Five big questions ahead of F1 2024’s penultimate race

Red Bull still in the hunt after Qatar GP?

Verstappen – armed with the advantage of the buffer he built up in a dominant start to F1 2024 – had a job to do in Las Vegas and took care of business, sealing the deal on his fourth title, but the struggles of Sergio Perez mean Red Bull are up against it in the battle for a third straight Constructors’ crown.

Qatar marks the penultimate round of F1 2024, and one which has shot right up there with Singapore as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar due to the extreme heat experienced in action around the 5.4km Lusail International Circuit.

McLaren lead the way in the Constructors’, 24 points up on Ferrari who closed the gap in Vegas, and 53 clear of Red Bull, who are now facing a last chance saloon scenario. If Red Bull cannot close that deficit to McLaren in Qatar, it is game over, as McLaren know that should they go into Abu Dhabi 45 points ahead of Ferrari and/or Red Bull, the title is theirs.

Red Bull will be looking at Perez with pleading eyes if they are to achieve that points swing, the Mexican racer – who is without a podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix – hurting Red Bull against the more balanced duos of Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc/Carlos Sainz at McLaren and Ferrari respectively.

Already senior advisor Helmut Marko is waving the white flag, saying there is “no chance” Red Bull can retain their title and pointing the finger at Perez for that, who is also heavily contributing to the fact that Red Bull employees “will not receive their bonuses” for a Constructors’ win. Can he offer himself a career lifeline by keeping Red Bull in the mix after Qatar?

Can McLaren prevent a last-race shoot-out?

So, that’s Red Bull’s side of the equation, but what about McLaren? Can Lando Norris and his team bounce back from the end of his title hopes in Las Vegas to ensure that F1 2024 is not a remarkable yet titleless season for McLaren?

Norris brutally said ahead of Las Vegas that Ferrari, not Red Bull, were the true threat which they were monitoring for the Constructors’ title, with that viewpoint looking increasingly accurate going into the Qatar GP. McLaren could well eliminate Red Bull from the conversation this weekend, but to do that to Ferrari, will be a much taller task.

Sainz claimed P3 in Las Vegas and Leclerc P4, two places up the road from Norris and Piastri respectively, marking a continuation of the strong form which has seen Ferrari feature on the podium across all of the last four rounds – with two victories part of that – and establish themselves as a serious title contender.

Qatar was not Ferrari’s happiest hunting ground last year, with P5 for Leclerc as good as it got, but the F1 2024 Ferrari is a stronger, more consistent threat and the prospect of McLaren turning their 24-point lead to 45 or more after the Qatar GP – which would secure them their first Constructors’ title since 1998 before Abu Dhabi even arrives – feels like a long shot.

But, could Ferrari unwillingly lend McLaren a helping hand?

Can Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz get back on the same page?

In theory, Ferrari has an ideal pair of super-talented team players in Leclerc and Sainz to bring the Constructors’ title back to Maranello and end that long title drought which has been ongoing since 2008. However, Las Vegas produced a spat which could threaten that Ferrari dream team.

Leclerc and Sainz may be out of the Drivers’ title running, allowing for clear focus on the Constructors’ Championship, but Las Vegas provided fireworks between the Ferrari drivers, with Leclerc launching an X-rated rant on the cooldown lap having felt that Sainz had gone against team orders in overtaking him for the last podium spot, declaring he “will be thinking about myself only” in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Team boss Fred Vasseur is confident that cooler heads will prevail, and Ferrari best hope so, as contact between feuding team-mates in their final races together – Sainz on his way to Williams – could mean curtains for their Constructors’ title hopes. All eyes on Qatar!

F1 2024: Head-to-head battles going into Qatar Grand Prix

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Are Mercedes back again?

The end of Red Bull’s dominant ways has made for a rather thrilling battle at the front with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all getting in on the winning action, but perhaps no team in that pack has experienced peaks and troughs quite like Mercedes.

But just as George Russell had been lamenting Mercedes’ inconsistency and Lewis Hamilton was admitting to heat-of-the-moment thoughts about an early Mercedes exit, along came Las Vegas and an impressive Mercedes one-two, Russell taking a second win of the season with Hamilton P2.

Not since mid-season had Mercedes been achieving those kinds of results, so does this signal a strong end to the season for the Silver Arrows? If the answer is yes, then Mercedes could really add an extra layer of intrigue by getting amongst McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull as they scrap for the Constructors’ title.

Can Franco Colapinto rescue his F1 career?

The world of Formula 1 moves at such a rapid rate, and that is not exclusive to what happens on the track. In recent weeks Franco Colapinto has been talked up as Red Bull-bound, either to represent VCARB or the main team from F1 2025, but such momentum feels to have slowed considerably after Las Vegas.

Colapinto’s huge shunt in Las Vegas qualifying – the impact measuring 50G+ – was his third such incident in short succession after two expensive crashes in Brazil, sparking growing concerns over his chances of securing a place in Red Bull’s F1 2025 plans.

Are his chances broken beyond repair? Perhaps. But what is certain is that a clean Qatar Grand Prix is absolutely critical for the 21-year-old Argentine if he wants to ensure that his appeal to Red Bull does not completely evaporate.