Top 10 F1 drivers of the 2024 season
The 2024 F1 season was the longest we've had in terms of races. With 24 races supplemented with 6 sprints, this was one of the more hectic years for the drivers. The problem with such a long F1 season is that getting into a good rhythm early on is very important.
If a driver cannot do that and finds himself struggling for form somehow, then that bad run of form continues for a while, as there are multiple triple headers. Hence there's not much time to sit down and analyze where things are going wrong.
This is the reason why F1 drivers going through long periods of strong results and others struggling to bounce back from a car issue has become very normal. For a driver to have a strong season, he needs to put together a year where he spends more time being on top of the car and less time struggling.
In this feature, we're taking a look at the F1 drivers who spent more time extracting great results from the car as we rank the top 10 drivers of the season.
Methodology
- Calculate the average of driver ratings given to each driver after every race over the 24 race period
- Rank the drivers accordingly, with higher rating yielding a better rank
Ranked: 10 best F1 drivers of 2024
#10 Esteban Ocon (Avg rating: 7.02)
Esteban Ocon finds himself in P10 with an average rating of 7.02. The French driver had a dominant start against teammate Pierre Gasly and arguably put Alpine in places it never deserved to be. Since the Monaco GP, where he was threatened with losing his seat and things started unraveling at the team, the driver's form took a dip.
In between all that, the driver pulled off arguably the drive of the year in Brazil and, in essence, helped Alpine secure P6 in the championship.
#9 Oscar Piastri (Avg rating: 7.02)
At no. 9 is Oscar Piastri, and while this might come as a surprise for many, it is a result of the fact that the Australian has been thoroughly outclassed by his teammate Lando Norris, and the late-season and early-season form took a serious dip.
Oscar had his peaks this F1 season as well as low moments. Overall, he should be happy with how things are going, although McLaren would want him to take the next step in 2025.
#8 Pierre Gasly (Avg rating: 7.13)
Pierre Gasly's late-season flourish helped him jump multiple positions in the last few years to place him in P8. He was up against it at Alpine at the start of the season when the car was not in the shape to achieve anything.
Yet, in the second half of the season, he made the most of the car he had under him and helped Alpine secure P6 in the 2024 F1 championship.
There is a question mark over how much better the car did get in the second half and what tools were given to his teammate Esteban Ocon. But that being said, Gasly brought the results and deserves his place in the top 10.
#7 Fernando Alonso (Avg rating: 7.15)
Fernando Alonso finishes the season in P7 with an average rating of 7.15. By the Spaniard's standards, this is probably not his best season, as there were quite a few times when he was either frustrated with the car or just unable to get on top of things.
With that being said, the second half of the season was brilliant, and the fact that he accrued multiple points-scoring finishes is a testimony to the kind of work that he did in that car.
#6 Nico Hulkenberg (Avg rating: 7.48)
A brilliant season from Nico Hulkenberg helps him secure P6 in the standings with an average rating of 7.46. The German was the shining light for Haas this season and almost helped the team secure P6 in the championship.
#5 Carlos Sainz (Avg rating: 7.50)
Carlos Sainz finds himself in P5 in what was his last season in a competitive car for a while. The driver made the most of it when it came to putting together results whenever the car was in the right window. He got 2 race wins and a ton of podiums and has shown how good he can be when the car is in the right window.
#4 George Russell (Avg rating: 7.77)
George Russell finds himself in P4 with an average rating of 7.77. The points standings don't necessarily show how brilliant a driver he has been, as reliability and other factors cost him in two races where Mercedes was the most competitive (Spa and Silverstone).
With that being said, this was a season where he became the benchmark in Mercedes and overtook outgoing F1 legend Lewis Hamilton. In the right car, George challenges for the title, and this season was proof of that.
#3 Lando Norris (Avg. rating: 8.06)
Lando Norris comes home in P3 with an average rating of 8.06. The McLaren driver's biggest and possibly only major weakness in 2024 was the race starts. The driver lost a ton of points, which possibly cost him the title.
That being said, Lando continued to stay ridiculously consistent throughout the year, and there weren't many races where he was involved in collisions or made contact with other drivers. He's shown in 2024 that he's not a finished product yet, but he's very close to being one.
#2 Charles Leclerc (Avg rating: 8.19)
Charles Leclerc is second with an average rating of 8.19, and looking back, the driver would be thinking long and hard about that mid-season slump post-Monaco GP.
Regardless, this has been a more mature F1 season for Leclerc as he gets ready for what would potentially be a year-long title battle in 2025.
#1 Max Verstappen (Avg rating: 8.29)
At the top, we have Max Verstappen, and this doesn't come as much of a surprise. The Red Bull driver started the season dominantly and soon realized it was not going to be as smooth as 2023. From that point onwards, it was all about knuckling down and getting whatever points were on offer and maybe being strategic in his defense against Lando Norris on track.
With that being said, he is once again the best F1 driver of the season and had an average rating of 8.29 over 24 races.
Honorable mention
One name that has not made it to the top 10 is surprisingly Lewis Hamilton. The F1 legend had an average rating of 6.71 over 24 races, which put him P14 in the ranking. The season has not been one of the best for the driver, with far too many low points at the start of the season and the second half of the year as well.