F1 Driver Line-up Unchanged for 2024 – Is It Time for Change?
After all the teams confirmed their drivers’ lineups for 2024, it looks like the 2024 season is going to be the first time the whole driver line-up is staying unchanged in F1 history. It means the driver who started the last race of the 2023 season will return for the first race of 2024.
And it is bad news for the Formula 2 and Tiger series, as there will be no scope for them to move up to F1.
F1 is often regarded as the home of the best 20 racers in motorsport. But do all 20 racers deserve to stay in the championship next year??
The preseason is always known for exploring new raw talents to bring into Formula 1. But with the unchanged lineup, there is no place for new drivers to showcase their talents.
As Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had a dominant season, teams like Red Bull opted to stay with their same driving lineup in 2024. But many argue that this is a missed opportunity for them to explore new talents.
And it surely is; lots of new and upcoming talents don’t get the opportunity for these team decisions. And it also creates a disparity, a bias in the power of the team’s, as the best and richest will also always pull and stay with the best and most talented drivers on the grid, which is really bad.
Other teams, like Mercedes, announced that they would continue with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, maintaining a balance between experienced and young drivers. But considering Hamilton’s age, was there a possibility of trying someone new to inject fresh energy into the team?
Not only the top teams, but middle- and bottom-placed teams like Haas and Alphatauri also opted to stay with an unchanged lineup.
In conclusion, the decision to stay with an unchanged lineup is debatable within the motorsport world. And in the future, this could pose a big problem for the highest governing body of motorsport.