Dec 06 2024 3 mins
This weekend the 2024 Formula 1 season draws to a close at a carpark in Abu Dhabi
The driver’s championship has been sealed by the alpha peddler Max Verstappen.
The real championship, the constructors title, is still up for grabs.
This is where the money is at. This is where the teams attempt to claw back a fistful of the obscene amounts of money they’ve chewed up and spat out through the season.
Red Bull are out of the picture and has been for some time thanks to the ham-fisted and cumbersome efforts of their number two driver, the hapless Mexican Sergio Perez, who is stinking up his seat by virtue of millionaire investments and his ability to flog soft drink to central America. But that’s F1, the best drivers in the world racing against guys only there because of the finance they bring.
The constructer's title is a scrap between Ferrari and McLaren. This is where the fascination lies, the ability of four drivers to justify their seats and show their teams why they’re in F1.
In McLaren, it’s Aussie Oscar Piastri and English silver-spooner Lando Norris. Piastri runs hot and cold, but has picked up a win this year and looks to be talent to be reckoned with over the next few seasons. Norris is a driver who has the skills —three wins in 2024— but not the temperament required to lead a team to the promised land. No surprises for me if he runs out of talent when it really counts.
In Ferrari, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerk are waving the flag for the Tifosi, the maddest and most passionate fans in motorsport, maybe sport full stop.
Sainz has collected a brace of wins, Leclerk has three and is fighting Norris for second in the drivers’ championship, but Sainz appears to be the man who carries calm with him around the tracks.
The scrap between second and third for the drivers could well determine the constructers championship, which peddler can hold his nerve when it really means something.
The problem here is Leclerk got handed a 10 place grid penalty overnight for a new battery pack, which kind of makes my words redundant.
The other bunfight is down the grid between Haas and Alpine, 6th and 7th place up for grabs, the difference in prize money around NZ$15 million.
But for your average Kiwi racecar fan, this weekend is all about Liam Lawson’s last chance to prove his worth and collect a drive for next year’s championship. Lawson v Tsunoda is the scrap that will have my full attention.
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