Formula One | The season that was — a breath of fresh air and challenge to monopoly Premium

The Hindu ranks the top 10 drivers of the 2024 Formula One season, highlighting Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, and more.

The 2024 Formula One season was a refreshing change from the one-sided domination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in the previous year. The 75th running of the championship was far more exciting as seven drivers won a race and a few others in the midfield also impressed and produced incredible finishes. The Hindu ranks the top 10 drivers of the 2024 season.

Max Verstappen (2024 finish: 1st, 437 points): In a sport where having the best car determines success than just having the fastest driver, Verstappen showed the difference a driver can make. While it might be a no-brainer to put the champion at the top of the rankings, who also won the most number of races (nine), the way he went about his season was far more impressive than the eventual result. The 27-year-old maximised his car’s advantage when it was the class of the field, winning four out of the first five races. Once McLaren started to get its act together, Verstappen still won three more races where the former could have and should have won. The Dutchman and his team made the difference in executing the right strategy, and his excellent race craft helped him build a sizeable lead. Even when he went without a win for 10 races, Verstappen minimised the damage in a tricky car that he didn’t particularly like but managed to bank crucial podiums that laid the foundation for his fourth straight drivers’ crown. The icing on the cake was the victory in Brazil in treacherous conditions, where he pierced through the field from 17th on the grid to win the race and reaffirm his status as the best driver on the grid.

Charles Leclerc (3rd, 356): This will probably go down as the Ferrari driver’s best season since his debut in 2018. He won three races and scored 12 podiums to finish third in the championship despite the Prancing Horse going through a run of races during the summer with not-so-competitive machinery. The Monagasque driver won at two iconic venues, which were also the two most significant events for him and his team.

His first win of the year came in his home event of Monaco, the most glamorous race on the calendar. Then, after the summer break, Leclerc showed excellent tyre management skills to nick a win from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Ferrari’s home race in Monza. He closed the season strongly, winning in Austin, followed by podiums in Mexico, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, finishing within 18 points of Lando Norris in second place.

Leclerc could claim to be the fastest driver over one lap, and this year, he has been clinical in races and reduced his mistakes, which has held him back in the past. Had Ferrari given him a competitive car from the mid-point of the year, it would not be wild to suggest he would have given Verstappen a lot more headache.

Lando Norris (2nd, 374): In 2024, Norris realised his dream of becoming a Grand Prix winner and unexpectedly found himself in a title fight against Verstappen. The McLaren driver was brilliant over one lap and had spellbinding weekends, like in Zandvoort, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, where he posted dominant victories from pole position. He obliterated the field and lived up to his billing as an up-and-coming mega-star driver. However, at the same time, there were also major misses on his part despite having the fastest car for most of the season. His errors and a bit of meekness at times made life easy for Verstappen, and the 25-year-old should have taken the title fight down to the wire. The fact that he converted only three of his eight pole positions to victories shows there is still work to do if he has to beat Verstappen. Even in wheel-to-wheel battle, Norris seemed timid against the Dutchman, who often pushes the boundaries of acceptable racecraft. The Briton needs to draw a line in the sand quickly and not let the four-time champion bully him on track.

Oscar Piastri (4th, 292): The Australian took a massive leap in only his second year in the sport, winning two races. Significantly, he improved on his apparent weakness in his maiden season. In 2023, his race pace and tyre management were an issue; this year, Piastri has gotten on top of those. Once McLaren got its significant upgrades in Miami, Piastri wasn’t far from Norris.