The 2024 Formula 1 season was a fantastic departure from last year’s utter domination of the sport by champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen was victorious in 19 of the 22 races in 2023, at one point winning ten races one after another, whilst in 2024, no driver won more than two races in succession. Verstappen became champion for the fourth consecutive time in 2024, but it was much closer, with McLaren driver Lando Norris closely behind him in the points standings. Meanwhile, McLaren took the Constructors’ Championship, determined by the combined points of a team’s drivers, after a battle with Ferrari. Red Bull Racing, Verstappen’s team, was mired due to the fact that Sergio Pérez, their other driver, scored few points in comparison to Verstappen. They ended the season in third place.
At the beginning of the season, it certainly didn’t look like the thriller it was to become, with Verstappen dominating the first five rounds spare a singular non-finish with brake issues in Australia. He then won three of the next five rounds, but cracks were starting to show in the operation and speed of Red Bull. Ferrari was the clear second-fastest car on track, and McLaren wasn’t far behind that. Norris won the first race of his career at the Miami Grand Prix, beating Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, won in Monaco ahead of Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren.
At this point, McLaren brought some upgrades to their car, increasing their pace, which allowed them to catch up to first Ferrari and then Red Bull in overall speed. Piastri achieved his first race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix, a McLaren one and two finish, under controversial circumstances, for Norris had been ahead due to a team strategy bungle. The British outfit had brought Norris into the pits first, which had unfairly put him ahead on track until the team instructed him to move aside for Piastri to take the victory. Norris would soon take another victory, however, at the Dutch Grand Prix, by a massive 22 seconds over second-placed Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Mercedes, a team that had been rather anonymous in terms of high placements so far, suddenly gained composure and won three rounds in the middle of the season, with Lewis Hamilton taking two and George Russell taking one. Then, just as suddenly, they fell back again, far enough behind the top three not to trouble them in races. Mercedes would later win one more race in Las Vegas, with Russell leading home Hamilton for their only 1-2 of the season.
As the season drew to a close, Verstappen was looking to close up the Drivers’ Championship and did so at the Las Vegas Grand Prix after a stunning performance in Brazil where he drove from 17th place, a dismal qualifying position, up to 1st. The Brazilian Grand Prix took place during a wild downpour where several of the cars crashed, and most had points where they made mistakes and went off track. Not Verstappen: he proved that he was absolutely worthy of the championship even with his substantial early advantage in the season. Four titles is an incredible amount: behind only Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Juan Manuel Fangio, and tied with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. This season cements Verstappen as one of the sport’s greatest of all time.
In the last race of the season at Abu Dhabi, McLaren had a slight points advantage over Ferrari and would win the championship if they either had either driver win or both drivers in the top four positions. Despite Verstappen making contact with Piastri during the first lap and sending him to the back, Norris was able to hold first place ahead of both Ferraris and clinch the Constructors’ Championship in favor of McLaren, their first constructors’ title since 1998.
Next year, things are shuffling around quite a bit. Six drivers will have a full-time seat for the first time: Jack Doohan, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, and Isack Hadjar. Because of this, five drivers are leaving F1: Franco Colapinto, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Pérez. Whether any of them will return in the future is up for debate, but it could certainly be a possibility due to their experience driving in the sport. Also, several drivers currently in seats are switching teams for 2025, including Hamilton’s bombshell move to Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz, who is going to the Williams team. Lawson is vacating his VCARB seat to replace Pérez at Red Bull, which is a great improvement from any point of view. It will, however, be quite a challenge to be Verstappen’s teammate. No other driver has a faster pace or is tougher to drive against.
Who will be the best team and driver combination next year? It’s hard to predict based on the closeness of this year. The Constructors’ title is most likely going to come down between McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull, as it did this year. But the Drivers’ title is somewhat more difficult to predict. Verstappen, as the defending champion, is ready to do what it takes to get title number five. But Norris has gained valuable experience fighting at the front for the first time this year, and Leclerc and Hamilton is a dangerously quick pairing at Ferrari. No matter what happens, it’s sure to be a great year to watch.
