Formula 1, established in 1950 and given the name because participants are the best in the world and must follow a strict set of regulations, is a team-based motorsport where, as described by the Formula 1 website, drivers “push themselves – and their incredible machines – to the very limit.” Drivers, who compete in teams of two, earn their spot in F1 by essentially climbing the ladder of racing, beginning with kart racing as a child (some beginning as young as six years old) to competing in lower racing classes such as F2 and F3 until eventually moving up to F1 and being contracted into a team. Once they earn a spot in F1, as a driver racer, they travel the world and compete on a variety of tracks in numerous countries during the season which this year stretches from March 2 to November 26, 2024. Now that the season is halfway over, it has become undeniably clear that 2024 marks a new era for Formula 1.
The 2023 season was filled with the success of Red Bull, a team consisting of members Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who won all but one race. Verstappen specifically dominated, winning 19 out of 22 races and winning the 2023 Drivers Championship (which is awarded to the individual driver who scores the most points during the season).
“Last season, Red Bull and Max Verstappen [performed so well there was] no real competition,” senior Mia Mura said. “So I definitely wasn’t expecting the level of competition we’ve had so far with different drivers from different teams winning races.”
Drivers often move to different teams every few seasons as various opportunities arise, so the future of both the teams and individual drivers frequently remains an impending question. For instance, while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has renewed with the team and will continue driving with them for several seasons to come, the 2024 season marks Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s last season with the team. Next year, Mercedes world-title winning driver Lewis Hamilton will take his spot in Ferrari. Sainz, who was left without a seat for months, announced in late July he will race for Williams Racing.
“I’m a big Ferrari guy,” senior Daniel Burns said. “Carlos isn’t a bad driver at all. I don’t understand why [Ferrari] is dropping him—he constantly scores points for the team and he adds a personal and funny aspect to the sport. In my opinion, it’s completely undeserved.”
Regardless of this change, Leclerc and Sainz have been a good pairing for Ferrari in 2024. Leclerc earned two historical wins at Monaco and Monza while Sainz has constantly scored points, making Ferrari the third team in the Team Championship. While the team is still a few steps back from Red Bull, this is a positive move forwards for Ferrari. But Ferrari is not the only team challenging Red Bull. The team that has really shown to not only be competitive to Red Bull but has been able to consistently beat them is McLaren. McLaren, built up of British driver Lando Norris and Australian racer Oscar Piastri, has won five races so far in the season and scored constant podiums.
“Both Oscar and Lando are my favorite drivers,” Mura said. “Specifically, I’m a big fan of Oscar Piastri. It’s his second year, and I’m always a fan of the rookies. He’s shown he has a lot of talent.”
With McLaren rising to be one of the top competitors, they leave a variety of teams in the middle fighting for points such as Aston Martin (built of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll), Williams (Alexander Albon and recently added rookie Franco Colapinto) and Visa Cash App RB Formula (formerly called AlphaTauri, formerly built of Daniel Rioccardo and Yuki Tsunoda, now Tsunoda and Liam Lawson). As contract announcements for the 2025 season have been released, fans have more of an idea what the midfield battle may look like as rookies such as Ollie Bearman and Andrea “Kimi” Antonelli are added into the mix. Another rookie, Franco Colapinto, made headlines when he was added to the grid over half way through the season following Williams’ decision to drop American driver Logan Sargaent.
“It’s brutal, but F1 is brutal,” Mura said. “Once Franco got into the car, he’s shown it was the best move. He’s scored more points in two races than Logan did the entire season, but I do think Red Bull’s decision to keep Sergio Perez, even though he hasn’t had a great season, shows the weaknesses in the sport in that it’s a lot about money. Sometimes teams keep a ‘bad person’ in a higher team because they bring revenue [regardless of the fact they] aren’t the best driver.”
However, though the sport has its flaws, F1 is gaining popularity in America. The sport is known well internationally, but it’s become evident as the past few seasons have concluded the sport is creating a larger and larger fan base.
“What I love most about F1 is the community,” Burns said. “I got roped into F1 through my friends, so it’s cool to see how popular it’s getting at Bridgeland. You see people with F1 shirts all the time, and it’s a conversation starter alongside just something fun.”
