Lando has it tough at the top
Everyone in the paddock, from mechanics to reception staff, is enjoying the summer break, 14 races into the longest season to date, but none more so than Lando Norris. He is desperate for a “reset” after squandering the chance to close the gap to Max Verstappen with a series of stupid (by his own admission) mistakes in the last few races.
He is the only genuine contender for Verstappen’s crown, but while the Red Bull driver has largely extracted the potential from his car, Norris has dropped points on the track, and his starts are a particular problem.
He qualified on pole for one sprint race and two Grands Prix and lost the lead in all three on the first lap. He will never get it back. He insists it is not the pressure that has caused his starts to be particularly bad when he was on pole, but after another mistake on the opening lap. In Belgium, where Norris dropped from fourth to seventh, McLaren will work with him over the coming weeks to identify why he is struggling.
Norris is a genuine title contender, but he knows he has left points on the track.
GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT/AP
It’s Norris’ first time in a title race (and the first for some time for McLaren too) and with more experience the 24-year-old Englishman will no doubt feel more comfortable leading from the front. But after Verstappen’s dominant start to the season, the margin for error is almost non-existent and Norris will need a near-perfect second half of the season to overcome the points deficit.
McLaren have both Norris and Oscar Piastri signed on long-term contracts but face a tough decision over the summer break over whether to prioritise Norris as the clear number one driver and therefore give him preferential treatment for the remainder of the season. There is just 32 points between the pair in the drivers’ standings.
Red Bull leads the way… but is closer than expected
At the start of the season, civil war threatened to derail Red Bull’s success. There were arguments between Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, and differences of ideals between Thai and Austrian shareholders, but now that those tensions have calmed down (for the most part – the verdict on a Red Bull employee’s appeal against Horner, who was cleared of controlling behaviour, is expected to be known shortly) they now have to worry about their opponents.
Last season’s dominance has carried over into the opening races of this campaign. Sergio Perez was performing admirably as Verstappen’s teammate, but since Norris’ win in Miami, the Mexican’s form has plummeted and Verstappen has been holding off the chasing pack almost single-handedly.
Verstappen has been holding off the chasing pack, but concerns remain over Red Bull’s improvements
REX
Verstappen’s early-season form and Norris’ mistakes mean the Dutchman is the firm favourite to win his fourth world title, but there are concerns over the direction of Red Bull’s upgrades, with the sizeable package brought to Budapest failing to deliver the expected improvement in performance.
Remarkably, Perez has managed to finish the first part of the season closer to last place in the drivers’ championship than his team-mate did in first, but Red Bull are expected to stick with the Mexican despite his poor performances potentially costing them millions of pounds in prize money in the constructors’ championship.
Mercedes’ surprising resurgence and the consistency of both McLaren drivers mean that with ten races remaining, the championship is one to watch.
Stability leads to the best careers.
So far this season, there have been seven different grand prix winners, from four teams, in 14 races. Last year, Verstappen dominated, to the point where it was almost inevitable that he would win before the drivers had left their starting positions.
That was what Horner, the Red Bull team principal, described as a “unicorn” season, and this campaign is benefiting from the stability of the regulations. A number of implementations by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, are starting to be felt in a positive way. These include the cost cap, which allows for more competitive racing, and staggered wind tunnel time, with those at the front getting less, meaning it is harder to improve their cars.
Bearman, with his cameo for Ferrari, has provided a subplot in a season full of fascinating stories.
ANTONIN VINCENT/DPPI/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
This is the third year that the current regulations, which focus on ground-effect cars and the importance of aerodynamic load, have been in force. The outlook is getting closer and the possibilities for development are narrowing.
Although several teams will bring improvements after the summer break, competitiveness is expected to continue, particularly on tracks such as Singapore, which is not suited to Red Bull, and several street circuits with little margin for error.
From George Russell’s disqualification at Spa to Oliver Bearman’s stunning appearance in Saudi Arabia, there have been plenty of storylines in a fascinating but also ruthless season. Bruno Famin will not return as Alpine team principal after the break, Logan Sargeant is at risk of not being able to finish the season at Williams and Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann have already been sacked by Audi, before they have even officially entered F1.
