© Formula 1The answer to the question outlined at the top of this article as to whether anyone can stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2024 is “no, not really.” After all, the technical regulations haven’t changed, and there have been no moves on the driver market. In fact, there have been no driver changes from 2023.
Perhaps most concerning for the rest of the F1 field, is that the recent three day test in Bahrain has shown absolutely no indication that Verstappen and his team can be dethroned over the course of the season.
That said, this recent offseason was WILD! Gunther Steiner was promptly sacked from HAAS, Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in 2025, and Christian Horner finds himself at the centre of a harassment scandal. Hopefully, then, this level of excitement drama will carry over onto the track.
The 2024 F1 season will begin on March 02 in Bahrain and conclude on December 08 in Abu Dhabi. On the eve of this brand new season of racing, we at Dyler.com have put together this season preview to give you this lowdown on the teams and drivers aiming to take on the Verstappen/Red Bull steamroller over the upcoming 22 races.
Red Bull Racing
Car: RB20
Drivers: Max Verstappen (#1) / Sergio Perez (#11)
It would have been easy for Red Bull to head into the upcoming Formula 1 season on its laurels - after all, this is the team that produced the most successful car in F1 history, the RB19, which won 21 out of 22 races last year. However, it hasn’t. The team’s 2024 challenger, the RB20, pursues an entirely new - and somewhat brave! - aerodynamic philosophy with its ‘letterbox’ sidepods, which appear visually similar to those used by Mercedes in 2022 and half-way through 2023 before ditching the concept in favour of a more conventional configuration. Fortunately for Red Bull, its design genius, Adrian Newey, appears to have made the letterbox concept work, and the RB20 ran consistently and reliably without drama during the three-day pre-season test at Bahrain. Whilst the team didn’t set any headline times in testing, The Race reports that the team was running a downtuned Honda engine. Given Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s battering of the opposition in 2022 and 2023, it would be foolish to bet against them being the benchmark in 2024.
Mercedes AMG
Car: W15
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (#44) / George Russell (#63)
The Bahrain test was Mercedes’ best since the current rules were introduced in 2022, and the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are reported to have more confidence in the team’s all-new W15 over its predecessors. Both drivers’ belief in the car was confirmed, when Russell set the third fastest time overall of the Bahrain test. In fact, the Briton noted that Mercedes had “made a really good step.” Given that the W15 is an entirely new platform, it remains to be seen how much time - if any at all - Mercedes will need to figure out its latest challenger. Whilst it seems an eternity ago now in-light of the Red Bull/Verstappen dominance of recent seasons, don’t forget that Mercedes won both championships each year from 2014 to 2020. If the car delivers on the promise shown in testing, don’t expect them to take long in figuring out how to win races with it. The silver/black livery with elements of red Mercedes has adopted for this year is reminiscent of the McLaren Mercedes challengers from 1997 - 2005. This is no bad thing.
Scuderia Ferrari
Car: SF-24
Drivers: Charles Leclerc (#16) / Carlos Sainz (#55)
Even before the 2024 F1 season started, Ferrari was in the headlines for its sensational signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and beyond. With its SF-24, the Scuderia is reported to have ironed out the high-levels of tyre degradation that plagued last year’s car, and both Leclerc and Sainz are said to be generally happier with the new machine’s behaviour and balance. Despite the departing Sainz setting the fastest time of the test with a 1'29.921 and becoming the only driver to set a time in the 1’20s, the Ferrari is expected to be Red Bull’s closest challenger, after setting times around four tenths a lap off of the reigning champions. Ferrari has also incorporated more red into its livery this year, which is reminiscent of its deeply handsome title-winning F2007 and its successor, the title-winning F2008.
McLaren
Car: MCL38
Drivers: Lando Norris (#4) / Oscar Piastri (81)
After starting 2023 with one of the worst cars on the grid, McLaren closed out last season as the best of the rest after a remarkably effective development programme. All things considered, then, it would make sense to expect McLaren to be sniping at the heels of the top three. However, the Woking-based outfit endured an interrupted test, with team boss Andrea Stella, openly stating that the team will need to “cash in” on upgrades as the car is developed. Nonetheless, the Mercedes-powered MCL38 has a good foundation, and the team has worked to address the slow-speed characteristics that afflicted its predecessor. Given McLaren’s 2023 trajectory, it is not unreasonable to expect McLaren to rapidly get on top of any issues. Another thing worth keeping an eye on at McLaren will be the intra-team battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Whilst Norris outscored his Australian teammate last year, it was Piastri who took a victory - albeit in a Sprint Race - in his rookie year. This upcoming season will be Norris’ sixth season in Formula 1. If he doesn’t break his duck this year, will questions begin to be asked of the likeable Brit?
