While fans of the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB pine for days past when championship dynasties dominated those sports, Formula 1 fans are spoiled rotten with dynasties.

Check the history: Beginning in 2000, Michael Schumacher won five straight F1 driver championships; from 2010 to 2013, Sebastian Vettel won four in a row; and from 2014 to 2020, Lewis Hamilton won six titles in seven years. Today, the dominant champion is Max Verstappen, winner of three straight F1 titles and currently in the lead to claim a fourth straight title in 2024.

With eight races remaining this season, Verstappen leads the field with 303 points, followed by Lando Norris’ 241 points and Charles Leclerc’s 217. The lead is not insurmountable, and pretty small compared to a year ago when Verstappen and his Red Bull racing team destroyed the competition with 575 points and the second-place driver had 285. Last season saw Verstappen go on one run of 10 straight race wins, then a separate streak of seven wins to close the show. In total, Verstappen won 19 of 22 races and reached the podium (a.k.a. a top-three finish) in 21 of 22 races. He clinched the championship in the season’s 17th race.

This year, it hasn’t been as smooth of a ride.

The next stop on the 2024 circuit is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sept. 15, one of five stops in Muslim-majority nations for Formula 1. (The others include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.) Azerbaijan is the 17th of 24 races this season, and Verstappen won’t be able to to clinch a championship there like he did at this point last season. Verstappen has won seven races in 2024, more than anyone else, but he hasn’t won more than two races in a row at any point. Even if he runs the table from now through the end of this season, he won’t match his win total from last season.

Meanwhile, six other drivers have won races in 2024: Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc have two wins apiece; Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, and George Russell also have wins under their belt. Norris is tied with Verstappen at 10 podium appearances. In this past Sunday’s Grand Prix in Italy, five drivers finished ahead of Verstappen: Leclerc won, joined by Piastri and Norris on the podium, while Sainz and Hamilton also beat out Verstappen. The reigning champ also finished sixth in the Monaco Grand Prix in May. Last season, he was never worse than fifth place.

Verstappen actually hasn’t won a race since June 23, when he took the Grand Prix in Spain. A six-race losing streak is entirely common and routine for drivers in every motorsport, but Verstappen has been so good recently that this feels like a real drought — generating “What’s wrong with Max?” and “What’s wrong with Red Bull?” thinkpieces and talking points. (Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, has zero wins and four podiums in 2024.)

While Verstappen is still the favorite and front-runner to finish with fourth straight title, things are at least more competitive in 2024. Formula 1 could even get what every motorsports organization dreams about: its championship being decided in the final race of the season, creating a high-drama scenario that will draw as many viewers and as much media attention as possible.

Whether F1 fans are rooting for a new dynasty to begin, or they’re just tired of Verstappen dusting everyone else, this is the year that the field is stronger and actually posing a threat. They’re still chasing the champ, but or the first time in a while it feels like they actually have a decent chance of catching him.