Tightening Up Fast: Who's Winning the F1 Midfield Duel?

The increased variety of winners is due to McLaren and Mercedes closing the gap to Red Bull, who haven't been able to sustain the form that enabled their domination of the 2023 season. Off-track controversies involving Christian Horner's behavior during the winter have added to the reigning world champions' woes.

Aston Martin was one of those teams that was well in the mix at the start of 2024, but results have since plateaued. As a result, RB, who started the season underwhelmingly, has been quietly chipping away at Aston Martin, while Haas, a team not expected to do much in 2024, is also coming on strong.

With the first half of the season drawing to a close, teams already have their eyes on 2025-26, but who currently leads a very tight midfield?

Aston Martin - Under pressure from all sides

In the first half of 2023, Aston Martin was the chief challenger to Red Bull, with Fernando Alonso picking up six podiums in the first eight races. But near the end of the first half of 2023, the team's form dipped, and the Spaniard only visited the rostrum twice more on course to finishing an excellent fourth place in the drivers' championship.

During the opening races of 2024, Alonso was amongst the top six, finishing fifth in Saudi Arabia and sixth in Japan. However, points have become a rarity for the Silverstone-based team since May's Miami Grand Prix, with the double-world champion only scoring in four of the last seven races.

More worryingly, the honeymoon period between Aston Martin and Alonso is over after the Spaniard told the team to talk less and deliver more after a frustrating Spanish GP, where he only finished 12th. His teammate Lance Stroll is closer to his pace but has only accumulated half of the Spaniard's points. Worse still, the Canadian has a habit of making clumsy errors. His worst error came in China, where he rammed Daniel Ricciardo while under the safety car, putting the Australian out of the race.

RB - Moving on up

No longer Red Bull's junior outfit, RB has been able to spread its wings a bit more in 2024, with the new management duo of Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer bringing a fresh perspective to the Faenza-based team.

Already an improvement on 2023's car, the VCARB 01, which borrows elements from Red Bull's RB19, has enabled its drivers, Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, to get amongst the top 10.

Tsunoda, in particular, continues to improve as a driver and has frequently beaten his highly-rated teammate in 2024, finishing in the points five times in the first 13 races. This isn't to say Ricciardo has been completely outclassed by his Japanese teammate. After a sluggish start to the campaign, the Australian regained confidence and his form, scoring in Canada and Austria. But he will need to find more speed if he wishes to land the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025.

Haas - The feel-good factor is back

When it was announced that Guenther Steiner was leaving Haas in January 2024, it seemed from the outside the team had lost a part of its identity and its leader. The fiery Italian had been part of the project since day dot and became the face of the team through his frequent appearances on Netflix's Drive to Survive series.

New team principal Ayao Komatsu initially played down expectations for the team at the start of 2024, believing they would be rooted to the back. But to the surprise of many, Haas has been right in the thick of the midfield, with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg working together at March's Saudi Arabian GP to secure the German a solitary world championship point.

Hulkenberg will depart Haas at the end of 2024, but he's certainly not driving like someone whose motivation has dropped. The German finished sixth in Austria and Britain, putting him 11th in the drivers' standings, Haas seventh in the constructors' championship.

Magnussen has had a tougher start, only scoring twice. The Dane is two penalty points away from a race ban after racking up 10 penalty points on his Super Licence. His F1 future is also unclear after he confirmed in the runup to July's Hungarian GP that he will leave Haas at the end of 2024, ending a seven-year stint with the American team.

Conclusion- RB and Haas can gain big if Aston Martin continues to underwhelm

Although Aston Martin has all the tools to turn things around, they are currently this season's biggest underachievers. Alonso's discontent with the team's performance and Stroll's inconsistent form isn't helping, but the real problem is the lack of time to develop the AMR24, which prolongs the lack of progress.

In contrast, RB and Haas are continuously improving, with both teams' driver lineups working together to maximize the potential of their cars and eat into Aston Martin's lead. Tsunoda and Hulkenberg have been the shining lights, consistently putting their cars in the points and outclassing their teammates.

Haas' upgrade package also works well and has helped Hulkenberg achieve his excellent recent results. In contrast, RB's upgrades have yet to improve the Italian outfit's on-track performance, with Ricciardo and Tsunoda picking up only three points between them since the package was introduced at June's Spanish GP.