2024 Formula One liveries, predictions: Red Bull, McLaren

"I'm quite happy with the direction that they chose," Verstappen said at Red Bull's launch event. "I saw the drawings in Abu Dhabi, the last race, and I was like, 'Wow, that's quite different in a way.' And they've not been conservative, let's say it like that."

The car, then, is not a concern for Red Bull; early signs show that it will remain dominant in F1. The problem for the Austrian team lies in personnel. Driver Sergio Perez had a lackluster season in 2023, losing upwards of a full second per lap to his teammate, and a team as strong as Red Bull needs both of its drivers competing at a high level.

It also needs steady, intentional leadership, and team principal Christian Horner's ongoing "inappropriate behavior" scandal may threaten that. Horner has been Red Bull's de facto leader since it joined the grid in 2005. If he is forced to resign, the team will find itself in unknown territory.

Personnel struggles or not, Red Bull is the clear favorite for 2024. It's hard to see it doing anything other than finishing first.

Team: McLaren

Drivers: Lando Norris (Great Britain) and Oscar Piastri (Australia)

Last season's Placement: Fourth of 10

More than 100 points separated McLaren in fourth from Ferrari in third last season. Team principal Andrea Stella's job in 2024 is to eliminate that embarrassing gap. His first order of business is getting a strong car out the door early. 

McLaren's 2023 performance was hampered by its uncompetitive start, with neither driver coming anywhere near the points in Bahrain or Jeddah. But McLaren deserves plenty of kudos for how it reacted to that disappointment. Its midseason upgrades worked beautifully, and by the end of 2023, Norris and Piastri were consistently challenging for podiums.

"Going into this year, we look to build on the momentum of last season but are realistic in the knowledge that every team will have made progress and found competitiveness for their 2024 cars," Stella said. "We now have everything in place from an infrastructure, people and culture perspective, so we continue to push forward and build on the work done to get us back to the front of the grid."

Stella's right — from a people and culture standpoint, McLaren is onto something. It has one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid in Norris and Piastri, and the positive momentum from last season appears to have rolled cleanly into 2024. 

With top talent, positive attitudes and a car that looks better than it ever has, McLaren should find it easier to catch Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull this season. We think it will easily claim fourth in the standings again and could move even higher if Ferrari's risky car developments don't pay off.