by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — The 2024 Formula 1 season was one of the crucial enthralling in years. Max Verstappen sealed his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship, however the Dutchman was pushed all the way in which by the likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, with McLaren taking their first Constructors’ title since 1998. No fewer than seven totally different drivers gained Grands Prix – essentially the most in a single season since 2012. Xinhua takes a take a look at how every of the runners and riders fared in 2024.
McLaren – 1st, 666 factors. (Lando Norris – 2nd, 374 factors; Oscar Piastri – 4th, 292 factors)
McLaren’s in-season developmental prowess that had reworked their 2023 season was once more evident this 12 months, because the MCL38 was largely the quickest automobile from June onwards, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri each choosing up their first Grand Prix wins. McLaren’s resurgence, coupled with a droop in kind for Red Bull, gave Norris an unlikely shot on the Drivers’ title which finally got here to naught. Nonetheless, a primary Constructors’ Championship since 1998 was simply reward for an outfit that has properly and actually bounced again from its mid-2010s nadir.
While Norris undeniably hit new heights in 2024, his tendency for introspection and self-criticism stands in distinction to the cold-hearted pragmatism of reigning champion Max Verstappen, and it stays to be seen whether or not the Briton has the mandatory mixture of pace, consistency and psychological fortitude that separates the nice from the merely excellent. Though ostensibly the junior driver within the pairing, Piastri has checked out house on the sharp finish of the grid, and might be desperate to show that he too is able to difficult for high honors.
Ferrari – 2nd, 652 factors. (Charles Leclerc – third, 356 factors; Carlos Sainz – fifth, 290 factors)
With 5 wins and a points-total simply 14 shy of McLaren’s, 2024 represented a particular step ahead for Ferrari. Shrugging off the frustration of being advised earlier than the season’s begin that he would get replaced by Lewis Hamilton for 2025, Carlos Sainz took two high-quality wins and confirmed properly in troublesome circumstances. The Spaniard can think about himself unfortunate to have been ousted, and deserves a extra aggressive mount than subsequent 12 months’s Williams is more likely to be.
In the opposite automobile, Charles Leclerc scored fairytale victories at Monaco and Monza, and largely eradicated the unforced errors that had blighted earlier seasons. But whereas his peaks had been larger than Sainz’s, the Monegasque additionally confirmed a propensity for inconsistency with a disappointing mid-season stretch. Hamilton’s imminent arrival means Ferrari have arguably F1’s strongest driver line-up subsequent 12 months, and it will likely be fascinating to see who emerges on high.
Red Bull – third, 589 factors. (Max Verstappen – 1st, 437 factors; Sergio Perez – eighth, 152 factors)
A fourth straight Drivers’ Championship for Max Verstappen, however the Dutchman was made to work loads tougher for his 2024 gong. It had all regarded plain crusing after seven wins within the first ten races, however a mid-season growth misstep abruptly noticed Red Bull struggling even to complete on the rostrum, as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all traded wins. Forced to wrestle with an uncompetitive automobile, Verstappen floor out what outcomes he might and ceaselessly transcended the boundaries of the RB20, and his victory within the moist in Brazil that nearly sealed the title was a efficiency for the ages. Critics will keep that the Dutchman is just too aggressive in wheel-to-wheel fight, and his tangle with Piastri in Abu Dhabi was unfair and pointless, however on potential alone, Verstappen was with out peer in 2024.
In the opposite automobile, Perez’s kind tailed off horribly because the RB20’s competitiveness waned, together with his underperformance making certain that Red Bull completed solely third within the Constructors’ Championship regardless of fielding a title-winning driver. As the curtain fell on the 2024 season, news emerged that Red Bull had been in negotiations to cancel the remaining two years on Perez’s contract, and it seems possible that the Mexican has pushed his final in Formula 1.
Mercedes – 4th, 468 factors. (George Russell – sixth, 245 factors; Lewis Hamilton – seventh, 223 factors)
Despite falling from second to fourth within the Constructors’ standings, 2024 was arguably a extra profitable 12 months than 2023 for Mercedes, with the Silver Arrows returning to the winners’ dais with two wins apiece for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Hamilton had set tongues wagging earlier than the season even began with the shock announcement that he would finish 12 years at Mercedes to maneuver to Ferrari for 2025 and past. The seven-time world champion rolled again the years with a high-quality victory at Silverstone that evoked recollections of his title-winning peak, however his kind tailed off because the season wore on, and Ferrari have to be hoping the soon-to-be 40-year-old just isn’t previous his imperious finest.
Hamilton was particularly proven up in qualifying by Russell, who bested his elder teammate 18-5 on Saturdays and laid on a number of extra spectacular performances as he prepares to steer the group into 2025 and past. With rookie Kimi Antonelli getting into Hamilton’s seat subsequent 12 months, the Silver Arrows’ title aspirations seem to put firmly at Russell’s toes.
Aston Martin – fifth, 94 factors. (Fernando Alonso – ninth, 70 factors; Lance Stroll – thirteenth, 24 factors)
Another 12 months, one other fifth place end within the Constructors’ standings for Aston Martin, however the Silverstone outfit scored far fewer factors than in 2023, was nowhere close to fast sufficient to problem for the rostrum, and even struggled to attain minor factors within the latter half of the 12 months. Drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll plodded gamely on with little hope of success, however there stays a way that the group is treading water forward of the approaching arrival of designer extraordinaire Adrian Newey. With the Briton’s sole focus set to be on 2026 and a brand new set of technical laws, one other season of mid-table mediocrity beckons subsequent 12 months.
