Max Verstappen and cost of championship: Mercedes pushes Ferrari further from F1 title
Today at 06:46 AM
Max Verstappen does not falter and secures the fourth Formula 1 world championship of his career, cementing his position in the history of the most important motorsport category. For the Dutchman, this is the hardest-fought title since 2021, fully earning it by capitalizing on Red Bull’s superiority in the first part of the 2024 F1 season and taming the unruly RB20 in the second half of the year. Mercedes also celebrates at the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada, delivering a performance beyond all expectations, leaving Ferrari further from their world title dream.
All the headlines belong to Max Verstappen, who clinched a world championship that fully validates his merits. The Dutchman made the difference early in the season, winning 4 of the first 5 races when Red Bull was still the best car on the grid. Even more crucial were the subsequent victories in Imola, Barcelona, and Montreal, which were made possible only through flawless execution by the Austrian team and driver. Equally decisive were the points secured after the summer, despite the RB20 having become the third force on the grid, further weakened by its extreme bodywork, which forced Max Verstappen to serve two grid penalties for using engines beyond the seasonal limit.
Credit also goes to Red Bull, which at the beginning of the year benefited from the technical superiority built over previous seasons. Legendary car designer Adrian Newey has repeatedly emphasized that the fundamental concept of the RB20 is the same as in 2022 in terms of cockpit positioning, suspension layouts, and chassis geometries. The Milton Keynes team was the first to master the ground-effect regulations, reaping the benefits even three years after their debut. However, the 2024 Formula 1 championship would not have been possible without the risks taken to extract further performance from the same concept, which Red Bull acknowledged by the end of 2023 had reached its limit.
The question now is whether the world champions will have to pay the price for these development choices in 2025. Even in Las Vegas, the least problematic track for overheating, Red Bull ran with maximum cooling configuration, suggesting they have definitively abandoned the early-season bodywork for reliability reasons. An even greater challenge will be correcting the RB20’s inherent flaws, exacerbated by updates that squeezed aerodynamic load and efficiency at the expense of balance and drivability.
During 2024, Max Verstappen skillfully managed the unpredictability of the Red Bull, overshadowing the warning signs which were evident in Sergio Perez’s performances and risking compromising the 2025 campaign before it even begins. In this regard, the Dutchman still has room for improvement. In an era where technology cannot simulate every aspect of ground-effect dynamics, the driver is crucial in communicating the car’s response to aerodynamic updates before it is too late, as happened this year. With nothing left to prove in terms of driving talent, 2025 will be Max Verstappen’s chance to demonstrate above all his technical expertise.
George Russell’s victory brings Mercedes’ season total to four race victories. The Nevada one-two was a result few could have predicted just hours before the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, when data suggested Ferrari as the favorite. In Friday's simulations, George Russell’s race pace ranked among the worst, trailing Max Verstappen by a tenth, Ferrari by nearly four, and McLaren by eight. Yet, in the race, the Briton delivered an excellent management of the medium tire in the first stint, taking advantage of his clear air position and defending it from Charles Leclerc’s attacks. Lewis Hamilton's final charge, with an even better pace, cemented the Silver Arrows' superiority this weekend in Las Vegas.
The W15 single-seater performed excellently throughout the weekend, free of the bouncing issues suffered in the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit and still plaguing other teams, such as Aston Martin, in Las Vegas. Mercedes lacked a rear wing suited to the Nevada circuit, but while Red Bull had to adapt the Jeddah wing, Mercedes could rely on the more efficient Spa-Francorchamps wing. However, the W15’s efficiency still lags behind Ferrari and McLaren, which raced in Monza configurations.
Paradoxically, the excess downforce helped warm the tires and mitigate graining on the cold, slippery Las Vegas track surface, compensating for its straight-line speed disadvantage. The result demonstrates that Mercedes' problem in 2024 was not so much aerodynamic efficiency or load, but tire temperature. The priority for the 2025 Formula 1 campaign will be shifting the operational window, eliminating the need to rely on autumn climates to aim for victories.
There is a sense of disappointment at Maranello, both for the lower-than-expected points haul and the missed victory. Las Vegas should have been the perfect track for the SF-24 single-seater, but the cold hampered a car that has often excelled in hot conditions. The issue is not just tire warming but an ideal operating window skewed toward higher temperatures, a situation in stark contrast with Mercedes, whose form therefore exceeded expectations.
The question for Ferrari is whether more could have been done in Las Vegas. The hard tire pace matched George Russell's, with the Scuderia again showing better performance with a lighter fuel load. However, Ferrari lost the race in the first stint on medium tires. Charles Leclerc lacked aggression in attacking Mercedes and then suffered from graining that appeared without warning. It is unclear, though, if a more cautious approach would have allowed the two Ferrari drivers to match the leader’s pace. Staying ahead of Lewis Hamilton, however, was within reach, but internal battles and Carlos Sainz’s pit-stop miscommunication potentially cost another six crucial points.
McLaren remains in the shadows on a track unforgiving to the MCL38. The first two race stints were disastrous, with Lando Norris lapping 1-1.2 seconds slower than George Russell in the final laps of the second stint, only to close the gap in the final phase of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. A lot of discussion in Las Vegas centered on the absence of the mini-drag reduction system, which was retrospectively deemed perfectly legal as it passed all flexibility tests but was later banned for being inconsistent with the spirit of the regulations. However, this alone does not explain McLaren’s struggles in Nevada, especially as they raced with the Monza wing configuration rather than the Baku one.
All in all Ferrari clawed back another 12 points from the Woking team, reducing the gap to 24 in the Constructors’ standings. But the championship still leans towards McLaren, not due to mathematics, as if Ferrari continues gaining 12 points per race, they would catch their rivals. Rather, the upcoming Qatar circuit favors McLaren’s strengths and exposes Ferrari's weaknesses. That said, it was also believed Ferrari would dominate in Las Vegas, but Mercedes’ unexpected one-two serves as a reminder that predictions can always be overturned.
—
The post Max Verstappen and cost of championship: Mercedes pushes Ferrari further from F1 title appeared first on Scuderia Fans.
