The underappreciated aspect of Verstappen’s 2024 F1 title run

Lando Norris provided a distinct tackle Max Verstappen’s 2024 title victory as Method 1 rocked up in Qatar: that Sergio Perez’s poor performances have really made issues more durable for the Dutchman.

Verstappen made headlines for saying after final weekend’s title-clinching race in Las Vegas that he would have secured his fourth successive world title “even earlier” had he been driving a McLaren or Ferrari, round Crimson Bull’s RB20 going off the boil after beginning the yr as clearly F1’s finest automobile.

However whereas Verstappen’s 4 wins from the opening six races meant he had a 53-point lead over Norris by the point McLaren received on prime of its MCL38 challenger, one aspect that appeared to work significantly in Verstappen’s favour after the pecking order at F1’s head converged is how he had no opposition from inside Crimson Bull.

For Norris at McLaren and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, each of Verstappen’s closest two challengers within the 2024 title battle have misplaced important factors due to their respective intense challenges from team-mates Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

Norris misplaced the lead in Hungary with Piastri’s first nook assault earlier than that race exploded with McLaren’s workforce orders farrago, whereas the pair’s lap one battle at Monza opened the door for eventual winner there, Leclerc, who himself has endured 5 cases (Bahrain, China, Spain, Austin and Las Vegas) the place Sainz has fought him savagely.

However when Autosport/Motorsport.com pointed this out to Norris within the Qatar GP paddock forward of this weekend’s penultimate occasion of the 2024 season, the Briton highlighted as an alternative how this might really work towards Verstappen.

“I imply, there’s execs and cons,” he replied. “There’s execs in that he has to do all of his work on his personal, which is hats off to him.

“He would not have somebody who’s pushing him, he would not have somebody attempting different issues with the automobile – you possibly can’t do A-B assessments and issues like that as a result of the info will not be as beneficial when you do not have somebody who’s performing on the similar stage.

“There’s a whole lot of issues that Max can do which can be phenomenal – driving on the stage he does persistently and not using a team-mate that may push him in any manner, [it] actually makes his life more durable from that perspective. Additionally from a workforce perspective.

“However, on the similar time, yeah, there is not any strain. He would not must beat anybody in his personal workforce and that comes with some consolation.

“However they go collectively. Generally and in some methods, I like having a little bit of strain as a result of it makes me do a barely higher job.”

However, given how the affect of intra-team battling at McLaren and Ferrari can’t be denied throughout the story of Verstappen’s profitable 2024 title hunt, Norris intriguingly added that “I hope sooner or later he has one that may problem him a bit extra”.

As Leclerc did earlier on Thursday on the Losail circuit, Norris additionally rebuffed Verstappen’s suggestion about doing higher with both an MCL38 or SF-24 quite than an RB20 in 2024 – albeit with a big dollop of fine humour.

“He ought to begin doing comedy or one thing,” Norris joked when Autosport/Motorsport.com put Verstappen’s phrases to him.

“He can say no matter he desires. After all, I fully disagree, as I might. He is good, however… It isn’t true.”