After a one-three finish from Sainz and Leclerc, Ferrari is now less than 30 points behind McLaren for the Constructor's title as Red Bull drops to third.
In the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz dominated the weekend by finishing on pole position after qualifying and coming in first place for his Ferrari team by race’s end. Sainz lost the lead early in the race to Max Verstappen, but was able to overtake the Dutchman on lap nine without relinquishing his control for the remainder of the race. Verstappen went on to let his frustrations affect his driving, getting cited for two 10-second penalties for separate incidents on the track.
On lap 11, he forced McLaren driver Lando Norris off the track as they battled for second place before fully driving off the track himself to overtake Norris later in the lap. After the race, Norris called Verstappen “dangerous” and said while he respects the three-time champion, he was ready to expect something like the incident that occurred and described it as “not very clean driving.”
Norris was then able to crash the Ferrari party and overtook Charles Leclerc for second place, ultimately finishing with that spot on the podium and inching closer to Verstappen in the Driver’s Championship standings. The result in Mexico City now cuts Verstappen’s lead to only 47 points, but there are also only four races remaining with two sprints included. With Ferrari’s and McLaren’s impressive finishes, the teams are now both ahead of Red Bull in the Constructor’s Champions standing heading into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 3.
The last few months of the Formula One season have been a period to forget for Verstappen, as the reigning title holder has not faced difficulties such as what he is enduring now since he first began his tenure with Red Bull. He eventually finished sixth in Mexico City, with Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell coming fourth and fifth, respectively, to keep their team’s Constructor’s title hopes somewhat alive. Currently, McLaren is 29 points clear of the Ferrari team and over 50 points ahead of Red Bull as Mercedes has essentially dropped out of the race being 200 points behind.
Norris is the betting favorite on FanDuel to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at +180, with Leclerc and Sainz trailing not too far behind with odds of +290 and +380 themselves, respectively. Verstappen is listed at +700, a far drop from being minus odds for nearly every race until his downswing began in June. Norris has been the most impressive driver of 2024 and has put to bed any thoughts of whether he can be McLaren’s number one driver for the foreseeable future.
Whether he can become a future champion in Formula One remains to be seen, as Verstappen should manage to hold onto a fourth straight title as he is still listed at -430 on FanDuel to win the Driver’s Championship this season. Norris’ odds have slowly been dropping with each race, currently set at +270 while Leclerc is really the only other contestant listed with a chance at +3100. Norris and Leclerc could both use improved 2024 seasons to propel themselves to the top of Formula One in 2025, especially if Red Bull can’t use the fast-approaching offseason to figure out what has held its vehicle back for the past four months. Verstappen has been dominant ever since taking the crown from Hamilton in 2021, but the second half of 2024 has thrown Red Bull back to the state where it was trailing Mercedes for years in overall performance.
The Mexico City Grand Prix will also include a sprint race before the Grand Prix begins on November 3, which gives the winner an opportunity to add up to 10 points to his respective total in the Driver’s standings. Perhaps with a double victory in the sprint race and Grand Prix, Norris will reach close enough to Verstappen that an improbable comeback actually occurs. With a Driver’s Championship win in 2024 or perhaps 2025, Norris would become the first driver to do so while competing with the McLaren team since Hamilton won his first of eight titles in 2008.
Behind Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, listed at +950 to claim victory in Sao Paulo below Verstappen, McLaren has seemingly finally found two drivers that will help the team compete for championships in the years to come. The team hasn’t been this well set-up for the future since originally bringing on Hamilton in 2007, only to watch him depart for Mercedes and go on to win seven championships and become one of the most successful driver’s in the sports history. He will actually be leaving Mercedes as well at the end of 2024, moving on to join Leclerc and Ferrari as Sainz will make the switch to Williams.
With the regression of Red Bull, Formula One fans have been treated to a much more exciting season than what was thought before starting in February. As most accepted that Verstappen would ease his way to a fourth title, something that looked destined throughout the spring, the rise of Norris and Leclerc into genuine competition for the Formula One crown has brought new life to the sport. Once the Sao Paulo Grand Prix concludes, Formula One will be making its return to the Las Vegas strip following a successful debut in 2023, helping to bring new eyes to the sport. If the Drivers and Constructors standings draw even closer as the season winds down towards its conclusion, Formula One should continue to gain new viewership and attract fans around the globe with Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen battling for the title.
