It is not at all obsolete that looking at a Formula 1 world championship the feeling of not being full arises. It's physiological when we talk about the highest category of motorsport. The cause of this sense of incompleteness lies in the fact that the Formula 1 it's not a single brand like Formula 2, 3 and many other categories. Therefore, the values are sometimes confusing.
The diversity between the teams is what has made this sport great and unique, but the cross of all this is the question that torments all fans: who knows what the world championship would be like if everyone could compete with the car they wanted. Given certain names, we probably wouldn't be facing the constant tyranny of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman no longer loses: he is a six consecutive successes and he doesn't seem to want to give up on Vettel's record. The comparison with your partner is devastating. Max could in fact lead the constructors' championship alone, with even a margin. For simplicity, we will exclude it from the analysis. If that doesn't count as a compliment...
A utopian model for analyzing champions
Not all the same cars. But machines tailor-made for each driver like a haute couture suit, just like in the case of Verstappen. This is a bit of an unrealizable hypothesis that can make us smile, which serves as a pretext for us to travel with our mind in an imaginary world championship where the only difference between performances is the talent of the driver. The aim is to understand who, if they had the "perfect" car, would be fighting for the championship with Max Verstappen.
Rarely the circus it counted as many talents as today. This is thanks to the evolution of sport in all sectors, which has led to the pressing and forced need to squeeze every milliliter of talent out of the very young in order to excel. Many fail, very few succeed. The very high selectivity of the premier class also plays a key role in giving life to this melting pot of talent, which makes the passage from the obligatory superlicense sieve to be able to access the most elite of sports.
The Sunday unpredictability behind Verstappen
We know: Verstappen is a sport apart. But behind him, the variability of the conditions we witness every weekend exalts certain drivers and cars, who alternate on the circus stage from Sunday to Sunday. This generation of single-seaters, unfortunately or fortunately, seems to be more subject to changes in the external context than past generations, as well as the large profit margins that allow for any successful updates - just think of McLaren -.
The result of this unpredictability is the rotation of names competing for the podium. AND at the same time, the protagonists are often the generational talents mentioned in the paragraph just above. To better discuss the pilots involved, we need to open the "team" discussion, to better understand how the context in which they are inserted is positively or negatively influencing the year of some.
McLaren: a school-breaking reaction
In Bahrain the papaya team closed one of its worst weekends. 9 stages were enough for it to rise to second provisional force. The MCL60 is a single-seater that likes "autumn" conditions, in fact, in Monaco it didn't go badly despite the seasonal conditions. Great work has been done in Woking in many respects, e.g as soon as the vehicle was up to par, the pilots appeared, two of the brightest champions on the grid. Norris we know it. English he manages to coordinate an incisive driving style and obsessive attention to not making mistakes. On the other hand, he is on the podium among the drivers who cost the least in terms of damage, and in previous years the situation was very similar.
On the other hand there is Oscar piastri. The Australian he took home the F3 and F2 world championships on the first try. Something that very few can do and which takes the form of the CV most sought after by teams. On Sunday, if it hadn't been for an unfortunate safety car, he would have sealed the McLaren podium. It's not everyone's job to be there as soon as the car allows. The 22-year-old from Melbourne seems to be "one of those", and has already shown flashes of preciousness which only elevate him to a potential champion. Not a bad pairing.
The decline of Aston and the unpredictability of Mercedes
The Verdona fairytale didn't last long. The AMR23 started like lightning collecting half of the podiums in the first ten races. But the Silverstone team seems tired. What is certain is that Fernando Alonso he had found the perfect lady. The Spaniard's talent has no expiration date, and his eternal hunger testifies that if he had the car he has been looking for for too many years, the Spanish Ulysses would be there in front playing with the "kids".
More solid Classic Mercedes for sale. Often the star saves some performance on Saturday to perform better on Sunday. The team listened to the development direction dictated by Hamilton, and performances improved significantly. The star pairing is probably the most talented. On the other hand, it is second in the constructors' standings.
The most precious jewel, especially from a future perspective, It's definitely Russell. English he combines sublime speed with an ability to read the race worthy of a veteran. Always the first to take risks, always standing at attention when opportunities arise that some don't even see. The F2 world championship won on his debut only confirms how threatening he can be if one day he will have the car he deserves.
Leclerc's taste against Verstappen
In this case we no longer speak hypothetically. Yes, because he had the car that Leclerc dreamed of, but for much less time than he would have hoped for. In the first races of last year the F1-75 and the RB18 were very similar, and the Monegasque was able to dispel the doubts of anyone who didn't put him on the same level as his lifelong rival. On certain occasions, if the two had raced in black overalls and cars, there would have been some doubt as to who was the new world champion and who was not.
The situation Ferrari is navigating is not enviable, but there is hope. The new Vasseur era is promising better than the previous one, and there is no doubt that the unfortunate Silverstone is nothing more than an acute negative due to a poor understanding of the medium. Leclerc will arrive, with or without Ferrari, and those who are passionate about this sport, regardless of the faith they profess, can't wait.
