By Bodhi Stringer
We have now entered the second phase of the Formula One summer break, and after 18 rounds of the 24 round season the 2024 Formula One season is on a knifes edge. However, for our two Australian drivers that started on the grid for the 2024 season their seasons couldn’t be going in any further of different directions.
Oscar Piastri:
Oscar Piastri celebrates his second F1 race Win
Oscar Piastri is currently sitting in fourth in the drivers’ standings on 237 points and only 8 points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third. Oscar has secured two wins this season and has been instrumental in the rise of McLaren to first place in the constructors championship after round 18. Oscar has showcased just how talented he is across the 2024 season, across the first 18 rounds of the season he has secured 2 race wins and 7 podiums including 3 consecutive podiums in the last 3 rounds.
Oscar is on an absolute tear at the moment having accrued the second most points by any driver in the last 8 rounds of the season so what can we expect for the remaining 6 races. Well another race win would be nice for the young Aussies and having secured the sprint race win at last years Qatar Grand Prix, Oscar is every chance to win another race this season especially with the fastest car on the grid.
Outside of personal success for the remainder of the season Oscar is likely to be an instrumental figure in McLarens charge towards both the constructor’s championship and the drivers championship as his teammate Lando Norris is currently in second place in the drivers championship and is rapidly chasing down Max Verstappen’s 52 point lead. Norris will need Oscar to take as many points away from Max for the remainder of the year if he is to win the championship, hence Oscar is entering the final 6 races as the third most talked about driver as it is up to him to some degree to determine the outcome of both championships.
My Predictions for Oscar in the remaining 6 races of the 2024 season:
1 Race win
5 Podiums (including race win)
3rd place finish in Drivers Championship
1st place finish in constructors championship
*the above doesn’t include spring results*
Whilst we still have 6 races to go in the 2024 season it would be wrong of us not to look into the future and ponder what the 2025 season could mean for Oscar, as he is likely to enter his third season in F1 with the fastest car on the gird and will kick his title charge off at his home race in Melbourne next year. Could we see an aussie on the top step of the podium on home soil in 2025?
Daniel Ricciardo:
Daniel Ricciardo's F1 dream is over
Goodbye and thank you DR!!
The above is the only appropriate way to address what has unfolded for Daniel Ricciardo in the past month. For those unaware unfortunately Daniel Ricciardo has lost his seat at RB for the remainder of the 2024 season, which could mean we have seen the last of Daniel Ricciardo in the cockpit of a Formula One car.
Whilst his 2024 season didn’t go to plan as he finishes up with a total of 12 points from 18 races it isn’t this stint that Daniel will be remembered for. The loveable larrikin will be remembered for what he has done for the sport outside of the cockpit as well as his successes on the track.
Daniel is notably known as being the face of Formula One’s famous Drive to Survive series on Netflix and due to this Daniel is partially responsible for the abundance of new support that F1 has seen since the first season of Drive to Survive.
The always smiling Ricciardo is an eight time Formula One race winner which has him equal 37th all time. This race win total is impressive considering during his stint in F1 Daniel was never in the fastest or most reliable car. During his F1 career Daniel also won the Monaco Grand Prix which is know as the crown jewel of F1 races and something all drivers want to finish their career having won.
The saddest part of the ending of Daniels 2024 season is the way it was handled by his team. Often in F1 you don’t get a fairy tale ending but Daniel deserved a better send off then losing his seat during a season break. If this is the last, we will see Daniel in an F1 car we would just like to thank Daniel for everything he has brought to the sport and the way he has represented Australia across his career in Formula One.
For the remainder of the 2024 season aussie fans will only have Oscar to support but we will all have the memories of what Daniel Ricciardo has done for the sport. Hopefully for our last remaining Australian his last 6 races are action packed and points filled.
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