Confrontation of generations
Formula 1 season A75 starts on the other side of the world in Australia, and will have 24 major awards and six Sprint races (always on Saturday), with the particularity of the United States having four races… It is the Liberty Media law, owner of Formula 1, to speak louder. There is high expectation to realize where the 20 riders who make up the elite of automobile sports are positioned.
Pre-season tests are never totally revealing, but give a first idea of what teams prepare for this time. If the indications left by Bahrain tests are confirmed, the championship will be quite competitive, as there were very small differences between the main teams. In previous years, Max Verstappen and Red Bull crushed the rivals the first time they went to the track and left the distressed Paddock. This year, the story was completely different. Williams was the most evolved team and got the best time with Carlos Sainz, followed by Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes) and only then the world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) appears. « Over the past six months, we have worked hard in this car and have made improvements, but we have to wait for Melbourne to realize what extent we are, » said Frédéric Vassur, Ferrari's director, which features a live champion Lewis Hamilton.
This year we will watch a generation fight between the young talents and the seniors of Formula 1. Lando Norris, George Russel and Charles Leclerc dream of the first world title, while Hamilton wants to win the eighth steering wheel of a scuderia car – if this happens, the driver and the team with the most titles in Formula 1 are side by side, and Verstappen wants to equal Michael Schumacher with five consecutive titles. After three years of complete domain, the four -time champion will face greater difficulties and we all know how to react when not in the fight for victory. Isack Hadjar, Olivier Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan are the rookies of the year, although some already have Formula 1 experiences for participating in training and running last year.
The technical regulation has not changed, so most teams maintain the concept of cars of the previous year, where each monolugar was valued at 15 million euros, only the motor/transmission set is evaluated at 10 million euros (!) And one of the cheapest parts is the wheel, which costs 50 thousand euros. The main changes are intended to increase the safety of pilots and the scoring system. In order to improve the comfort and safety of pilots under extreme heat conditions, a cooling system will be introduced when the outside temperature exceeds 31 degrees. Another change is the suppression of the bonus point attributed around the fastest running in running, which had been introduced in 2019. This bonus could give 24 points to a pilot and somehow distort the championship.
It will be a transitional season thinking of 2026, when the new technical regulation comes into force, which completely changes the aspect of monologues, if this will bring greater competitiveness and more emotion to races we will soon see.
The increase in Formula 1 popularity is due to Netflix's 'Drive To Survive' series. The seventh season (referring to 2024) has ten episodes and can be seen from today, March 7.
