Formula 1 is back. 

After a four-month-long winter break from racing, it is, once again, time to hit the track. Even before the 2023-2024 season started, there was drama circulating the paddock. In February, seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton announced that he would move to Ferrari following the 23-24 season. 

The move came as a shock to fans as questions and speculations flew around. “Was the Mercedes really going to be that bad of a car?” “Why now, before the season has even started?” What remained certain is that the storyline for this season was already heating up. With Hamilton poised for a career-defining move at the end of the season, could he show success with Mercedes one last time; or would Max Verstappen and Red Bull continue their dominance?

After the Bahrain Grand Prix, the answer was clear — Verstappen and Red Bull are inevitable. Verstappen, who aims for a fourth-straight World Drivers Championship, flew past the field after claiming pole position in qualifying. Verstappen lapped half the grid on his way to a dominant victory, finishing more than 22 seconds ahead of his teammate, Sergio Perez — about a sector in a grand prix. Bahrain is one of the longer circuits in Formula 1. So, in terms of distance, Verstappen was about a mile ahead of his competition. 

The first race weekend of the year came to an end, and all I could think about was “not again.” As a fan of F1, I love to see close battles between rivals, battles of champions and all of what makes F1 the pinnacle of motorsport. This is how it has been in recent years, starting with Mercedes and Hamilton’s run of dominance and then transitioning into the current domination from Red Bull and Verstappen. I am hoping and praying for a change. 

Unfortunately, my prayers have not been answered yet, as at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen, once again, dominated from start to finish, winning by almost 20 seconds. However, the weekend was not short of drama and excitement, as qualifying Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and was taken to the hospital for surgery. This meant 18-year-old reserve driver Oliver Bearman took Sainz’s place during the race. Bearman, who had been racing in Formula 2, the racing division directly below F1, would make his debut for one of the most prestigious and historic teams in F1. 

The young driver, who had relatively low expectations coming into the race, absolutely shocked the world, qualifying 12th on the grid and making his way up to seventh place by the end of the race. Bearman’s display of poise and control drew praise from everyone around the paddock and the media. The future certainly looks bright for the young sensation. 

Along with Bearman’s sensational debut, his teammate, Charles Leclerc, finished on the podium in Saudi Arabia while also claiming the fastest lap of the race. A shocking drive from backmarker Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg earned the team its first championship point in almost a year. Besides the obvious Red Bull dominance, the Grand Prix offered me the most excitement I’ve had for a race in a long time. 

Following the Saudi Grand Prix, the teams traveled to Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. Once again, before the race or qualifying had even started there was drama, as Williams driver Alex Albon had a big crash during the first practice session of the weekend. 

Albon’s car was damaged beyond repair, and with William’s spare car also not fit to race, the team made a difficult decision. They decided that Albon would race in his teammate Logan Saergent’s car. Albon, who has proven again and again that he is the better driver of the two, would drive the race and Sargent would have to sit out. While it seems unfair, it’s a sport where every race matters. In F1, the top ten finishers in every race score points, so the higher you finish, the more points you earn. 

The drama with Williams wasn’t the only exciting thing happening at this race weekend though. Sainz, who was initially questionable to be healthy enough to participate in the race weekend, looked better than ever. He out-qualified Leclerc and secured P2 on the grid ahead of the race. While still recovering from the surgery just two weeks prior, he participated with bandages still wrapped around his midsection. This is a sport where the drivers can face G-forces equivalent to what a fighter jet pilot experiences around every turn. It is nothing short of shocking that Sainz performed at the level he did.

Yet, once again, the drama didn’t stop there.

Once the race was underway, Sainz passed Verstappen for the lead. I can’t begin to describe how exhilarating the opening laps of this race were. The drivers were fighting for position around every corner and apex and there was non-stop action around every bend. Just as things were looking up, Verstappen burst into flames. His right rear brake caught fire and smoke poured out of the rear end of his car. As the car limped home to the pits, his brake exploded. Verstappen was out of the race. 

I am not lying when I say I jumped out of my seat in shock. I was full of excitement and awe at the events which were occurring in front of my eyes. Of course, I will never celebrate if a driver is hurt, nor will I ever hope that something bad happens to a driver. But, I will celebrate the change in a sport where it was almost not even worth watching races since the outcome is so predictable. The shocking DNF (did not finish) of Verstappen meant that for the first time in 10 races, we would see someone other than Max Verstappen lift the trophy on the top podium spot. 

However, there was still a lot of the race left to go, and there was certainly more drama on the horizon. Hamilton also DNFed on lap 15; he suffered an engine failure. As the race was coming to an end, on the penultimate lap, Hamilton’s teammate George Russell suffered a crash while fighting for sixth place with Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso. 

Russell, who ended up on his side in the middle of the track, escaped the crash uninjured. The crash caused the race to finish under a virtual safety car. Sainz took first place with Leclerc just behind and McLaren driver Lando Norris finishing third in the final podium spot. The 1-2 finish for the Ferrari drivers was the first 1-2 finish for the team since the opening race of the 2022 season. 

The opening month of the 2023-2024 Formula 1 season certainly didn’t disappoint. Even though the threat of Red Bull and Verstappen dominance still looms over the sport, there is still a long way to go until the season ends.  I can’t wait to see where the season goes from here.