F1 Q&A: Can Ferrari challenge McLaren for the constructors’ championship?

With three rounds remaining in the 2024 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen is on the verge of securing his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship. The Dutch driver Verstappen holds a 62-point lead over Lando Norris, and the Briton must outscore him by at least three points in Las Vegas next week to keep the title contest alive. Before F1 returns to the United States, BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson addresses reader questions on key topics in the sport. Daphne asks about the significance of Ferrari’s challenge to McLaren in the constructors’ championship. McLaren currently leads Ferrari by 36 points as the season heads into its final three races, which commence with Las Vegas from 21-23 November, followed by Qatar and Abu Dhabi on the subsequent two weekends. This is a considerable lead, potentially allowing McLaren to clinch the title before the final race of the season if they perform strongly in Las Vegas and Qatar. However, since both cars contribute to the constructors’ championship points, Ferrari still has a definite chance to win. A total of 44 points are available on a standard race weekend, such as Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, while the Qatar sprint weekend offers 59 points, making a grand total of 147 points still up for grabs. On paper, Las Vegas appears to favor Ferrari, as it is a type of track where they have demonstrated strength this year. It is a street circuit characterized by predominantly slow corners and significant braking zones from high speeds. These characteristics emphasize Ferrari’s strengths and do not play to McLaren’s. Ferrari’s pace in Monaco, Monza, Baku, Singapore, and Mexico serves as an example. Qatar, conversely, is expected to favor McLaren, and Ferrari expresses some concern regarding their potential performance there. Nevertheless, the top three teams are closely matched, making predictions about the outcomes difficult. Consider Singapore, for instance, where Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was widely expected to qualify on the front row but made an error on his qualifying lap. Or Baku, where the Leclerc-Ferrari combination was arguably the fastest driver-car pairing, yet McLaren executed a strong strategy to bring Oscar Piastri into contention. The Australian then moved ahead with a brilliant late overtaking dive, holding on to win under intense pressure. And what will Red Bull’s dry weather pace be, following a robust showing in the US but a disappointing weekend in Mexico? In summary, McLaren possesses a lead substantial enough to position them as favorites, but the constructors’ championship is far more open than the drivers’ championship, where Max Verstappen can secure the title in Las Vegas if he defeats Lando Norris, and even in some finishing scenarios where he does not. McLaren leads the constructors’ championship with 593 points. Tim asks why F1 is discussing rotating some races instead of first adding more dates to the calendar, noting that other series prove this is possible. The concise answer is that the calendar is at, or near, its maximum capacity, and several countries are actively seeking to join. Team contracts with F1 stipulate a maximum of 25 races, but F1 chairman Stefano Domenicali recently described 24 as “the balanced number that we feel is right.” This reflects the sentiment among most people in F1 that the calendar is already long enough; many, in fact, believe it is too long. While the US-based Nascar stock-car racing series has 41 race weekends in 2025, all but one of these events take place within a single, albeit very large, country. A lengthy season is traditional for Nascar, whereas in F1, this is a relatively recent development. F1 desires a race in Africa and is in discussions with Rwanda. Saudi Arabia could potentially host a second race at the new Qiddiya facility once it is completed in a few years. The emergence of Franco Colapinto has also sparked talk of a return for Argentina, which last hosted a grand prix in 1998. South Korea and Thailand have also been mentioned as potential hosts. Therefore, adjustments are necessary, which gives rise to the concept of rotation. Furthermore, hosting a grand prix is expensive, and some European races are struggling financially. The races mentioned in this context include Belgium, the Netherlands, and Barcelona. However, nothing has been decided, and it depends on numerous factors. Do Belgium and/or the Netherlands wish to rotate? Does Barcelona, which is losing the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid in 2026, want to continue, and what is the appetite for two races in Spain? And so forth. Simon asks why drivers are allowed to use DRS during qualifying. The principle behind permitting the use of the DRS overtaking aid in qualifying is that the entire purpose of qualifying is to achieve the fastest possible lap. A lap is quicker with DRS activated than without, hence its allowance. Based on this, the real question would be, why would DRS not be permitted in qualifying? When the DRS overtaking aid was first introduced in 2011, its use was unrestricted in qualifying. However, after two years, it was decided on safety grounds to limit its use to the DRS zones designated for the race. The advantage gained from using DRS varies from car to car. A factor in Red Bull’s dominance in 2022 and 2023 was their significantly larger ‘DRS offset’ compared to most other cars, providing them with a greater advantage in qualifying and when battling for position in the race. Other teams have since been working to overcome this deficit, and some, including McLaren, are only now achieving this. This issue will cease to exist in 2026, when new regulations will mark the end of DRS. In its place, movable front and rear wings will be employed to help optimize cars with the new engines, which will derive a much higher proportion of their overall power output from the hybrid element. Movable aerodynamics—reducing drag on straights but restoring downforce for corners—were necessary to increase straight-line speed, enabling the cars to recover sufficient energy during braking. DRS will be replaced by a push-to-pass button, which will provide a temporary extra boost of electrical energy. The first night race took place in Singapore in 2008. Arun questions why night races are not held in European countries, suggesting that an event like Monaco at night would be appealing, especially given its perceived dullness. When the first night race was held in Singapore in 2008, the primary focus was on viewing figures in F1’s core market—Europe. Singapore is seven hours ahead of