Formula 1, hunt for Verstappen: Ferrari, Mercedes and…

We’ve had an entire winter to metabolize, yet it’s as if Max Verstappen stunned us all with his attacks last year. We almost don’t realize the extent of what he has done: 19 victories out of 22 races is something that is unprecedented in the history of a World Championship that has lived almost all of its three-quarters of a century under the rule of tyrants. Dictators are often little or not challenged at all, because from time to time they are put in a position to win by means superior to those of others. And if the 19 victories still don’t give an idea, here’s another fact: in 22 races, with the additional point for the fastest lap and those of the six Sprints, a total of 620 points were on the table in 2023. Verstappen made 575, or he took 92.7%. All those (Ascari, Fangio, Clark, Graham Hill, Brabham) who had higher percentages put them together at the time when the worst results were discarded.

enough William

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It’s an important premise, because that’s where we start. For a year in which we learned “Il Guglielmo” by heart. This is how the Dutch affectionately call their anthem, Het Wilhelmus, which had never resonated on an F.1 track before the advent of Max and which in recent years, thanks to him (or because of him), has become an everlasting column sound every weekend. Here, the hope is to change the tune, to have a little more uncertainty, if nothing else. And with the aspiration, if anything, to hear Fratelli d’Italia after the Monegasque or Spanish anthem. Logic suggests that the gap should have narrowed, if not closed. One year later, with the same rules, an approach in performance should be physiological. And the same tests in Bahrain, with moderation, confirmed this. Especially since Red Bull took a risk. Other than “you don’t change a team that wins”: Adrian Newey with the RB20 overturned the lines and concepts of the RB19 which had also been the most dominant car ever. It may be – and it is everyone’s fear – that once again he has seen what others did not imagine and that his car is always one or more steps ahead of everyone. Verstappen saying he “drove it with a smile” doesn’t bode well for the rest of the grid. But we will have to allow ourselves a bit of hope also linked to the uncertainty, at least for the first races of the season. Especially because – and this is a fact – the others have improved, Ferrari above all. Certainly in terms of tire degradation and handling, ease of understanding. And therefore, consequently, hopefully, on the race pace, an aspect in which last year he paid more than anything else against Red Bull. On this, above all, the hope of Leclerc and Sainz is based. In Bahrain they appeared relieved, even before being confident. However, less is known about Mercedes. It is the one that seems to have hidden most of all. James Allison says he is certain that he is ahead of Ferrari and that Red Bull is far away. We will see. And we will also soon understand how much Hamilton will be put in the right conditions to try the chase.

the trouble

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In reality, however, it would not seem that RB is far away. Verstappen is. On the one hand, thinking about the crazy level of complexity reached by the cars and Newey’s brilliant acumen capable of standing out in an already very high level panorama, one would conclude that the drivers’ championship almost makes no sense. The best engineer(s) wins. We might as well then just consider the Constructors’ classification. But then you see the difference between Max’s performances and those of Sergio Perez and you understand that, even if his dominance has bored us, there is something extraordinary to observe. While cheering for Ferrari, or for anyone else, one cannot help but admire a masterpiece that began at Imola 2022 and for which no one has yet been able to find a remedy. One cannot fail to recognize Verstappen, apparently the coldest and most robotic of drivers on the track, who is saving the human factor in the space F.1 of 2024.