As the 2024 F1 season nears its conclusion, the battle between the top three teams is intensifying with just a handful of races left leading up to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
This weekend in Austin, Charles Leclerc led home teammate Carlos Sainz to secure a superb 1-2 finish for Ferrari at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, marking the Maranello-based team’s best result on American soil in 18 years.
Their dominant display has significantly impacted the Constructors’ Standings, as the Italian team has now found themselves just eight points behind second-placed Red Bull, and just 48 points off McLaren in top spot. If Ferrari’s strong performance continues, the duo could emerge as overall title contenders. McLaren hasn’t won the Constructors’ Championship in 25 years, while Ferrari’s last crown came in 2008.
In the battle for the Drivers’ Championship, there was controversy in the closing stages of the Austin race when title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both ran off the track three laps from the chequered flag. The pair had already come together at the start in the first corner, but on this occasion, Verstappen’s brilliant defense of third place was under threat from an attacking Norris. The British driver eventually found a way past — but did so off the track — and was penalized five seconds, which put him back behind Verstappen in the final classification.
Verstappen leads Norris on 354 points to 297, with five Grand Prix races and two more Sprint races remaining before the end of the season.
