F1: Five burning questions as McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri narrow gap on Red Bull

With nine rounds to go in the F1 season, things are not as certain for Max Verstappen and Red Bull as they once were. REBECCA WILLIAMS’ five major talking points heading into the back half of the year.

The tans from the European summer break are fading as the second half of the Formula 1 season enters the business end of the campaign.

With nine rounds remaining, there are plenty of storylines to play out as Red Bull star Max Verstappen tries to hold off a growing McLaren threat.

Here are some of the talking points for the remainder of the F1 season.

Can Oscar Piastri become the first Australian since Mark Webber in 2013 to win constructors’ title?

The prospect of this is becoming more certain with every race. Red Bull faces a major fight to win a third straight constructors’ championship in the back-end of the season. McLaren reduced Red Bull’s lead in the constructors’ standings to just 30 points at the Dutch Grand Prix and is building momentum. Sergio Perez is being consistently outscored by both McLaren’s drivers and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the pressure was on his team to respond.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Can Lando Norris catch Max Verstappen?

It might have looked like a long-shot at the start of the year when Verstappen charged to victory in four of the opening five races, but the odds have now diminished significantly. After his victory at Zandvoort, Norris has now closed the gap to Verstappen to 70 points in the drivers’ championship. It might still prove to be an implausible scenario, but it is at least now in the realms of mathematical possibility. Verstappen has not won a race in five starts and while he has continued to bank solid points - with all finishes in the top five in that period - it would only take one DNF or a result at the back of the field to make things really interesting.

McLaren’s race winner Lando Norris and second placed Max Verstappen after the Dutch Grand Prix. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Will Daniel Ricciardo have a contract in 2025?

Ricciardo remains in a fight to continue his Formula 1 career beyond this year, but the affable Aussie has yet to deliver a knock-out blow in his bid to secure his seat for 2025. With Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings for an F1 drive, the pressure has been mounting on Ricciardo to deliver at RB if he is to extend his F1 comeback. Ricciardo has only finished inside the points three times this season, while his RB teammate Yuki Tsnuoda has had seven top-10 finishes, securing his seat for 2025. Horner last week did not rule out the possibility of Lawson being loaned out to another team - such as Kick Sauber - a scenario which would favour Ricciardo. Regardless, Ricciardo could know his fate within weeks after Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said a decision would be made by “mid-September”.

Is the pressure still on Sergio Perez?

The Mexican might have extended his Red Bull contract by two years in June, but it hasn’t stopped the scrutiny over his on-track performances. Consistently out-performed by his teammate Verstappen this year, Perez has not finished on the podium since his third-place at the Chinese Grand Prix in April. After a 17th at Silverstone, Perez has been seventh twice and sixth in the past three races, but the team needs him fighting the McLarens if it is to stave off their championship threat. The pressure remains on Perez, who sits seventh in the drivers’ standings, to perform.

Can Lewis Hamilton end his Mercedes career by pushing to a championship podium?

After everything Hamilton and Mercedes have achieved together, it would seem only right that the British champion be sent on his way to Ferrari on a high. The British champion has had two race wins in 2024, but he will realistically face a tougher fight to get onto the podium for the rest of the season with McLaren’s form surging as the papaya outfit try to chase down Red Bull.

Originally published as F1: Five burning questions as McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri narrow gap on Red Bull