Lando Norris is just one of the obstacles Max Verstappen will face at the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix. The other is his own car.
Verstappen must tame a car he himself has described as a “monster” if he is to hold off Norris and defend his world title, with his Red Bull team’s dominance seemingly coming to an end. Verstappen and Red Bull have eluded victory in the last six races.
Norris, for his part, will be favoured by McLaren at the expense of team-mate Oscar Piastri, but will likely need a few big missteps from Verstappen and Red Bull to overcome the 62-point deficit to the Dutchman with just eight races remaining in 2024.
The goal is much more realistic on the constructors’ championship side, with McLaren only eight points behind Red Bull. A change could therefore occur as early as Sunday in Baku.
And new rivals to Red Bull are emerging, fuelled by the Austrian brand’s expertise.
The departure of renowned engineer Adrian Newey, who will join the Aston Martin team, is a sign of the long-term ambition of a team backed by Quebec billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
Identified as the “team of the future” by driver Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin is looking ahead to the 2026 season, when new regulations could shake up the hierarchy. Newey designed the Red Bull cars that led the team to the championship in the last two seasons.
Aston Martin has also indicated that it is open to reaching an agreement with Verstappen, whose contract with Red Bull is due to end in 2028.
Another lieutenant of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, will leave at the end of the season to lead Audi’s ambitious new team, which will arrive in 2026.
In the immediate term, Red Bull has little room to improve the car, which was dominant at the start of the season. McLaren and Mercedes seem to have more stable and adaptable concepts.
The car “was almost like it was on rails and I could do what I wanted,” Verstappen said after winning the Chinese GP in April, his fourth in five races to start the season. But every upgrade since then has made the car less stable and increased tyre wear.
“We went from a very dominant car to an undriveable car in what, six to eight months?” he said in Italy.
Confusion of the “Papaya Rules”
Confirmation that McLaren will prioritise Norris over team-mate Piastri should boost the Briton’s title fight. But questions remain unanswered.
With vague “papaya rules” – in honour of the team’s orange colour – in place for the Italian Grand Prix, Norris and Piastri, who started the race in first and second positions, slipped away from victory.
Piastri passed Norris on the first lap, allowing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to also pass, and when the two McLaren drivers competed for the fastest laps, their tyre wear allowed Leclerc to prevail with a one-stop strategy.
What the “papaya rules” meant has never been fully explained, other than that the two teammates were not to come into contact. Norris’ “prioritization” is almost as mysterious.
Norris suggested on Thursday that Piastri should let him pass if he is in front, unless he was in a position to win and “deserved it”. Will there be a repeat of the scenes from the Hungarian Grand Prix, when the team’s one-two finish was marred by clumsy radio calls for Norris to hand the lead back to Piastri? It is unclear.
Leclerc, the fastest
Red Bull showed a better side in both free practice sessions on Friday.
Verstappen was the fastest driver in the first session, his final lap giving him a margin of 313 thousandths of a second over Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Perez, Norris, Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) and Piastri followed in order.
The first session was marked by three red flags, including two for the accidents of Leclerc and Franco Colapinto (Williams).
Leclerc recovered well to be the fastest driver in the second session, with a tiny lead of six thousandths of a second over Perez. Verstappen took 6e rank, while Norris finished 17thewithout however having done a quick loop with the soft tires.
Aboard his Aston Martin, Quebecer Lance Stroll ranked 13the and 7e of the two sessions, respectively.