The Formula 1 championship in the same situation as in 1981

The thrilling Formula 1 season took an unexpected turn at the Grand Prix in Mexico, where Carlos Sainz secured his second victory of the season. This win added further points intricacy to the championship title race, impacting both the drivers' and constructors' standings.

Max Verstappen’s impressive start to the season initially suggested he was on track to secure the title. However, that hasn’t been the case. Since Red Bull’s last win in Spain, we’ve seen four different winners: Verstappen with seven victories, and Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc each with one.

What situation has been repeated 43 years after?

But what happened after Spain was anything but expected in many ways. First, Red Bull are on a ten-race winless streak, which hasn’t happened since 2014 and 2015 when they went 30 races without a win.

We now have three new winners since the Austrian GP, bringing the total number of winners this season to seven. This is also an interesting stat, as it hasn’t happened since 2012, when eight different drivers stood on the top step of the podium.

Furthermore, the number of drivers with at least two wins has also increased. Following Sainz’s victory in Mexico, we now have six drivers with multiple wins: two from Ferrari (Leclerc and Sainz), two from McLaren (Norris and Piastri), one from Mercedes (Hamilton), and one from Red Bull (Verstappen).

The last time we saw a similar situation was in 1981, when six drivers each claimed at least two victories: the champion Nelson Piquet (who won his first of three titles), Carlos Reutemann, the 1980 champion Alan Jones, Jacques Lafitte, Alain Prost, and Gilles Villeneuve, who finished seventh.

In addition to these six drivers, John Watson also secured a win, making a total of seven winners, just like in 2024.

Nevertheless, it’salso important to know that in 1981 there were only 15 races held, while in 2024, 20 races have already been run, with four more racees to go until the end of the seeason. This makes the 1981 achievement of having six drivers with two wins even more impressive.

The next race of this year’s championship is already set for this weekend— the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.