Following the weekend's pre-season testing in Sakhir, I provide my 2024 F1 bingo card.
Kick Sauber to Finish Best of the Rest
Kick Sauber (or Stake F1 Team) have undergone a major rebranding from their Alfa Romeo label. A flashy new neon green livery comes with it.
CEO Andreas Seidl has a wealth of experience in managing a "best of the rest" team, with a stint of being team principal at McLaren. Speaking of experience, Valtteri Bottas has bags of it - winning ten races for Mercedes. Driver number two, Zhou Guanyu, has shown promising moments (qualifying 5th in Hungary): this could be his breakthrough year.
The new car has excited fans, with a new pull-rod front suspension inspired by F1 giants Red Bull Racing. Furthermore, Audi may also have some influence over the team as they prepare to take over in 2026. I (boldly) predict a fifth-place finish.
George Russell to Outscore Lewis Hamilton
With the internet-breaking news of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes and joining Ferrari next season, I expect Toto Wolff and co to put all of their eggs in George Russell's basket.
The 26-year-old has shown maturity and even won his first race in 2022: the first-ever season in which Hamilton failed to. Russell could be the key to Mercedes challenging Red Bull in the future, and so it makes sense to give his car priority and attention over Hamilton who will be leaving at the end of the year.
Russell outscored Hamilton in 2022 by 35 points, and whilst 2023 saw the 7-time world champion beat him by a landslide, it was arguably not proportionate to track performance.
Aston Martin to Finish Bottom Three
Aston Martin had a successful 2023 finishing in fifth place. However, Lawrence Stroll's team earned 62.5% of their points in the first nine races of the season (40.9% of the total races).
The team are already on a downward trajectory, and will likely be limited in their spending ability after producing such an incredibly quick car at the start of 2023. Additionally, due to a fifth-place finish, their wind tunnel time will be significantly reduced from last season: the higher you finish the less you receive.
Following testing, I expect Kick Sauber and Visa Cash App RB to improve on last season. Alpine were arguably already on par with Aston Martin by the end of the 2023 season, and Williams were performing well too. I find it hard to choose three teams that Aston Martin can finish above.
Constructor's Championship:
Red Bull
Mercedes
McLaren
Ferrari
Kick Sauber
RB
Alpine
Aston Martin
Williams
Haas
Driver's Championship:
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Lando Norris
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri
Valtteri Bottas
Carlos Sainz
Yuki Tsunoda
Pierre Gasly
Zhou Guanyu
Esteban Ocon
Daniel Ricciardo
Fernando Alonso
Alex Albon
Lance Stroll
Nico Hulkenberg
Kevin Magnussen
Logan Sargeant
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