Can Lando Norris whiz past Max Verstappen in an ever-tightening F1 title race? Premium

Formula One's 2024 season sees McLaren challenging Red Bull for the championship, with Norris aiming to dethrone Verstappen.

After returning from the almost month-long summer break in late August, Formula One had four exciting races before going into hibernation again.

The 2024 season is the longest in the sport’s 75-year history, with a record 24 races, which necessitated this unusual autumn break.

As the F1 circus gears up for the final sprint to the finish, with six races scheduled over the next eight weeks — starting this weekend in Austin — there is palpable excitement at the prospect of a close fight for both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

It’s not what many would have expected at the start of the year when Max Verstappen and Red Bull seemed destined for their third consecutive championship double.

Verstappen, gunning for his fourth drivers’ title, started by winning four of the first five races. After the Chinese GP, the Dutchman’s nearest rival was teammate Sergio Perez, who was 25 points behind.

But over the last 13 races, McLaren and Lando Norris have changed the complexion of the championship. The Woking-based outfit introduced a raft of upgrades in Miami, the sixth race of the year, where Norris claimed his maiden F1 win.

Over the last five months, McLaren has leapt forward. It has developed the fastest car on the grid. Around the same time, Red Bull, having hit a performance ceiling, gradually backslid. These twin occurrences have resulted in a dramatic turnaround on the leaderboard.