2024 F1 Constructors' title: Ferrari's ambitions fueled by Lando Norris underperforming
11/08/2024 12:02 PM
Scuderia Ferrari is still aiming for the world constructors’ championship, this is one of the few positive aspects for the Italian side at the end of round 21 of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was held last weekend at the 4.309-kilometre Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo. In Formula 1, as long as mathematics does not rule it out, it is definitely right to keep pushing to sustain one's goals and aspirations. Now it remains to be seen what they are really made of. Regardless of the outcome of the constructors’ championship, it is worth pointing out that if Ferrari still believes in the title and Max Verstappen has already secure the Drivers’ championship, it is also due to the performances of an overrated driver or maybe simply a still inexperienced driver. We are clearly talking about Lando Norris, who certainly does not lack talent, but has appeared unprepared in the battle for the world title. This shows the wide gap between being able to win and having to win, beyond pure driving skill. These are the elements emerging in the competitive 2024 Formula 1 season.
The body language of the British driver from McLaren has completely changed since the car he has at his disposal offered him the chance to constantly compete for race victories and therefore the F1 title. Max Verstappen, in addition to being a great driver, has slowly dismantled his friend's certainties. The Dutch driver has done this with sometimes aggressive and sublime driving, as shown last Sunday in the Brazilian Grand Prix. After the debacle in Interlagos, the McLaren driver is almost certainly not going to win the drivers’ championship. A divine miracle or a sudden new technical crisis at Red Bull would be needed.
But if he truly nurtures the ambition to become a Formula 1 world champion in the future, he must undoubtedly “immediately recover” from a mental point of view, even if the blow in Brazil was a true knockout punch. In some ways, this season is very similar to the 1995 championship, when seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher demolished, on and off the track, Briton Damon Hill. This was despite Williams having the best F1 car on the grid. That setback helped the Englishman a lot, who managed to fulfill his dream the following year by winning his first and only world title.
For McLaren, success over Ferrari in this final part of the season therefore depends on synergy between its drivers. Lando Norris must send a signal to himself, his rivals, and his team, which continues to lead the constructors' standings ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with three rounds until the end of the championship. On paper, the round in Ayrton Senna's home country should have been the best stage to extend the lead over the competition, especially against Ferrari. Yet the Maranello team managed to limit the damage thanks to Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri was also truly disappointing especially in Sunday’s race. In the final three rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 campaign, the British team led by Andrea Stella needs the best version of its drivers, a factor from which the team cannot deviate if it wants to secure its title.
With the exception of the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren's pair of drivers has not been able to maximize the potential of the MCL38 single-seater. Ferrari, unlike the British rivals, has never truly been in the fight for the drivers' title. What could superficially be seen as a negative factor has instead helped set aside harmful individualism. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, except for sporadic exceptions, have sacrificed their personal ambitions in order to contribute to the ultimate goal of the historic Italian team, namely to win the constructors’ title again after sixteen years.
This is a mission whose significance has been understood by the two Ferrari drivers, who, despite it not being counted as a personal success, would mark them in the legendary history of the Maranello team. Conversely, within the English team, it seems that synergy between the F1 drivers is minimal. In the Saturday short event, Oscar Piastri yielded the Sprint Race lead in the final stages, almost as if to emphasize his superiority and gentle concession in favor of his McLaren teammate. This is the current picture of the situation.
However, considering that even the team no longer seems to believe in Lando Norris's title chances after how the Brazilian Grand Prix unfolded, something might shift in the internal dynamics. The Australian could feel free to race without any subordination to his teammate, as only the sum of points, not the final driver standings, would matter. Ferrari will attempt to capitalize on this scenario where McLaren could be destabilized. The next championship round is scheduled to take place at the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada, USA and according to what Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur himself has claimed after the Brazilian Grand Prix, the upcoming round should favor the reds.
With the SF-23 last year, Charles Leclerc contested the victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix against the Red Bull cars, embellishing his performance with an overtake on Sergio Perez in the final moments of the race. Conversely, Lando Norris delivered a performance to forget, ending early after losing control of his McLaren MCL60. The British driver is called upon to react to fuel his team's ambitions and begin rebuilding that essential self-confidence which is needed to renew his bid for the drivers’ title in 2025. Meanwhile, Ferrari still hopes to snatch the title from its rival team in the coming month.
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