2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Post-Race Talking Points

The 2024 Formula One World Championship is kicking off with a lacklusting start; Max Verstappen leads two consecutive Red Bull 1-2 and both World Championships, and the rest of the pack is yet unable to catch up to the three-peat Dutchman. But, apart from Red Bull’s foreseen domination, there are many more points worthy of further discussion from this weekend, including a new star in the making, history-breaking performance, as well as a new-low for certain constructors.

Cloud NINE: Verstappen’s dominance is the greatest ever seen

Prior to 2013, only one driver, Alberto Ascari, have managed to win nine consecutive World Championship grands prix, a record not even officially recognized by Formula One themselves until Max Verstappen’s recent dominance renders most stats in the book obsolete. As of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen has managed to achieve the feat twice; his first one was last year’s record-breaking ten-race run from the Miami Grand Prix to the Italian Grand Prix, whereas his second and current one began at the Japanese Grand Prix and is still active.

If only Red Bull had turned up to last year’s Singapore Grand Prix and allowed Max to win that, he would have been on a twenty-race winning run. A mind-numbing stat for someone who cannot even make one mistake at this time. But, even if the 2024 Championship is already wrapped up, other things are not likewise certain, such as teammate battles or podium finishers in each race. You can capitalize and make some sweet profit from these uncertainties at We88.

Moreover, by finishing in the top three once again, Verstappen has become the seventh Formula One driver to achieve a ton of podium finishes, after fellow World Champions Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. With a podium rate of 53.48 percent, his podium rate is also second-best only after Hamilton’s 58.98.

Formula One’s longest winning streak for a driver

1. Max Verstappen: 10 races, 2023 Miami Grand Prix – 2023 Italian Grand Prix
2. Max Verstappen: 9 races, 2023 Japanese Grand Prix – current

Sebastian Vettel: 9 races, 2013 Belgian Grand Prix – 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

Alberto Ascari: 9 races, 1952 Belgian Grand Prix – 1953 Belgium Grand Prix

1. Michael Schumacher: 7 races, 2004 European Grand Prix – 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg: 7 races, 2015 Mexican Grand Prix – 2016 Russian Grand Prix

1. Michael Schumacher: 6 races, 2000 Italian Grand Prix – 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix
2. Jack Brabham: 5 races, 1960 Dutch Grand Prix – 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix

Jim Clark: 5 races, 1965 Belgian Grand Prix – 1965 German Grand Prix

Nigel Mansell: 5 races, 1992 South African Grand Prix – 1992 San Marinese Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher: 5 races, 2004 Australian Grand Prix – 2004 Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton: 5 races (twice), 2014 Italian Grand Prix – 2014 American Grand Prix, 2020 Eifel Grand Prix – 2020 Bahraini Grand Prix

Max Verstappen: 5 races, 2022 French Grand Prix – 2022 Italian Grand Prix

Bear attack: Oliver Bearman’s feisty debut

Never in his wildest dreams would Oliver Bearman think at the end of the F2 Qualifying that he would be racing an F1 car any time soon, but that did come soon enough. Ferrari man Carlos Sainz Jr. was taken ill and needed replacing, and Ferarri decided to call up the 18-year-old. The Brit rewarded Ferrari with a P7 and six points, finishing ahead compatriots and established drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris; he was promptly voted Driver of the Day.

Bearman became the third-youngest driver to ever raced in a Formula One World Championship and registered a World Championship point. He also became the youngest driver to debut for Ferrari in more than 50 years. The prospect of a future F1 seat is now a strong possibility for Bearman, who is currently serving as a reserve driver for both Ferrari and the Haas F1 Team.

Youngest drivers to ever start a World Championship race

1. Max Verstappen: 17y 5m 15d at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix*
2. Lance Stroll: 18y 4m 26d at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix*
3. Oliver Bearman: 18y 10m 1d at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix*
4. Jaime Alguersuari: 19y 4m 3d at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix
5. Lando Norris: 19y 4m 4d at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix*
6. Mike Thackwell: 19y 5m 29d at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix
7. Ricardo Rodriguez: 19y 6m 27d at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix
8. Fernando Alonso: 19y 7m 4d at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix*
9. Esteban Tuero: 19y 10m 14d at the 1998 Australian Grand Prix
10. Danil Kvyat: 19y 10m 18d at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix

* Driver participated in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

115 Wins: Another Stat Conquered by the Bulls

By winning the 2024 Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing as a constructor takes their 115th victory in the premier class of motorsport and overtakes Williams to become the fourth-most successful Formula One constructor of all time, trailing the 125 of their contemporary Mercedes by ten, a figure they could well match within this 2024 calendar. They also became the first Formula One team to ever win 24 out of 25 races at any given period (96% win rate) and the second to ever win 19 out of 20 races at any given period (95%) after Mercedes paved the way in 2016.

Still, if we only take into account grands prix held since the V6 turbo-hybrid era began in 2014, Red Bull are still far behind Mercedes, but already way ahead of Ferrari.

Most successful Formula One constructor in the modern V6 turbo-hybrid era (2014-present)

1. Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team: 112 wins, latest one being the 2022 Sao Paolo Grand Prix.
2. Red Bull Racing: 68 wins, latest one being the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
3. Scuderia Ferrari: 22 wins, latest one being the 2023 Singaporean Grand Prix.
4. AlphaTauri: 1 win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

Racing Point: 1 win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.

Alpine: 1 win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

McLaren: 1 win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.