F1 state of play: RB, Verstappen shine as Hamilton, Mercedes strain

Max Verstappen has given Formula One a one-sided feel so far in 2024 but that is a theme which, on closer inspection, extends well beyond the dominance of the world champion. Verstappen has taken pole position at every race so far and was only denied a clean sweep of race wins by a freak brake fire at the Australian Grand Prix.While the championship fight has been stacked heavily in one direction, a curious theme of the year so far has been how most of Red Bull’s fellow teams have experienced wildly contrasting performances from their two drivers. Those differences have been as clear as…