F1
Russell: "It's time someone gave Verstappen a real fight"
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Max Verstappen was he crowned… too easily? That may be what George Russell thinks. The Dutchman was crowned in the Las Vegas Grand Prix with two rounds still to go… and he wasn’t necessarily in the best car in the field since the start of the European tour in the spring. Nevertheless, even with a Red Bull Far from being as dominant as in 2023, the now four-time world champion has managed his season perfectly by maintaining an impressive level of competitiveness and scoring big points in each race.
Thanks to his early lead in the season – where he won seven of the first ten Grands Prix – Max Verstappen was never really in trouble for the title. The return of Lando Norris at the end of the season was not fruitful and ended in failure, especially after a complicated Brazilian Grand Prix for the Briton. However, since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, the Dutchman has only won one race… out of the twelve contested! If the drivers Ferrari, McLaren et Mercedes have all tasted the joys of victory in 2024, none have been able to challenge Max Verstappen in the championship.
« CThe championship should have been played until the end", regrets Russell
A situation that therefore displeases George Russell. If the recent winner of the Las Vegas Grand Prix recognized the superiority of Max Verstappen in 2024, he believes that the championship should not have settled so early and hopes for a real fight for the title in 2025. "We have to make sure we give him a real fight. It's time someone gave him [Max Verstappen] a real fight, George Russell called on Viaplay to say his best wishes. That's my goal. That's what I want to do. He's a fierce competitor and Red Bull have done an incredible job… but this championship should have been decided right down to the end. You could always say that Max wasn't the favourite at some point and yet he was crowned with [two] Grands Prix to go. We need to re-engage and make his life a little bit harder."
In 2025, if the situation remains like this with four competitive teams capable of winning, Max Verstappen will certainly have to work harder if he wants to retain his title. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes now know that they are able to beat the Dutchman fairly and, thanks to the stability of the regulations next season, their level of competitiveness should not be impacted. A fight between seven drivers - or even eight, if Red Bull decides so - for the title in 2025: we say yes!
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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vincent moyet
26/11/2024 at 06:26 a.m.
First, the competition was still too far behind during the first third of the season. Verstappen won the championship in the first 10 GPs. Next year, he will still benefit from the advantage of being the absolute leader of his team when the McLaren and Ferrari drivers will certainly share the victories as this year. Only Russell might not have to fear his rookie teammate too much, but the car would still have to be consistent and even Mercedes still seems not to understand why it works or not from one race to another.