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The 2024 F1 season kicks off in Bahrain this weekend. Ahead of the opener, the pre-season tests were completed last week and were quite revealing in terms of what we can expect from the year.
The test saw Ferrari finish the day at the top of the standings, with the car looking great on the track in the hands of both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Throughout the three days, there was plenty of running from all teams. Haas stood out with more than 400 laps in the three days, as teams didn't face many reliability issues either.
The first of the 24 races will be held in Bahrain and will kick off a long and arduous season. What can we expect from the 2024 F1 season? Here are our predictions for the year.
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#1 Max Verstappen and Red Bull win the title
This one might seem to be a consensus answer for many. Max Verstappen has been stunning in terms of what he's achieved in the car in the last three years.
Unfortunately for F1, the worst thing that can happen in a sport is for the best driver to combine with the best team. That's what we have once again in 2024, as Max Verstappen and Red Bull are the favorites to win comfortably.
#2 Red Bull will not be as dominant as they were in the 2023 F1 season
The 2023 F1 season saw Max Verstappen win 19 of the 22 races, while Red Bull won 21 events. That kind of dominance comes together in a manner that not many would expect, and it requires a lot of things to fall in place.
In 2024, while it does appear that Red Bull is starting the season with an advantage similar to last year, it would be a surprise if there is no convergence at the front. What Red Bull did in 2023 is stunning and it's very hard to see that being repeated.
#3 Sergio Perez loses his seat to Daniel Ricciardo
Sergio Perez is on his last legs at Red Bull, having entered the final season of contract with the team. With Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings at V-Ca-RB and seemingly confident this year, we might be looking at the Mexican doing his last season with the Austrian team.
#4 Seven teams will score podiums this season
This one might seem optimistic, but it does make you take a step back when you realize that the 2023 F1 season saw six different teams score podiums. This season, we're adding V-Ca-RB to the list of last season as well and that would make it seven different teams finishing on the podium.
#5 Mercedes' driver lineup will have a few flashpoints
The two drivers at Mercedes already had a couple of crashes last year, but we believe this is only going to ramp up in 2024. Lewis Hamilton will leave the team at the end of the season for Ferrari, and there could be an intrinsic leaning from the team towards George Russell.
With two highly competitive and hungry drivers on the same team, we're looking at a few clashes between the two for sure.
#6 At least 3 different F1 teams win races this season
This one might appear to be a tad conservative. Even in a very dominant season like 2023, we had two different teams winning. This time around, we're expecting (and hoping) for closer competition.
At the very least, we're expecting three teams to win a race this season, but it could certainly be more than that.
#7 The racing will suffer with the return of turbulent air
This is something that wasn't truly explored during the F1 pre-season test but one of the major red flags last season was a steep jump in the loss of downforce while following a car. This should not be happening under the new regulations, as they were created keeping this limitation in mind.
The aerodynamic development of the cars around the front wings and the upper body has played a role in this. If the number increases further, we're looking at a major drop in the racing ability of these cars.
#8 Ferrari beats Mercedes in the F1 championship
This one might come down to the fact that we're banking on things going awry at Mercedes between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. There is a feeling that the harmony that many expect in a team might not be there this year, and that could lead to a less efficient run for the German team.
Ferrari, on the other hand, is clearly a team that's surging right now and should be the favorite to get the better of Mercedes.
#9 Charles Leclerc finishes second in the F1 championship
This might be controversial in the eyes of many, but we're picking Charles Leclerc to finish second in the championship. Ferrari seems to have a decent starting point this season, and the team is starting to lean more towards Leclerc. This could just be the impetus and the confidence that he needs to show what he can do.
#10 Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri will be an intense rivalry
Just like the Hamilton-Russell battle at Mercedes, the Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri battle at McLaren will likely be very interesting.
Piastri is a very interesting prospect and is someone that many rate very highly. This year, he will enter the season with the experience of racing at almost all the tracks on the calendar. We could see the Australian truly kicking things up a notch this time around and making it count.
