Happy New Year to you!2024 is just around the corner and plenty of F1 news to bring you this beautiful Monday, so let’s take a look.
We have a new team call-up that we shouldn’t forget for next season, as well as the end of some gardening break periods, meaning that new team members can now officially register for their new employers.
All this and much more in the first F1 recap of the year. . .
When “Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber” appeared on the official FIA hotlist last month, the team formerly known as Alfa Romeo revealed that official confirmation would come on New Year’s Day regarding its actual call-up in 2024.
With a little help from rap superstar Drake (which is also sponsored by the same company), it was announced that the shortened Stake F1 team would be on the grid for the next two seasons.
The company has become the exclusive partner of the Sauber name and bought the rights to the team name for the next two seasons ahead of Audi’s majority acquisition of the Sauber Group in 2026.
Read more: Sauber finally reveals F1 2024 identity after revealing new team name
Two key cogs in the behind-the-scenes recruitment procedure at McLaren are now eligible to join the team after their forced periods of leave to work in the garden.
David Sanchez will leave Ferrari and Rob Marshall left Red Bull after 17 years to join McLaren, the two men forming two of the 3 technical control teams.
McLaren has opted to split the technical director role into three parts to make it more specialised and has added significant experience to its technical team.
Now, after months of waiting, Marshall and Sánchez must get to work in their new roles. . .
Read more: Two key recruits to join McLaren as part of F1 2024 double boost
With Marshall at the centre of Red Bull’s design team in the team’s glory years, Christian Horner admitted his signing was a blow to McLaren.
“McLaren had a great second half of the year,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“There were times [when] they were very, very competitive (our closest competitor at times in the second part of the season) and they strengthened their team. Rob will be a plus.
“But with Lando and Oscar, who have been impressive as debutants this year, I think they could very well be a novelty next year. “
Read more: Christian Horner admits rivals have ‘value’ at Red Bull for 2024 season
For the first time in F1 history, the grid will be exactly the same at the start of the season as it was at the end of the previous year, but we shrewdly suspect things may be different this time around next year.
In fact, only six seats are already reserved for the end of 2024, leaving 14 seats to be auditioned from the top to the bottom of the grid.
Some drivers will stay put, but others are likely to be on the move. Have a read below to see who to look out for this year…
Read more: The 14 drivers out of contract at the end of the F1 2024 season
We’ve gone early and made some very early predictions for what we think might happen across the 2024 season, with it being a crucial year on multiple fronts.
Six of our writers combined and contributed to an ambitious prediction (some even gave bonuses because they were impatient) about what might happen.
With a lot to play for this season for most competitors, take a look and see if you agree with our predictions. . .
Read more: Five ridiculously early F1 2024 predictions: McLaren surge, Perez exit and more