Aston Martin
Car: AMR24
Drivers: Fernando Alonso (#14) // Lance Stroll (#18)
Aston Martin was one of the standout performers of 2023, and scored eight podiums courtesy of Fernando Alonso who went on to finish fourth in the driver’s standings. With Alonso’s undoubted driving abilities paired with the highly-capable mind of Technical Director Dan Fallows, expect The Green Team to build on last year and avoid a repeat of its disastrous mid-season upgrades where it lost its way in the constructors’ championship. On the final day of the recent test, Alonso completed a long run simulation and ended up firmly in Mercedes and Ferrari territory. Meanwhile, team boss Mike Krack described the outfit to be “really happy” with its performance in Bahrain. Unfortunately, Lance Stroll will remain the elephant in the room for as long as his father owns the team, and his lacklustre performances compared to Alonso will once again impede the team’s efforts as it seeks to move up the grid.
Alpine
Car: A524
Drivers: Pierre Gasly (#10) / Esteban Ocon (#31)
If pre-season testing is anything to go by, expect Alpine to undergo a difficult 2024. Its A524 challenger is rumoured to be overweight - hence the exposed carbon fibre livery to keep the pounds down! - and was described by observers in Bahrain to be “wallowing” in comparison to the frontrunners. What’s more, the French outfit set the slowest time of the test, was the second-slowest in the speed traps, and failed to complete a full race simulation. Should Alpine fail to perform for a second season in succession, it remains to be seen how long parent company Renault will keep funding an F1 project that appears to be firmly mired at the bottom half of the grid.
Williams
Car: FW46
Drivers: Alex Albon (#23) / Logan Sargeant (#2)
Williams’ lead driver, Alex Albon, described the Grove-based team’s all-new FW46 as “a decent car to go racing with” despite a varied pre-season test, which involved two stoppages on the first day. Nonetheless, the team got its head down in trad Williams fashion, and by the third and final day, emerged at the sharp end of the lower midfield. In Albon, Williams has a solid performer who is thriving in the team’s environment and after his Red Bull racing years, has established a name for himself as a solid points scorer. Whilst there’s no chance of Williams returning to its frontrunning ways in the forseeable, you can expect one of F1’s most beloved teams to consolidate its seventh place in the championship or - if things are as bad as they are reported to be at Alpine - leapfrog the French outfit for best of the rest. Most notably, the FW46 is the first Williams chassis to have its display screen mounted in the steering wheel.
RB Formula One Team
Car: VCARB-01
Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo (#3) / Yuki Tsunoda (#22)
If there were an award for best livery, then it would go to the Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team or ‘RB’ for short. The Red Bull Racing B-team has taken the almost electric blue livery it used during its Toro Rosso guise from 2017 to 2020, and added some white and red to create an aesthetically outstanding race car. Take your glasses off or squint, and it also looks like one of the title-winning Williams Renaults from the 1990s… aside from the new paint job and team moniker, the ridiculously-named VCARB-01 is a development of last year’s increasingly competitive challenger. What’s more, the car is fitted with the front and rear suspension from last year’s all-conquering Red Bull RB19. For 2024, Daniel Ricciardo has outlined regular Q3 appearances and being a regular fixture at the front of the midfield as two of his objectives for the season. Given teammate Yuki Tsunoda set a fifth-fastest time in testing, it would appear that RB may well be nipping at the heels of the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren.
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
Car: C44
Drivers: Valtteri Bottas (#77) / Zhou Guanyu (#24)
It’s all change at Sauber this year, and the likeable Swiss outfit loses its Alfa Romeo branding in favour of its new title sponsors - online casino, Stake, and gaming platform, Kick. This, then, explains why the team’s latest challenger is finished in a green and black livery reminiscent of Chick Hicks in Cars. The Sauber C44 shifts from a pushrod to pullrod front suspension for a more stable platform, and like previous seasons, the car retains Ferrari power. Valtteri Bottas has stated that he feels the biggest change on the car is “improved high-speed stability and the drag level.” In fact, the Finn’s teammate, Zhou Guanyu, went third fastest on the final day of the test, meaning that the Swiss outfit’s quiet confidence isn’t misplaced. Like Williams, it’s almost impossible for Sauber to return to its front-running ways in its current state. However, the C44 appears to be a solid, mid-field racecar, which will certainly improve on last season’s poor total of 16 points and a ninth-place finish in the constructor’s standings.
HAAS
Car: VF-24
Drivers: Kevin Magnussen (#20) / Nico Hülkenberg (#27)
Even before any of the teams turned a wheel in Bahrain, Ayao Komatsu - the new HAAS Team Principal who replaced Gunther Steiner - predicted that Formula 1’s American outfit would be at the back of the field. Based on the results from the three-day test, his predictions were not wrong. However, F1’s backmarker performed reliably and completed a total of 411 laps - the most of any other outfit. Undoubtedly, points will be difficult to come by in 2024 without an element of attrition, and HAAS will be seeking to iron out the high levels of tyre degradation that afflicted last year’s car. On the operational side of the team, Komatsu will be seeking to steady the ship after Steiner’s abrupt departure.
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