Autumn break review: What each team are aiming for as the season end nears
General
The Formula One season is about the enter the final part of its season, with two tripleheaders remaining on the 2024 calendar. After 18 Grands Prix have been completed, there is still plenty of points and for some, titles to fight for after the autumn break end on 20 October at the Circuit of the Americas. In this article, we go through how each team could come back after the summer break, and what should their goals be for the rest of the year, in the order of the current constructors' standings.
McLaren - Win the drivers' title for Norris
The British team have found their way, and after the summer break, could continue their already great form. In the Netherlands and Singapore, Lando Norris won confidently, in Azerbaijan, Oscar Piastri could step on the top of the podium, and both drivers finished on the podium in Monza as well. The team took the lead in the constructors' standings in Baku, and while it is not a foregone conclusion, they are heavily favoured to keep that crown.
Therefore, the attention turns to Norris, who still trails Max Verstappen by 52 points in the drivers' standings. More importantly for them, the perfect scenario would be to accomplish that without hurting Piastri, who is clearly is not someone who would settle for being the number two driver of the team. The worst scenario would be however to miss out on the title, because of the points Norris lost out on after they were reluctant to call team orders at multiple events, including in Monza, where they were also defeated by Ferrari's one-stop strategy.
Red Bull - Help Verstappen to a fourth world title
Max Verstappen is yet to win since the Spanish Grand Prix, and he especially struggled in Monza and in Baku after the summer break. However, in Zandvoort and Singapore, Verstappen could complete the damage limitation task, and if he finishes a position behind Norris, he will become a four-time world champion. Even as the constructors' title might slip through their fingers, winning with Verstappen is more important until the end of the year. And with chasers behind, the team will have to bring updates to the RB20, and not only fix their issues.
Ferrari - Overperform on tracks that do not suit the car
During the previous break, Ferrari were waiting for the set of weekends that just passed by, because they favoured the SF-24. The Italians did perform relatively well, as Charles Leclerc won their home Grand Prix in Monza, and finished on the podium on other two occasions as well. Even at the Singapore Grand Prix, where qualifying went wrong, the Italian showed great pace during different stints with their front wing update. While the team have a mountain to climb to win the constructors' title, they should thrive for fixing issues ahead of 2025, similarly to how Frederic Vasseur's squad were able to tackle their tyre degredation issues previously.
Mercedes - Give Hamilton a proper send off ahead of 2025
Mercedes, however did the inverse of Ferrari. The Germans won three out of the four Grands Prix ahead of the summer break (including Russell's victory where Norris and Verstappen made contact), but since then, only Russell could step on the podium in Baku, after Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed. As they are also in no man's land in the constructors' standings in P4, the team could try and maximise their results, and also part way with the driver they have won six drivers' and seven constructors' titles with.
Aston Martin - Consolidate their place at the top of the midfield
As Lawrence Stroll assembled the "Galacticos" of engineers and designers for 2026, the mood within in the team reflects on their future rather than at their present. After the summer break, only Fernando Alonso could score points, and team principal Mike Krack underlined the Spaniard's result in Singapore shows how good the driver is, given the car. The British team have a 52-point lead on VCARB in the standings, but Alonso and Lance Stroll should ideally finish in the points, so they can begin 2025 leading the midfield battle.
VCARB - Find out how good Liam Lawson is
For the Visa Cash App RB team, the goals of Red Bull Racing cannot be overlooked. Only for the Faenza-based team, the main goal of course is to finish in P6 in the standings, as they currently lead Haas by three points. Looking at the bigger picture, the main question is how good is Liam Lawson? The driver from New Zealand was given the opportunity to test his skills, so they can make a verdict on his future. Should he get promoted to the senior team, as Yuki Tsunoda is not seriously considered by team principal Christian Horner to become Verstappen's teammate, should he remain at VCARB in 2025, or should Lawson be let go to give potentially Isack Hadjar a chance in F1.
Haas F1 - Overtake VCARB and finish in P6
The Americans had one driver finish in the points in the previous three weekends. First, Kevin Magnussen earned a point and also a suspension in Monza, then Oliver Bearman scored a point in Baku (and Nico Hulkenberg was in the points for most of that GP), and in Singapore, Hulkenberg finished in P9. Haas could earn important points for overtaking VCARB, who failed to score since the break, and their goal is to extend that positive streak.
Williams - Continue to finish in the points
During James Vowles' long interview sessions ahead of the summer break and after the announcement of Carlos Sainz, the British team principal underlined on multiple occasions that he is in for the long run. After making the decision to substitute out Logan Sargeant after the Dutch GP, Franco Colapinto earned his first points as well in Baku, and was close in Singapore as well. With Alex Albon also scoring in Monza and Azerbaijan, Williams need to continue that trend, and as a result, finish ahead of Alpine in P8. After all, Vowles said he made that driver swap because they now have the car to fight for points.
Alpine - Reovertake Williams in the standings
Since the summer break, Alpine only finished in the Top 10 once at a Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon crossing the finish line in P10 at Zandvoort. Thanks to Williams' recent improvements, they are now only ninth in the standings, and they were behind Haas and Williams on track as well. There are many questions within the French team that need answering. A positive step could be finishing ahead of their British rivals.
Stake F1 - Score a point
As Sauber are transitioning to become Audi in the 2026 season, the team are putting the puzzles together. Mattia Binotto was named CTO and COO, and Jonathan Wheatley was announced to become the team principal. Valtteri Bottas is rumoured to stay with the team for 2025, although that has not been officially announced yet, and Audi would like to reassess who should take that seat entering their first official year. Meanwhile, Sauber are completely out of the running for points, and they would have to overcome a sizable gap next year as well. That is of course made significantly harder with focus on 2026. But no one would like to finish 24 Grands Prix without a finishing in the Top 10 at least once.
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