F1 showdown

Hot three-way battle! One more world championship title to be awarded

Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari are fighting for the constructors' title.

(Bild: AFP/APA/GABRIEL BOUYS)

After Max Verstappen's title coronation in Las Vegas, the Constructors' Championship is still up for grabs shortly before the end of the Formula 1 season. With McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, three teams are battling it out to win the coveted team championship.

In practical terms, however, the Austro racing team has little chance of successfully defending its title. The penultimate Grand Prix weekend of the year in Qatar, where the final sprint is on the program, could be the deciding factor.

McLaren is 24 points ahead of Ferrari, which means that the traditional British racing team is aiming for its first constructors' title since 1998. Ferrari's drought has continued since 2008. The Papaya team would have to extend its lead by 21 points for a possible preliminary decision. In any case, it all boils down to a duel between Woking (McLaren) and Maranello (Ferrari), as the bulls are already 53 points behind.

Marko criticizes Perez
There is one main reason for this: Sergio Perez has so far collected 251 points fewer than team-mate and world champion Verstappen. "Then it's clear that the constructors' title is not going to happen. The gap between the two drivers is by far the biggest for us," emphasized Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko in an ORF interview in Las Vegas. Perez's future at RB will be decided immediately after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, said the 81-year-old Styrian.

Sergio Perez lagged far behind Verstappen this year.

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

At McLaren, the difference in level between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (72 points) is significantly smaller, as is the difference at Ferrari between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (60). In Las Vegas, where Perez finished tenth and scored just one point, the Scuderia reduced its deficit in the team standings by a small margin. Despite the double victory of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the gambling metropolis, Mercedes is cemented in fourth place.

McLaren with good memories of Qatar
On the Lusail International Circuit, the sprint race on Saturday (3pm) will be the first race for points, and the role of favorite is also open in the Grand Prix on Sunday (5pm). Last year, Piastri finished on the top step of the podium in the sprint for the first time in motorsport's premier class, and in Verstappen's Grand Prix victory the following day, Piastri and Norris crossed the finish line just behind the Dutchman. "The circuit and the conditions in Qatar should suit us better than last weekend. That's why I'm excited to see what we can do," said Norris.

In 2023, Verstappen (center) won ahead of Piastri (left) and Norris (right).

(Bild: AFP/APA/KARIM JAAFAR)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was also confident. "We certainly benefited from the cold at night in Las Vegas, but the layout in Qatar should suit the strengths of our car," explained the Viennese. Due to the climate optimization of the race calendar, the race weekend will no longer take place at the beginning of October this year, but directly before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, the F1 entourage had to relocate across the globe to Lusail immediately after the spectacle in the USA.