The end-of-straight dilemma that highlights F1’s biggest ground effect headache

After two full seasons of Formula 1’s latest ground effect rules era, Red Bull is a clear head and shoulders above the rest. All of its rivals know exactly what each needs to deliver to put up a better fight in 2024, but whether any of them can achieve it is an entirely different proposition

Updated Jan 11, 2024, 11:57 AM

The kind of dominance that Red Bull unleashed in Formula 1 last year is nothing new – as there have been plenty of times in history when one squad has stood head and shoulders above the rest. But what has perhaps been a bit different this time around is the fact that Red Bull produced such supreme form in the second year of a rules set.

It is not untypical for one team to stand clear above its rivals when new regulations come into force – as it is obvious one squad will get things right from the off, before others cotton on and catch up. Red Bull did that in 2022 once it got excessive weight off its car and, based on the inevitable law of convergence, it was widely anticipated that everyone would close them down last year.

Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.