F1 is a sport of evolution. Every year, there are new advancements, from the technology used in the cars, to the driver lineup. The 2024 season is not particularly heavy with change, and it retains the same identity as in 2023, but there can be a few subtle differences. As we head into race week for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sahkir, let’s see how F1 has yet again evolved.
On the grid this year are two rebranded teams. Scuderia AlphaTauri has become Visa Cashapp RB and Alfa Romeo Stake has become Stake F1 Team. Visa Cashapp RB, or more commonly referred too as “V-CARB” is boasting a dreadful name, but beyond that, the team has revealed one of the most popular liveries seen on the grid for the 2024 season. The livery is a callback to the Toro Rosso days before the team was rebranded as ÅlphaTauri.
The other team to have fully rebranded themselves for the 2024 season has been Stake F1 Team, or Kick Sauber. Stake has gone from the red and black of the past few years to a blinding neon green and black color scheme, along with the new slogan of “#unleashed”.
A shocking change this year for Formula 1 will be that there will be no new driver changes from the 2023 season. Although there is the technicality of Daniel Ricciardo, who joined after Nyck De Vries was removed from AlphaTauri, the driver lineup will remain the same for all teams, which has never occurred in Formula 1.
A small change, but nonetheless different from the 2023 F1 season are the sponsors within the sport. Williams will feature Komatsu on their car’s sidepods. Aston Martin, however, will be removing Cognizant as a primary sponsor from the team.
A major change for fans will definitely be the removal of Guenther Steiner as team principal of Haas F1. Steiner, who has become the unlikely star of Netflix F1 Docuseries Drive to Survive has been fired from the role by Gene Haas, and Ayao Komatsu, who was Steiner’s right hand man, will take over as team principal. After Haas finished in the bottom of the Constructors Championship last year, Gene Haas is looking for someone who can bring the team back up.
The 2024 F1 season will have an all time record of 24 races on its calendar this year, with the addition of the Russian Grand Prix.
The new Redbull 2024 F1 car, the RB-20, has shocked its competitors, who were designing a car based on Redbull’s 2023 car the RB-19, which enjoyed immense success by winning 22 out of the 23 races and allowing Max Verstappen to gain a third World Drivers Championship. The RB-20 features all new aerodynamics within its front wing and sidepods, and through testing, it seems as if Redbull will dominate the 2024 season as they did for 2023.
Finally, not a change for 2024, but one of the biggest headlines in the last decade of Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes to join Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team in 2025. Hamilton has won 7 World Drivers Championship with Mercedes, and in the past 3 years, he has been in the background as Max Verstappen dominated the sport. Hamilton has switched to Ferrari hoping for more success with the team, as well as fulfilling a childhood dream of racing in red. His hero, Ayrton Senna, died before he could join Ferrari, and Hamilton hopes to continue Senna’s legacy.
While 2025 may seem like the showstopper with Hamilton’s announcement, the 2024 season will still be a showstopper with the changes that have occurred, and fans will not be disappointed as the lights go out for the Bahrain Grand Prix and the racing begins once again.
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