Max Verstappen feels pressure from his team as chasing pack bares its teeth | Formula 1

AAfter the opening rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the reception for the drivers on track has been almost grim. Max Verstappen has put the competition to shame after dominating the last two years. The fact that the sport is returning from its summer break reinvigorated and has potentially formidable competition in the remaining ten races is as welcome as it is unexpected.

The Dutchman, who will contest his 200th home race at Zandvoort this weekend, has won four of the first five races for Red Bull. The only issue this race was a brake problem that cost him a likely win in Australia. At round four in Japan, he rounded Suzuka 20 seconds ahead of his nearest non-Red Bull challenger, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. It was worrying and – for all but the 26-year-old’s most ardent fans – disheartening after he crushed the field in 2022 and 2023.

Fortunately, the sport doesn’t always follow the script and ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen and Red Bull are both aware that they are in a fight. Since Lando Norris won in Miami in round six, McLaren have arguably had the quicker car and Mercedes have finally unleashed the potential of their previously recalcitrant car. The season has seen seven different winners, with the replacements jostling around Verstappen’s track.

Verstappen has not won in four races since the Spanish Grand Prix in June. He and his team are under pressure and at Zandvoort he repeatedly answered questions with a telling insistence that finding more performance was their only goal. The advantage has slipped away.

His needs have not been met with the success expected. The improvements made by Red Bull in Hungary, aimed at improving pace on the high-downforce tracks where the team struggles, have proven unimpressive. Making further use of this advantage is proving difficult.

However, Verstappen remains the title favourite and has a 78-point lead over his nearest rival Norris, but he will have to fight for every win. Norris should be closer and has admitted the small mistakes that have cost him potential wins since Miami, as has the team, given how quick his car is after major upgrades.

Since then, the McLaren has been the most consistent performer, finding itself in the hunt for victory on several occasions, with Oscar Piastri also winning at the Hungaroring. The team is expecting more and, having not deployed a major upgrade since Florida, it should have further improvements in its locker as the race progresses.

Sergio Perez’s poor performances with Red Bull have also helped McLaren, who are just 42 points behind their rivals after dominating their rivals in the last eight races. A first constructors’ title since 1998 is at stake and Red Bull’s decision to keep Perez for the second half of the season could backfire.

Mercedes is back in the game after winning three of the last four races for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, thanks to a series of updates to the W15 which, after three years of asking, is finally starting to prove itself. The team has yet to match McLaren and Red Bull, but there is a sense that a turning point has been reached.

But for Hamilton, the identity of the one team that didn’t make the mid-season party is important. Hamilton will join Ferrari next season and, despite starting as Red Bull’s closest challenger, the Scuderia has lost ground. If McLaren’s upgrade was eye-opening, Ferrari’s major effort in Spain saw the team bounce around the high-speed corners and its drivers struggle to find confidence in the car.

They have since reverted to an earlier version of the flat floor of the car and accelerated a new development. They hope to close the gap, intent on Maranello becoming competitive again and increasing the pressure on Verstappen. Their success could impact the title fight, but will be of paramount importance to Hamilton as he prepares to don red in 2025. It is another common thread in what has looked set to be a predictable season.