Thursday, November 21, 2024, 7:33 p.m.
Since the middle of the now distant summer there is a question that has been constantly repeated among Formula 1 fans: is there a World Cup? McLaren’s clear improvement has been parallel to Red Bull’s decline, something that is no coincidence, since those from Max Verstappen’s and Sergio Pérez’s team (yes, he is still at Red Bull) were caught with the trap of asymmetrical braking. and since then they have not raised their heads.
However, the revenue obtained so far and the apathy of the FIA and Formula 1 to exclude a team that had used a technical trick, at least illegal, have allowed Verstappen to reach this stage of the World Cup with his first ball. of party. The math is relatively simple: he has to win, no matter what Norris does, or at least stay ahead of him and score two more points on the Las Vegas circuit. On paper it is relatively easy, since although Norris has added more than Verstappen in six of the last ten races, he has not known how or has not been able to deliver a final blow to the illusion.
Norris, and he himself has admitted it, has not lived up to expectations. On too many occasions Norris has been ‘soft’, and in every melee he has had with Verstappen he has come out losing. It is no coincidence that what happened in Mexico ended with the three-time champion ahead, since he is one of those who is not afraid. The difference with Norris is that Verstappen knows that in Formula 1 you cannot be fussy when it comes to fighting for the title. And the British driver himself, as charismatic off the track as he is disappointing in 2024, has openly admitted it. «I probably wasn’t prepared to face Red Bull and Max. I think I am now, although it’s probably too late to do so. Maybe there are other drivers in the past who were prepared for such an occasion, but no one has faced Max so early in his career, in the middle of the season, and put up a fairly reasonable fight,” he admitted at the press conference. Thursday. It cannot be said louder: Norris has given up. If with more mathematical options he had not shown enough strength, now that Verstappen is on top and with options available, even less.
With this panorama, the interest of the three races remaining until the end of this long championship will lie in seeing which team wins the constructors’ title. It is not a minor matter, since this is where the distribution of money is played, and the matter is much more exciting. McLaren has successfully overtaken Red Bull for several races, since Sergio Pérez’s poor results have been too heavy an anchor for Verstappen’s aforementioned decline, which in turn has also allowed Ferrari to overtake them. With three races to go, those from Woking lead, those from Maranello follow them and those from Milton Keynes chase them.
Sainz, among the favorites
The foreseeable resolution of the 2024 championship will be in the second edition of the Las Vegas GP, where all the drivers have once again felt like the ‘clowns’ of the great circus. Many of them have accepted that these days they are going to experience moments that are somewhere between embarrassing, fun and unforgettable. Like Yuki Tsunoda, who was mistaken for a North Korean spy at the airport because of his appearance (he was dressed in some kind of pajamas) and was detained for a few hours, or Carlos Sainz, who was almost made to play the saxophone at a publicity event. Las Vegas stuff.
Precisely, the Spanish is one of the favorites of the weekend. He has a bad memory of last year due to an unfair sanction imposed on him after being forced to change almost his entire car due to an accident caused by poorly sealed sewers on the ‘strip’, the straight line flanked by casinos that runs through a good part of the route. . Sainz wants to forget that bittersweet weekend, which ended with a third place after Hamilton’s disqualification, and give Ferrari another victory before thinking about Williams.
Fernando Alonso does not have many expectations, aware that Aston Martin can do little or nothing, especially on a circuit like this and with the low temperatures expected, in no case more than 15 degrees. The best thing is that this will be the penultimate race of the year and that, by the grace of the calendar, there are only three left to finish the more than forgettable 2024 season for the green team.
