The 2024 System One season was one for the historical past books earlier than it even started.
For the primary time because the founding of F1 in 1950, the 2024 season started with an unchanged grid. Each driver from 2023 stayed put. “Foolish season” — F1’s annual interval of switch hypothesis — by no means actually occurred.
Many elements drove this stasis, chief amongst them the assumption that present F1 drivers had been much better than their youthful counterparts. No crew exhibited that perception greater than Racing Bulls.
After firing under-performing Dutch driver Nyck de Vries in the midst of the 2023 season, the crew opted for 33-year-old F1 vet Daniel Ricciardo as his alternative, leaving 21-year previous prospect Liam Lawson in limbo. It was a transparent assertion of intent from an outfit that after constructed its identify on giving younger drivers an opportunity.
A yr later, Racing Bulls seems to be regretting its determination. Rumors are swirling that this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix might be Ricciardo’s final for Racing Bulls. And who’s ready within the wings to interchange him? Why, Lawson, after all.