Following an exhilarating Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it appears that nearly half the Formula One field now has the potential to clinch victories.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown, whose driver Lando Norris is Max Verstappen's fiercest title rival, declares it the most exciting F1 action he's witnessed in his eight years in the sport.
In the past eight races, there have been six different winners from four different teams. Although Verstappen, who set records with his dominance in 2022 and 2023, still leads the standings, his most recent win was in June.
"I think this is the best season I can remember in Formula One since I've been here," Brown told The Associated Press (AP) from the IndyCar season finale at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee.
Could it even be better than the 2021 fight between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, which was decided on the final lap of the year and helped fuel F1's Netflix boom? Brown thinks it might be.
"That was mega exciting, but it was just two guys, two good guys. Now you've got four good teams in today's race," he said.
"To have four teams that can win any weekend, and (Sergio) Perez was obviously back on form today, eight drivers going into Singapore and we're saying, ‘I don't know which of these four teams might win. I don't know which of these eight drivers might win,' I can't recall Formula One having that level of competitiveness."
Sunday's race was non-stop action.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri took the win in Baku, but only after a daring overtake on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Perez was in the mix for Red Bull until he and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. collided, handing third to Mercedes driver George Russell.
Further back, Norris surged through the field from 15th on the grid to finish fourth ahead of Verstappen and cut further into the champion's standings lead.
Teams' performances fluctuate week by week, depending on upgrades from the factories, track conditions and setup changes, like the one Verstappen blamed for ruining his weekend in Azerbaijan.
Even a change of tires can turn an also-ran into a contender, Russell said Sunday.
"Just in this one race, we had a car that could have won if you took the pace from half of the race and a car that should have been outside the top 10 from the other half," he said, adding, "So I hope we've got the faster version for next week's race in Singapore."
The Singapore street circuit hosted one of the most competitive races of an otherwise Red Bull-dominated 2023 season. On worn tires, Sainz held off Norris' McLaren and the two Mercedes of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Russell, who crashed from third on the last lap.
Piastri is F1's on-form driver with the most points of anyone in the last seven races. He knows just how many moving parts are involved in success this year and how quickly it can all change.
"We've been in with a chance everywhere, and I think today was definitely one of those days where we weren't necessarily the quickest, but we had a car that could put us in the fight," the Australian said.
"We had a pit stop that could put us in the fight. We had some teamwork that put us in the fight. And it all managed to pay off."