F1’s elder statesman at 43, Alonso is exhibiting no indicators of slowing down, and Newey’s arrival has possible galvanised the Spaniard as he seeks his elusive third World Championship title. In the opposite automobile, Stroll didn’t rating a degree throughout the season’s final 11 Grands Prix, and as soon as once more did little to counsel that his place on the group is right down to something aside from his father’s possession of it.
Alpine – sixth, 65 factors. (Pierre Gasly – tenth, 42 factors; Esteban Ocon – 14th, 23 factors)
Like Aston Martin, Alpine completed in the identical place as in 2023, however there was a worrying drop off in efficiency, and when Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon locked out the again row of the grid on the season opener in Bahrain, the indicators had been that Team Enstone was in for a tricky 12 months. Ocon and Gasly not less than stored their heads amid the chaos in Brazil to attain a significant double podium end that vaulted them from ninth to sixth within the standings.
Simmering tensions between the group and Ocon boiled over at Monaco, when the Frenchman took himself out by needlessly clouting Gasly, and it got here as little shock when it was introduced that Ocon had signed for Haas for 2025 and past. By distinction, Gasly received stronger because the season wore on, and with rookie Jack Doohan taking Ocon’s place for 2025, the Frenchman appears able to assume the mantle of group chief.
Alpine’s enduring tendency for political turmoil drew on apace in 2024, with Bruno Famin eliminated as group principal function and changed by Oliver Oakes. More intriguingly, ex-team boss Flavio Briatore additionally returned as “special supervisor” – although the veteran Italian seems to wield significantly extra energy than his title may counsel. Briatore’s appointment coincided with an announcement that Alpine would stop to be a works group and as a substitute develop into a Mercedes buyer outfit in 2026, that means subsequent 12 months would be the final with the recalcitrant Renault energy unit.
Haas – seventh, 58 factors. (Nico Hulkenberg – eleventh, 41 factors; Kevin Magnussen – fifteenth, 16 factors; Ollie Bearman – 18th, 7 factors)
A surprisingly profitable season for Haas, who shrugged off the departure of long-serving Team Principal Guenther Steiner to rise from tenth to seventh within the standings beneath the aegis of Steiner’s substitute Ayao Komatsu. In restricted equipment, Nico Hulkenberg was one of many stars of the season, ceaselessly putting his VF-24 above faster automobiles, and a long-term contract with Sauber-Audi was simply reward for his efforts.
Teammate Kevin Magnussen was much less spectacular, however nonetheless notched a good haul of factors and confirmed himself to be a superb group participant. Having signed for BMW within the World Endurance Championship for 2025 and past, the Dane has possible pushed his final in F1, to get replaced in 2025 by rookie Ollie Bearman, who confirmed properly on a few substitute outings for each Ferrari and Haas this 12 months. With Esteban Ocon additionally approaching board, and technical help and funding from Toyota, the longer term appears rosy for Haas.
RB – eighth, 46 factors. (Yuki Tsunoda – twelfth, 30 factors; Daniel Ricciardo – seventeenth, 12 factors; Liam Lawson – twenty first, 4 factors)
Eighth within the Constructors’ Championship with 46 factors was about par for the group previously referred to as AlphaTauri. Yuki Tsunoda had a strong marketing campaign, constantly choosing up factors and exhibiting a better deal of consistency and emotional management than had been seen in earlier campaigns.
The Japanese unquestionably outperformed Daniel Ricciardo, whose disappointing season ended early when Red Bull elected to dispense together with his companies in favour of Liam Lawson, who impressed in his second part-season for Red Bull’s junior outfit, although he blotted his copybook barely with a couple of too many scrapes. With Perez’s F1 future hanging within the stability, both of Tsunoda or Lawson appears set for an surprising promotion to the senior squad in 2025.
Williams – ninth, 17 factors. (Alex Albon – sixteenth, 12 factors; Franco Colapinto – nineteenth, 5 factors; Logan Sargeant – twenty third, 0 factors)
Not a classic 12 months for Williams, who fell from seventh to ninth within the standings, and whose drivers discovered the limitations somewhat too usually, stretching the group’s components stock to breaking level. Alex Albon was much less spectacular than he had been in 2023, and a seven-race pointless streak on the 12 months’s finish bodes ailing for 2025. The group did rating a coup by persuading race winner and Ferrari refugee Carlos Sainz to affix subsequent 12 months, which ought to show a shot within the arm for a group that’s in peril of stagnating.
After having been overshadowed and outscored by Albon, Logan Sargeant was distributed with after a pointless shunt at Zandvoort and changed by Franco Colapinto for the rest of 2024. The Argentinian proved a revelation in his first few outings, prompting hypothesis of a full-time drive elsewhere for 2025, however a couple of hefty crashes of his personal noticed these rumours die down. Nevertheless, the Argentinian efficiently put himself within the store window for future alternatives, particularly together with his potential to have interaction F1’s appreciable South American fanbase.
Sauber – tenth, 4 factors. (Zhou Guanyu – twentieth, 4 factors; Valtteri Bottas – twenty second, 0 factors)
A dismal 12 months for Sauber, because the Swiss outfit continues its gradual metamorphosis into the works Audi group forward of 2026. Those behind-the-scenes machinations appeared to be an unwelcome distraction, and the C44’s on-track efficiency ceaselessly left a lot to be desired. Zhou not less than ensured that it will not be a pointless season for Sauber with a high-quality drive to eighth in Qatar, however the Chinese usually propped up the timesheets in follow and qualifying, and did little to counsel that the group can be any the poorer for his impending departure.
The statistics will present that Bottas was the one driver to finish the total 2024 season and fail to attain a degree, however the Finn was usually faster than Zhou, and may think about himself unfortunate to have drawn a clean. With Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto signed up for 2025, Bottas and Zhou could have pushed their final in F1, although each have been linked with reserve driver roles at Mercedes and Ferrari respectively.