F1 mailbag: Lewis Hamilton to Red Bull what-ifs and the Williams long game

Max Verstappen might be making history through his march to a third Formula One title in 2023, winning each of the last eight races. But dominance is not without its problems.

We heard as much at the Miami Grand Prix in May when Verstappen was met with a chorus of boos on the podium. As impressive as his and Red Bull’s performances have been this year, there has rarely been a close fight at the front of the pack.

So what has this meant for F1’s T.V. viewership, particularly in the United States, where the series enjoyed a record year in 2022 amid the continued impact of the “Drive to Survive” boom? And behind Verstappen and Red Bull, what does the competitive order look like going into the second half of the season?

We tackle those questions in our latest F1 mailbag.

Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

With Pérez underwhelming and Hamilton out of contract at the end of the season, is it impossible to dream of a Hamilton to Red Bull move? It’ll never happen, but man, what a 2024 that would be. – David M.

In short, yes, it is impossible to dream of such a move. But agreed, it would be a mouthwatering match-up to have Hamilton and Verstappen together in the same team!

Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract remains a formality that is simply going through the final stages of the process. Toto Wolff said on Sunday at Spa that it was now “lawyers speaking to lawyers,” and there were “no material things anymore” to be finalized. “But you have to give it time, and I don’t want to give it a date (to be announced),” he added. So Hamilton won’t be going anywhere for 2024.

The same is true of Pérez. He remains under contract for next year, and Red Bull has shown no sign of considering a change in its driver line-up. Pérez’s form might have dipped, but Spa was a very clean weekend to lead the opening stages and finish second behind Verstappen, doing exactly what the team needs of him.

Even if Hamilton were on the lookout for a new team and Pérez wouldn’t be retained, a shock swoop by Red Bull is unlikely. Not only would there inevitably be tension in the team, having two ‘alpha’ drivers (with all respect to Pérez), but financially, it would also be a huge, huge ask.

“To pay for those two drivers in itself, we would probably have to sell the factory,” joked Christian Horner in Austria. “But, you know, Lewis is obviously a great driver. Hopefully, he’ll be around for many years to come. There’s been a couple of occasions in history that we’ve had a couple of conversations about the possibility of joining Red Bull. But that’s not been anytime recently.”

How is the viewership of F1 races in the U.S. this season? It’s hard to imagine the newer fans (thanks to DTS) will stick with the sport with how dull Max’s dominance has been this season. – Mark M.

According to the latest set of numbers provided by ESPN after the Belgian Grand Prix, each race has…