong as they used to be. With a time of 0.313 seconds faster, Verstappen beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the first practice session. Sergio Perez, another member of his team, was also fast and came in third in the first practice. But crashes by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’s rookie Franco Colapinto stopped the session and gave all the drivers less time on the track.
Verstappen had a rough second practice session because his car kept understeering. He ended up in sixth place. Norris, one of his main competitors, came in 17th, but he didn’t push his car on the faster soft tires. He probably saved his plan for practice and the race.
Young drivers are taking the lead
As established teams try to fight Red Bull’s dominance, new stars are also rising to the surface. Oliver Bearman, a British teenager, is back in the center with Haas in Baku, filling in for Kevin Magnussen, who is banned. Franco Colapinto from Argentina is making noise at Williams after a strong start in Italy. He could score his first F1 points in Baku if he can avoid any more problems.
Maxi Verstappen has a hard time getting to the finish line first in Baku because of foes like Norris and the fact that his own car is hard to predict. Verstappen will have to use all of his skills to stay ahead as Red Bull’s era of power is threatened by new teams and changes within the company. There is a chance that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could be a turning point in the 2024 season. Red Bull could lose its lead in both the driver and constructor results.
