Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
By Asher Fair
Red Bull are the favorites to win a third consecutive Formula 1 world constructor championship in 2024. But who has the best chance to end their run?
Red Bull capped off the most dominant season in Formula 1 history with yet another Max Verstappen victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They ended the year with 21 wins in 22 races, with the only other win going to Ferrari and Carlos Sainz Jr. in the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes-based team were not quite as dominant during the 2022 season, but they still won 17 out of 22 races. Having lost just six of the 44 races that have been contested in the new era of regulations, it is no surprise that they are the favorites to win a third straight world constructor championship in 2024.
DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering fans an instant $150 just for betting $5, lists the two-time reigning world champions at -300 (bet $300 to win $100) to win the title again in 2024.
Who has the best chance of ending Red Bull’s run atop Formula 1 in 2024?
McLaren, which haven’t won a constructor championship since 1998, are listed as the second favorite to win the title. Here is a list of the top five.
- Red Bull: -300
- McLaren: +550
- Mercedes: +650
- Ferrari: +750
- Aston Martin: +4000
At the start of the 2023 season, McLaren looked like they were in the running to be the slowest team on the grid. But from the time they implemented a crucial update on Lando Norris’ car ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix in early July until the end of the season, they scored the second most points behind Red Bull.
One of the keys to Red Bull’s success has been consistency. While there were certainly weekends during which they were challenged throughout the 2023 season, the challengers came and went. Nobody could truly sustain a threat against them.
But once McLaren emerged on the scene, they were able to solidify themselves as the second fastest team on the grid on almost a weekly basis, and with two young, talented drivers in Norris and Oscar Piastri in their lineup, they look like they can be a factor for years to come.
In 2023, there simply wasn’t enough time for them to climb to second place in the constructor standings after their slow start.
Much has been made about Mercedes and their potential resurgence. But from the Austrian Grand Prix until the end of the season, Mercedes were actually quite comfortably beaten by both McLaren and Ferrari, despite finishing the season in second place in the standings.
You could even argue that, despite finishing one spot higher than they did last year, they even took a step back from the 2022 season, as they scored more than 100 less points and failed to win a race for the first time since 2011.
Given the new regulations that were instituted in 2022, they idea that they can somehow be “back” is a myth. Why? Because if they do manage to ascend to the top once again, which is certainly still possible, it will be because of what they’re doing now, not what they did several years ago. But it won’t be easy, especially not amid the rapid rise of McLaren.
Next. All-time Formula 1 wins list. dark
The 2024 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, March 2. The season is set to consist of a record-breaking total of 24 races spanning more than nine months.