The 2024 F1 season brought us new drivers, new race winners, new rivalries, and the first McLaren constructors title since 1998. It was the most competitive season of Max Verstappen’s dominant era following his first drivers title in 2021, with seven different drivers winning races, compared to only three the season previously. This F1 season was the longest yet, with twenty-four races and six sprint races, making the bid for points all the more important.
Championship bid
Red Bull started strong with a double podium in Bahrain, with Verstappen consistently winning races through the first half of the season. However, doubts about their dominance arose as Sergio Perez struggled to keep up with Verstappen, ending the season two hundred and eighty five points behind his teammate. In comparison, Ferrari and McLaren had both drivers consistently on par with each other, as a result of this, Red Bull suffered and came third in the constructors championship.
However, Verstappen went on to win his fourth drivers championship title in a row, and despite some fierce competition from Lando Norris, as well as the two Ferraris, he ultimately claimed victory in Las Vegas. For me, his standout moment of the season was his drive to victory from seventeenth position in Interlagos. Extreme weather conditions saw an unlikely race take shape as red flags and pit stops led to Esteban Ocon leading the race, until Carlos Sainz crashed triggering a safety car, Verstappen took back the lead from the Ocon’s Alpine and cemented his 62nd race win.
Norris became one of the most exciting contenders for the drivers championship as he produced a real threat to Verstappen’s dominance. His four race wins and consistent podiums put him in strong contention for the title, however a few pitfalls in strategy led to him being forced to settle for second place at the end of the season.
Despite Norris’s disappointment in the drivers championship, McLaren stormed to victory in the constructors championship, securing their first title since 1998. Their season started out on the back-foot, however they quickly brought in new upgrade packages that saw the car become arguably the fastest on the grid. Team orders played a big role in their season with the team being largely unable to decide until the last minute which driver they were to prioritise. However, Piastri and Norris’s consistency drove the team to victory in the Constructors Championship, beating Ferrari by fourteen points.
Credit, Jen Ross @ Wikkimedia Commons
Top moments of the season
This season produced many thrilling moments as more teams and drivers were able to mount an attack on Red Bull’s dominance. There were four stand-out moments for me throughout the 2024 F1 season, so, in no particular order, here are my favourite moments:
- Hamilton’s win at Silverstone: This win was a special moment in the season as Lewis Hamilton finally won his first race since Saudi Arabia in 2021, at home at Silverstone. This was his ninth win at Silverstone, breaking the F1 record for the most wins at a single circuit.
- Charles Leclerc’s double ‘home’ win: Leclerc finally broke his Monaco curse, winning his first home race since being in F1. After many years of bad luck around the track in Monaco, Ferrari’s strategy calls finally paid off as Leclerc took the team to victory with team-mate Carlos Sainz closely behind him in third place. He became the first Monegasque to win a home race. He then went on to win at Monza, the home race of Ferrari, with the full backing of the Tifosi. These two wins were extremely important to Leclerc, stating in the post-race interview that: “Monaco and Monza are the two races that I want to win every year. Obviously I want to win as many races as possible and the world championship as soon as possible but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. So, it’s so, so special.”
- Carlos Sainz’s speedy recovery: After battling appendicitis during the second race of the season, Sainz responded with a win only sixteen days after undergoing surgery. Sainz went into the 2024 season without a seat for the following year after Ferrari announced Lewis Hamilton would be replacing him from 2025. Sainz delivered a dominant performance, cruising to victory and displaying his talent on the grid.
- Lando Norris’s first career win: Norris finally took the top step on the podium in Miami. McLaren’s strategy put Norris ahead of Verstappen after pitting during a safety car and his defensive driving kept him in first place all the way to the end. This race cemented both Norris and McLaren’s bid for championship titles this season, showing Norris to be a real contender against Verstappen.
Special mention: I cannot finish my top moments without mentioning the drama between George Russell and Max Verstappen towards the end of this season. Seemingly exploding out of nowhere, the pair started to make comments to the press about each other after Verstappen was handed a one place grid penalty for reportedly impeding Russell during qualifying, even though neither driver was on a fast lap at that moment.
Verstappen stated: “I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect.” However, Russell’s response to the media suggests that there is more to the story: “I find it all quite ironic, considering that on Saturday night he said he was purposely going to go out of his way to crash into me and quote, ‘put my fucking head in the wall…people have been bullied by Max for years now.” Clearly there was more being said by both parties in private, although it provided the most explosive off-track moment of the 2024 season.
Rookies
Rookies are often a rare sight in F1. However, this season saw four new drivers take the grid : Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, and Jack Doohan. Doohan subbed in for Esteban Ocon in the final race of the season and finished fifteenth. He secured a place on the grid for 2025 with Alpine due to his talent and commitment to the team.
Colapinto was one of the biggest surprises as he took Logan Sergeant’s Williams seat halfway through the season and scored points on his debut at Monza. Colapinto does not have a seat on the grid for 2025, however it was just announced that he will be the reserve driver for Alpine, so it will be interesting to see the team dynamic with Doohan and Colapinto.
Like Colapinto, Lawson only had half a season to demonstrate his talent as Visa Cash App RB opted to replace Ricciardo with Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 season after the race in Austin. Lawson displayed an impressive performance throughout the remainder of the season, although was outscored by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in race points. It was recently announced that Lawson was to replace Perez in Red Bull for the 2025 season and his promotion sees him racing for one of the most competitive teams in F1.
Bearman became a super-sub, filling in for three different races for two different teams, all while competing in F2. His F1 debut was in Jeddah, with only half a days notice till the race as Sainz was taken ill with appendicitis. Bearman ended the race in seventh position, scoring points on his debut for Ferrari. He then went on to race for Haas twice, filling in for Kevin Magnussen in Baku and São Paulo. This helped Bearman secure his place on the 2025 grid for Haas, it will be exciting to see how his future in F1 pans out.
The results
McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes rounded out the top four teams in the constructors championship having dominated the podiums across the season. Aston Martin and Alpine led the midfield, both only having a few car developments throughout the season. However, Alpine’s surprise double podium in Brazil saw the team shoot up to sixth place in the constructors championship. It will be interesting to see how these two teams develop next season, with ex-Red Bull engineer Adrian Newey heading to Aston Martin as their new managing technical partner and a rookie in the Alpine seat.
Haas were consistent over the season, only being pipped to sixth by the points scored by Alpine’s double podium. Ayao Komatsu’s appointment as team principle was really beneficial to the team, helping Haas maintain their consistency. RB ended the season eighth having faced a lot of inconsistency with the swapping of Ricciardo for Lawson midway through the season. Their car did become more and more competitive as the season progressed, with Yuki Tsunoda being their most consistent driver in getting the team valuable points.
Like RB, Williams faced inconsistency with drivers, switching drivers halfway through the season and dealing with a few expensive crashes. However, team principle James Vowels is committed to driving the team forward, convincing Carlos Sainz to drive for them in 2025.
Finally, last in the constructors standings is Stake Kick Sauber. Their car was largely uncompetitive, only scoring points in the second to last race of the season. Drivers Valterri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have both been replaced for the 2025 season as the team faces changes ahead of its transition to Audi in 2026.
This season has definitely been the most exciting since the 2021 show-down between Verstappen and Hamilton. I enjoyed the variety of race winners, with Ferrari and McLaren really bringing their everything to the table. I personally cannot wait to see what the F1 2025 season brings, with even more rookies on the grid and Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
