All eyes are understandably on the title battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris going into the final stages of the Formula 1 season, but there are several other key storylines also playing out.
Red Bull’s Verstappen leads McLaren’s Norris by 52 points with six rounds remaining, with the latter’s significant recent pace advantage raising hopes of a thrilling finale.
After an almost month-long break, the season is set to resume this weekend in frenetic fashion as the United States Grand Prix kicks off a triple header before races in Mexico and Brazil.
Another two-weekend pause follows before a further trio of back-to-back races to end the season in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
You can watch every session – starting from Friday in Austin – live on Sky Sports F1, but what else is there to look out for beyond Norris’ quest to chase down Verstappen.
Can McLaren close out constructors’ title?
While it’s the drivers’ title that commands most attention from media and fans, McLaren have insisted throughout that their first goal is to win the Constructors’ Championship.
They are on course to do so having opened up a 41-point lead over Red Bull at the top of the standings, but that could theoretically be overturned in one weekend.
Such an outcome would appear to be highly unlikely given McLaren have clearly been the fastest car on the grid since the summer break, with Ferrari their nearest challenger.
Red Bull are expected to bring upgrades to Austin that they will hope will cure some of the RB20’s struggles, but the performance of their car isn’t the only issue.
Even in the event they were able to start challenging for wins again over the final weeks of the season, McLaren’s No 2 driver (in terms of the championship standings if not by official status) Oscar Piastri is performing in a different league to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
It’s therefore very difficult to envisage a situation in which McLaren fail to close out the championship, with the 75-point gap to Ferrari in third leaving the Italian team with a similarly challenging margin to overcome.
While it may be expected at this point, the feat of coming from the back of the grid in the early stages of last season to constructors’ champions in 2024 will be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the sport’s history.
Given just how much a first constructors’ crown since 1998 will mean to the Woking squad, it will be fascinating to see if any jitters creep in as they seek to finish the job.
Further down the standings, RB lead Haas by three points in the battle for sixth, while Williams are three points clear of Alpine in their scrap for eighth.
Hamilton nears Mercedes farewell
The final chapters of Lewis Hamilton’s historic partnership with Mercedes are set to be written.
With just six races to go until the seven-time world champion joins Ferrari for 2025, there are likely to be increasing levels of emotion in the Silver Arrows’ garage.
While there is no doubt that Hamilton will leave on good terms, there were some signs of strain on the relationship between driver and team before this break.
Having overcome his qualifying woes to claim third on the grid in Singapore, Hamilton’s hopes of converting that position to a podium were ruined by a decision to start him on soft tyres.
It was clear from his exchanges over team radio that Hamilton wasn’t best pleased, but he didn’t speak to the media after the race as Mercedes announced that both he and team-mate George Russell were suffering from overheating.
While the Singapore conditions are widely considered to be the most challenging on the calendar, it was quite surprising that Hamilton, who prides himself on his conditioning, wasn’t fit enough to fulfil his media responsibilities.
A week on from the race he took to social media to insist “things were cool” between him and the team but that it was “natural to be frustrated” after the Singapore strategy error.
With plenty of time having passed it would be highly surprising for anything but a united front to be presented on Thursday’s media day in Austin, a circuit Hamilton loves driving at.
Even if just for what are sure to be some sad but celebratory goodbyes, watching the end of the Hamilton-Mercedes era over the coming weeks is bound to be entertaining.
Can Lawson make statement on return?
There will be an (old) new face on the grid in Austin.
After his cameo last season when Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand, Liam Lawson has got the Australian’s RB seat on a more permanent basis this time around.
The Red Bull hierarchy, who have the final say on who drives for their junior squad, ran out of patience with Ricciardo and have given Lawson a six-race window to prove himself.
Barring an extremely poor showing, which would be surprising, Lawson appears almost certain to have the seat secured for 2025, but there’s a twist.
If he were to exceed expectations, and Perez’s struggles at Red Bull were to continue, a promotion to drive alongside Verstappen next season doesn’t appear to be off the table.
That’s quite a lot of pressure for the 22-year-old New Zealander to handle, but also a great opportunity.
Red Bull seem to have little interest in promoting the other RB incumbent, Yuki Tsunoda, to their top squad, but if the Japanese driver clearly outperforms Lawson and Perez continues to struggle, his case could strengthen.
Another young driver seeking to continue to prove himself over the final stages of the season will be Franco Colapinto.
The 21-year-old Argentine has exceeded expectations in his three races since replacing Logan Sargeant, most notably by qualifying and finishing eighth in Azerbaijan.
While Williams have signed Carlos Sainz to drive alongside Alex Albon next season, Colapinto is quickly establishing himself as a contender for any other future openings.
Will swearing saga roll on?
There is always a sideshow in F1, and the latest example of that has been a row between Verstappen and the FIA over driver’s swearing.
The three-time world champion was penalised and ordered to serve F1’s equivalent of community service by the sport’s governing body for using an expletive in the pre-race press conference in Singapore.
Verstappen’s choice language came just hours after an interview with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had been published in which he said he wanted there to be less in-race radio messages with foul language broadcast on television.
The Dutchman responded by refusing to give detailed answers in official FIA press conferences for the remainder of the weekend, instead choosing to properly address the media in other tv interviews and written briefings.
After the race in Singapore Verstappen said that “silly” rules could impact how long he wants to remain in the sport, which some viewed as a threat.
Ben Sulayem didn’t only rile the world championship leader, with the FIA boss pulling off the impressive feat of uniting Verstappen and once great rival Hamilton, who said he didn’t think the Red Bull driver should serve his punishment.
Hamilton had earlier criticised Ben Sulayem’s initial comments as he believed there had been a “racial element” in linking swearing to rap music.
One would assume that the FIA will have used the break to attempt to come to some sort of understanding with Verstappen, who is highly unlikely to give much ground on the matter.
While ideally the situation can be resolved and focus can return to a brilliant title battle, going up against the two most powerful drivers in the sport is the latest Ben Sulayem misstep in a tenure that has been far more controversial than necessary.
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
Thursday October 17
8pm: Drivers’ Press Conference
Friday October 18
6pm: United States GP Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm*)
8.30pm: Team Principals’ Press Conference
10pm: United States GP Sprint Qualifying (qualifying starts at 10.30pm*)
Saturday October 19
6pm: United States GP Sprint build-up
7pm: United States GP Sprint
8.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
10pm: United States GP Qualifying build-up*
11pm: United States GP Qualifying*
(Sunday) 1am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday October 20
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (Sunday’s race build-up from 7.15pm)
Just six races remain in Formula 1 2024 and the season resumes with the United States Grand Prix in Austin from October 18-20, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
