There are currently two F1 drivers on the grid who are likely to score a win in 2024 despite Red Bull's anticipated dominance.
Red Bull Racing won 21 out of 22 races of the 2023 and dominated the whole season. Going into 2024, Red Bull is expected to start in the first position, but it is also expected that the gap between Red Bull and the teams behind will become smaller.
How much smaller? That's the crucial question. Nevertheless, there are currently four teams that could challenge Red Bull for the title in 2024 -
Mercedes,
Ferrari,
McLaren, and
Aston Martin.
Out of the four above-mentioned teams, the one that made the most significant progress throughout the most recent season is McLaren.
The development progress that the team has made showed they understand their car and the overall concept and that they have the capabilities to make it faster.
The Papaya team made a big statement in 2023, and even the reigning World Champion,
Max Verstappen,
considers them as the most likely rival for the upcoming season.
McLaren has the youngest driver pairing on the grid.
Lando Norris is 24 years old, while
Oscar Piastri is only 22. However, both of them have shown enough potential for their CEO, Zak Brown, to
confidently state he has the strongest driver lineup on the grid.
What is interesting is that neither of these two drivers has recorded a Grand Prix win so far. While Piastri had only one season so far to show what he's got, Norris has been quite unfortunate in his five F1 seasons as he already amassed 13 podiums without a single victory.
On the other hand, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella asserted that the problem has been rather in the insufficient machinery than the lack of talent or speed.
If McLaren managed to at least retain the position in which they ended the season 2023 (second or third fastest), both drivers might have high chances of recording their first Grand Prix victory.