Breaking Curses and Shifting Fortunes: Formula 1 Summer Season Recap
The race is down to its final lap, with three drivers neck-and-neck, separated by just half a second. In a thrilling finish, George Russell of Mercedes crossed the line first to win the Belgian Grand Prix! But, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Briton is later disqualified by the officials for his car being underweight. The win is thereby handed to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, causing Team Mercedes to lose a one-two finish.
As the season progressed, the initial races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and China gave the impression that this year would mirror the 2023 season. With Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s constant execution of one-two finishes placing them in an early lead, their absolute domination of the first half of the 2023 season seemed inevitable for viewers. However, this season also marked the breaking of several long-standing curses along with symbolic challenges and barriers that have haunted certain drivers and teams for years. These “curses” refer to impossible feats that have not been seen in F1 for a while or unattainable achievements for specific individuals, such as victories always being out of reach for some drivers.
Lando Norris - McLaren Racing
One of the most significant moments of the season came when Lando Norris would finally break his curse of only ever coming close but never quite being first. At the Miami International Autodrome, Norris won his first-ever race ever since the start of his career in 2019. With his multitude of near-victories from prior seasons, Norris seemingly pulled off the impossible by knocking Verstappen off the top podium.
Charles Leclerc - Scuderia Ferrari
Just one race later, Monaco celebrated the return of their 'golden boy' as Charles Leclerc became the first Monégasque in 93 years to win the Monaco Grand Prix. "The grandstands he saw built as a kid growing up now rise for him…this fabled race is won by one of their own. Charles Leclerc wins the Monaco Grand Prix to achieve his dream!" aptly exclaimed commentator Alex Jacques, showing the magnitude of this triumph.
Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG Petronas
The last curse to be broken also proved that there is no such thing as ‘never.’ Lewis Hamilton broke nine records in his long-awaited Grand Prix victory since his heartbreaking 2021 season that saw the rise of Verstappen. Hamilton’s win in the 12th race of the calendar in the British Grand Prix solidified his lead in the records. The British racer now possesses the most race wins in Formula 1 history (104), most podium finishes in Formula 1 history (199), most wins at a single circuit (9), and is the first driver to win a race in 16 different seasons, just to name a few. Furthermore, the victory also allowed him to break one of the most significant records in F1 history, becoming the first driver to win even after finishing 300 races. When asked to comment on the broken curse at the beginning of the 2023 season, Hamilton declared, “There has never been [another] driver like me!"
In addition to the three broken curses of the 2024 season, Oscar Piastri's first-place finish in the penultimate race in Hungary and Hamilton's victory in the final race in Belgium have resulted in seven different winners across fourteen races. The winners were Max Verstappen (7), Lewis Hamilton (2), George Russell (1), Carlos Sainz (1), Charles Leclerc (1), Lando Norris (1), and Oscar Piastri (1). This list of winners has made this season the most competitive in recent history. By gathering the average of the point differences of the last five seasons, the 2024 season has the smallest gap average among the leading six drivers (2024: 21pts, 2023: 62pts, 2022: 36pts, 2021: 23pts, 2020: 40pts) in the Driver Standings, as of now.
As the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 season unfolds, we should expect the unexpected. With tensions rising as the season returns, be prepared for “lights out and away we go” as the fight for the crown intensifies.
