Championship reopened
At the beginning of the season, after Max Verstappen had won seven of the first 10 races of the year, few could have imagined that with six GPs left, the title fight would be more open than ever. However, Red Bull’s dramatic drop in performance, combined with McLaren’s impressive leap forward and Ferrari and Mercedes’ ability to win a few races here and there, is giving F1 fans a memorable end to the 2024 Formula Ome season.
Lando Norris currently has to make up 52 points on the reigning world champion, but the trend is all in his favor, while Max Verstappen is forced to minimize damage. The championship unexpectedly reopened by the papaya team has been a great gift for the organizers of the last six races of this long season. The importance of these final races has increased as the gap between the title rivals has narrowed.
Max Verstappen in trouble, and tickets are selling
The boss of the Austin circuit, which will host the next race on the F1 calendar, Bobby Epstein, didn’t hold back and openly said he noticed a correlation between Verstappen’s eight-race winless streak and the rise in ticket sales for the U.S. GP weekend: “I think we’re heading into this Grand Prix in good shape,” Epstein said, as reported by ESPN, “although the path to get here has been a bit different this year in terms of fan interest.”
“Ticket sales have taken off since Max stopped winning, and the title fight became more competitive,” the American manager stated. “So I give a lot of credit to our fan base and audience. They are really in tune with what’s happening, well-informed, and attentive. And I think it’s exciting to see how the season is unfolding.” One downside for the organizers will be the absence of Daniel Ricciardo, recently sidelined by the Racing Bulls team: “I hope he still comes to the track,” Epstein shared, “because there are a lot of people who would love to shake his hand, get an autograph, or take a picture. He’s very loved in Texas, and I think he enjoys being here.”
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