Could Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen to the F1 2024 title? Jean Alesi believes McLaren could prove to be an ‘important ally’ to Ferrari in the fight against Red Bull for the F1 2024 World Championships.
After winning all but one race in F1 2023, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were expected to dominate again in F1 2024. However, despite winning four of the first five races with three one-two finishes, Red Bull has appeared increasingly vulnerable. They’ve won only one of the last three races.
With Lando Norris triumphing for McLaren in Miami and Charles Leclerc winning from pole position in Monaco, Red Bull’s lead in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings has been significantly reduced. Verstappen heads into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix leading Leclerc by just 31 points, and Red Bull is only 24 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings.
Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, who claimed his only grand prix victory in Montreal in 1995, sees no reason why Scuderia cannot challenge Red Bull for both titles, especially with a resurgent McLaren taking valuable points away from Red Bull.
When asked if Ferrari can target the Constructors’ Championship, Alesi replied, ‘Not only that. There are 16 more grands prix on the calendar and Ferrari seems to me to be on the rise. And then there is also an important ally that can help beat Red Bull and I am talking about McLaren.’
Carlos Sainz, who claimed Ferrari’s first victory of the F1 2024 season at the Australian Grand Prix, agreed that common sense dictates Red Bull remains the favorite. He stated, ‘I think my common sense tells me that on normal tracks Red Bull should still be favourites. Domination, like we were seeing, hopefully not. But favourites, yes. And then it will be a very tight fight with both McLaren and us. I think we are all three at a very similar level.’
Sainz continued, ‘I think Ferrari we will have our opportunities. I think McLaren will have their opportunities. But when I talk about a normal track, we can talk about maybe a Barcelona. I think Canada is quite specific but a Barcelona or any European track, what I consider to be a normal track, I still think Red Bull will be favourites, but I don’t think they’ll dominate like they used to do. That’s good news for the championship. And it’s just worth being within a tenth or two in qualifying, that even if they’re favourites, they cannot afford to do any mistakes. And that’s where both Ferrari and McLaren, we can capitalise, which is a position that in Bahrain, race one [of F1 2024], no one was [able] to be there.’
With 16 races remaining in the F1 2024 season, the competition is far from over. Ferrari and McLaren are emerging as potential challengers to Red Bull’s dominance, making for an exciting and unpredictable title race.
Source: Planetf1
