Formula 1 News: We rank the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers

We rank the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers – best to worst – Max Verstappen being the best to Logan Sargeant and Jack Doohan (only 1 race) at the back.

Our rankings are not just based on where they finished in the point standings, but also how they faired against their teammates in equal machinery, how they raced in competition and how much they managed to crash.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

AutoRacing1.com Ranks the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers

Rank	Driver	Reason
1	Max Verstappen	Despite not driving the best car in 2024, he won his 4th straight driving title. His Red Bull car was diabolical at times, but he still managed to score points in just about every race and won 9 times, far more than any other driver. His drive in the rain in Sao Paulo was one for the ages.
2	Lando Norris	Norris won four races driving the best car in F1, but should have won more. He was only beaten by the best driver in the world – Max Verstappen. He learned a lot in 2024 and if McLaren again produces a superior car in 2025, it could be his year.
3	Charles Leclerc	Leclerc made far less errors in 2024 and his wins in Monaco, Austin and Monza with Ferrari were magical. He ultimately only finished 18 points behind Norris. Will he school his new teammate Hamilton in 2025, or will Hamilton destroy Leclerc’s career by dominating him?
4	George Russell	Russell beat his teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying all year long, but Hamilton is aging out, allowing Russell to come out from behind his wide shadow. He won 2 races and was robbed of a third win in Spa by a minor weight infraction
5	Carlos Sainz Jr.	His last year with Ferrari was his best with two win in Mexico and Australia. The first 1/3 of the year Sainz was perfect, but bad weekends – notably crashes in Canada, Azerbaijan and Brazil (twice),
6	Oscar Piastri	Piastri had some bright spots in 2024, most notably his race wins in Hungary and Baku, He was a consistent point scorer for McLaren, but was ultimately beaten by teammate Norris regularly.
7	Fernando Alonso	Straddled with the 2nd slowest car on the grid, Alonso made the most out of a horrible situation. He got the most out of the package, comfortably outperformed teammate Lance Stroll.
8	Pierre Gasly	The Alpine was not a good car until they rolled out an upgrade in Austin and all of a sudden, Gasly was a podium threat. Third in the wet at Interlagos was the high point of his season, after starting down in 13th. Points-wide, Gasly did most of the heavy lifting in Alpine’s surprise rise to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.
9	Lewis Hamilton	A disastrous season for the 7-time World Champion. He managed to win at home in Silverstone and a lucky win at Spa were the only highlights for a driver who appears to be past his prime. Poor qualifying was his Achilles heel, usually the first sign a driver has lost the edge.
10	Nico Hülkenberg	Hulkenberg was the backbone of Haas’s unexpectedly strong 2024. Including sprints, he scored points 13 times and bagged 70% of the team’s total point score. His season highlight had to be his 4th fastest qualifying time in Abu Dhabi.
11	Yuki Tsunoda	The best F1 season of his career, Tsunoda was consistently the faster of the two RB drivers. He thoroughly beat Daniel Ricciardo, putting the final nail in Riccardo’s F1 career.
12	Alex Albon	Started out 2024 schooling Logan Sargeant in qualifying and the races, but when Franco Colapinto replaced Sargeant, all of a sudden Albon wasn’t able to dominate his teammate anymore. Both drivers suffered from crashes that resulted in a shortage of the latest parts. Albon scored points in 4 races, his best finish a 7th in Baku.
13	Valtteri Bottas	For the only time in his F1 career, Valtteri Bottas finished the season point-less. But it wasn’t for a lack of speed or effort. The Sauber was a horrible car – the slowest on the grid
14	Esteban Ocon	His second place in the wet in Brazil was his best result. He picked up points in Miami, Canada, Spain and Spa but was outclassed by teammate Gasly the 2nd half of the year when it did not rain
15	Kevin Magnussen	It’s the end of the F1 road for Kevin Magnussen who struggled early in the season with brake instability issues, but rebounded late in the season – notably an outstanding Mexican Grand Prix weekend that netted seventh place. But overall he was schooled by his teammate Hulkenberg in most races.
16	Oliver Bearman	His Saudi Arabia seventh place for Ferrari after replacing a sick Carlos Sainz Jr. was the highlight of his three race starts as a substitute. He followed that up with a point in Azerbaijan and then a Brazil weekend where he was faster than Haas team-mate Hulkenberg – but ultimately choked severely during the wet Interlagos race.
17	Liam Lawson	As Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement, Lawson showed a feisty side of him battling hard with Fernando Alonso and his last to 10th in his Austin debut was notable, as was his 7th place at Interlagos in the wet.
18	Sergio Perez	2024 was perhaps Sergio Perez’s worse season in F1. Sure, the Red Bull RB20 was diabolical at times, but Perez was thoroughly beaten by World Champion and teammate Max Verstappen in every measurable category by a wide margin. While Verstappen got the most out of the RB20, Perez was usually lucky to make it out of Q1.
19	Lance Stroll	On average a 1/4 second slower than his teammate Fernando Alonso all year, the only reason why Stroll is an F1 driver is that his father bought an entire team so his son could race.
20	Daniel Ricciardo	Daniel Ricciardo’s season started terribly, and he was demoralized in the early races. But there was an uptick in form from Canada. However, it was too late. He was pushed out by the RB team and replaced by Lawson starting in Austin, as Red Bull’s goal was solely focussed on finding a young driver to race alongside Max Verstappen. Ricciardo’s F1 days appear over.
21	Franco Colapinto	Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant and immediately made a big impression in the F1 paddock, making the Williams do what Sargeant could not – go fast. He scored points in two races but big crashes in Brazil (twice) and in Las Vegas qualifying were very costly to the team. So costly that Red Bull and Alpine, who both were interested in Colapinto’s services, immediately backed away, and no offer was forthcoming. As a result, Colapinto remains a Reserve driver for Williams in 2025.
22	Zhou Guanyu	Was out in Q1 in all but four races, was beaten by his teammate Valtteri Bottas, but did score the team’s only points
23	Logan Sargeant	Wasn’t fast enough and crashed far too often. Was ultimately sacked by Williams before completing his 2nd year in F1
24	Jack Doohan	Only drove 1 race for Alpine – too early to judge

End of Ranking the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers