P1racenews AI automatic summary:
To what extent can Red Bull’s competition step up and actually challenge the dominant 2023 team? Paolo Filisetti takes a closer look and passes judgment on McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari’s chances of winning.
In 2024, Formula 1 cars will adopt the successful aerodynamics of the ground effect cars seen in the previous seasons. The stability of the regulations allows teams to follow the path set by Red Bull with their RB18 and RB19 cars. This convergence in concepts and regulatory stability should lead to equal performance among all 10 teams. However, the performance gains may be smaller compared to 2023, especially for teams closer to the front of the grid. Optimizing a car from the midfield requires significant effort, but the performance gains are greater for the same technical effort compared to top teams. Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren have identified the most efficient ways to increase their car’s performance, but their progress may not be as guaranteed as Red Bull’s. Overall, the season served as a test bed to validate the design path for the 2024 cars for all teams. McLaren showed consistent performance improvement compared to the beginning of the season, but they still fell short of challenging the top teams. While they shouldn’t resign themselves to surrendering to Red Bull, closing the gap becomes progressively harder in terms of effort versus benefit ratio.
