Over the next month I’ll be taking a look at each team heading into the marathon that will be the 24 race 2024 F1 season. Alpha Tauri haven’t even released the name they’ll be racing under this year but believe it or not the season starts in less than two months.

Let’s get into it, starting with the champs and the team that will hopefully (please someone catch Red Bull) be able to push them for the 2024 championship.

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen

What an absolute animal Max Verstappen has become. Now a three time F1 World Drivers’ Champion. Max showed no signs of slowing down in 2023, where he had arguably the most dominant F1 season of all time. I mean he won 19 of the 22 Grand Prix!! Somehow, the vast majority of those wins were never in doubt. Regardless of what his career holds moving forward Max is already an all time great F1 driver. I mean he’s already third in all time Grand Prix wins! The question is how far he can ascend. Being the GOAT is not out of the question. I think all the non Red Bull fans are hoping someone, but especially the guy I’ll get to in a little bit, can force Max to really fight for his fourth straight title. Realistically it looks like Verstappen is going to continue to dominate the sport. At least until the regulation changes in 2026, and likely beyond. A true racing Machine! He’s currently sitting at -370 to win his fourth title in 2024, that is insane!!

Sergio Perez

It feels like Checo has had to defend his Red Bull seat ever since he started driving for the team in 2021. As we’ve seen, having an all time great like Max as a teammate can be a career killer, its impossible to match someone like that week in, and week out. Sergio Perez, who turns 34 later this month, has had a successful F1 career but this could be his swan song. If you believe the rumors, Checo likely won’t make it through the season without being sacked by Christian Horner and the team. We all know Horner wants Daniel Ricciardo in that seat next to Max and Red Bull have shown they’re not shy about making in season changes. I like Checo, he seems like one of the more genuine drivers on the grid. But he had some awful qualifying performances last year and if he doesn’t show up ready to ball this year his F1 career could be over before the summer. This is going to be a major story line in the early part of the year and I for one can not wait to see how it plays out.

Mercedes – AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton

I’ll say it from the jump. Lewis is our best chance at a competitive F1 championship in 2024. Hamilton just turned 39 on January 7th, Happy Birthday Lewis! At almost 40, this could be Lewis’ best last chance at getting his elusive 8th title. Based on what we saw from Lewis last year, the fire and the talent are still at a championship level. The only question is can Mercedes deliver the car that gives Lewis a punchers chance at competing with Max. Vegas certainly doesn’t think so, having Lewis at only +850 to win the 2024 Drivers Championship. Interestingly enough, Lando Norris is ahead of him at +750. Based on the second half of 2023 those odd make sense but the smart play is to bet Mr. Hamilton race to race. All eyes will be on Lewis’ Mercedes W15 when it hits the track in preseason testing next month. It’s Hammer Time Lewis!

George Russell

Ahh Georgie boy. I must admit I’m not a huge fan of Russell but I’ll do my best to look at his prospects with an open mind. Even though he seems to draw a lot of ire, George’s driving abilities and hunger are undeniable. He unquestionably deserves to be in that Mercedes seat, the only issue is that his teammate is Lewis Hamilton. As mentioned with Red Bull, competing against an all time great in the same machinery is a dicey situation. Russell is a great driver and has championship level potential, but you could see last year having Lewis as a teammate was starting to get to him. Whether it was the desperate radio messages, constantly trying to get a leg up on strategy or just overall head to head performance it’s clear Russell knows he’s a little behind the seven time champ. Which is ok! Not many people are on pace with people like Lewis, that’s why they’re the best. Hopefully George is a little more understanding of his role in the team in 2024, and hell maybe they’ll have a championship level car and he can win multiple races along the way. Last thing, Russell is +2200 to win the drivers championship, even Vegas knows the pecking order at Mercedes.

We’ll be back with the Ferrari and McLaren preview soon!