F1 winner insists ONE factor could blow title race wide open

Formula 1 race winner David Coulthard has said that Ferrari's supreme one-lap pace from 2023 could pose a problem to Red Bull's title defence in 2024, as long as they can improve on their race pace.

The Maranello-based team managed to claim seven pole positions last season, despite the huge dominance of world champions Red Bull.

READ MORE: F1 announce major statement on Horner and Red Bull investigation

Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc took five of those, cementing his status as one of the fastest qualifiers on the F1 grid.

However, the 26-year-old was not able to convert any of these five poles into race victories, as Max Verstappen broke multiple records to claim a third successive world championship crown.

Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz did manage to win a race, Ferrari's one and only of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Horner verdict could spark major Red Bull problem claims F1 winner

Red Bull's main title challengers

Heading into the upcoming 2024 season, it's pretty clear that Red Bull and Verstappen are once again favourites to take both the constructors' and drivers' championships, despite the ongoing 'turbulence' at the Milton Keynes-based team.

Ferrari are desperate to prove that they have what it takes to challenge for world championships in the short term, particularly having signed arguably the most successful driver in F1 history onto their roster for 2025.

Now, former Red Bull driver Coulthard believes that they can do that, if they can make gains on their rivals in terms of their race competitiveness.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but you’ve got to believe Ferrari had a strong car last year in terms of single-lap pace,” he told F1.com.

“If they’ve managed to improve on whatever it was that was making their race pace difficult then they are a real contender.

“Mercedes were making big strides at the end of the year. McLaren, again, back of the grid in Bahrain, pretty much at the front of the grid in Abu Dhabi, so huge growth during the course of the year.”

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