Notes from the 2024 F1 World Championship: Verstappen nailed it, Norris was not up to par and Alonso juggles

He F1 World Cup 2024 was finished then F1 Abu Dhabi GP. It became the course with the most races in history, up to 24 events in which Max Verstappen He proved he was still the best on the grid against a Lando Norris who was no match at the wheel of the best car.

9: Max Verstappen

Master class. He was crushed at the start of the year when he had the best car, with 4 wins in the first 5 races, losing only one of them due to a problem with his car. And when he no longer had the best car, he maximized his results by achieving at least 5 more wins without the fastest car, with a car that suffered from many balance problems and that he was able to tame with his hands and aggressiveness. He beat Norris in every aspect of the race: no mistakes, with a better start and, above all, better hand management. He doesn’t get 10 for some maneuvers where he goes beyond the limits, although it is also part of his nature and the way he is a pilot.

7. Sainz and Leclerc and Russell

Leclerc and Sainz had a good year together where they are about to take advantage of their Ferrari’s improvement at the end of the season, staying close to the Constructors’ world title. Carlos He was one of the best drivers on the grid at the start of the season, with an epic victory in Australia after undergoing appendicitis surgery, and finished the course in style with a victory in Mexico and several podiums. He took advantage of the car once it was up there.

It can’t be done Monaco and Monza, scenarios where his teammate Leclerc triumphed and shoneas in an event in Austin where Carlos might have won if he hadn’t been hurt by an aggressive start from Verstappen. Charles shows his immense talent in quotes like Monaco and Monza and finished the year with a spectacular comeback, from 19th to 3rd in Abu Dhabi.

In its part, George Russell clearly finished 2024 ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamiltondefeated a 7-time champion, although the team was already on his side.

7. Alonzo

The best of ‘the rest’. He did more than he should with the car he had. It was Alonso 9th in the World Championship, behind the drivers of the 4 best teamsand he achieved it with a car that finished worst on the grid. You can’t give it a higher rating because of the lack of a car.

His second half of the season was exceptional. With one of the worst cars in the second half of the course, he managed to keep fighting for Q3 and the points, no matter how difficult it was.

In urban circuits like Baku and Singapore he made the difference in 6th place (7th in qualifying) and 8th place (7th in qualifying) and got unexpected results on tracks like of Zandvoort (Q3 and points), he placed the car in Q3 in Brazil, he grabbed the points in Italy and Las Vegas and finished with the points in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. He pitted the car 16 times in Q3. He beat Stroll 19 to 5 in qualifying and He is two points away from tripling his teammate’s points: 70 for Alonso and 24 for the Canadian. Fernando contributed 74.4% of all Aston Martin points.

7 Pierre Gasly

patient. The Frenchman knew how to bide his time in an Alpine team that had many problems at the start of the season and took his chances at the wheel of a car that improved in the second half of the championship. He had a great podium in Brazil and a great end to the year where he achieved 6th on the grid in Austin, 3rd on the grid in Las Vegas and 5th in the Qatar race.

6. Lando Norris

Soft Lando Norris has not won the F1 World Championship with the best car in most races since Imola, the sixth round of the season. The Englishman took Hamilton’s titles when he won by a landslide and said he would have been ready to win if he had the best car, but he didn’t..

He achieved 4 wins and 8 pole positions, but his numbers should be better. He ended up handing over the crown with two rounds to go, having a worse second half of the season than Max despite having the better car.

The same note can be given to Piastri. He wasn’t in that fight like Lando due to lack of experience. It was only his second year and he had moments of great brilliance, such as where he stole his teammate’s wallet, as happened in Hungary, or extraordinary races such as in Baku against Leclerc, which has a very good attack and defense. However, Piastri was too inconsistent, especially in qualifying. It has a lot of room for improvement.

6. Haas, Hülkenberg, Tsunoda and Colapinto

The surprise. Surprise team of the season for its unexpected improvement. Haas went from being a red lantern in Constructors in 2023 and continued to fight for 6th place in the World Championship until the last race. Finally, they finished in 7th place with 58 points7 in the 6th and 46 above its 2023 result, the trend of Nico Hülkenberg, capable of scoring 41 points compared to only 16 from his teammate Magnussen.

We should also highlight Nico Yuki Tsunoda’s year at RBcapable of making an important step in driving and performance at an important moment, as well as the debut of Franco Colapintoshone from the start without experience and did not have the amount of tests and previous laps in an F1 like other young talents with more support and money. Franco did so well at the start that he was considered for Red Bull, although his inexperience hurt him in important moments like in the water in Brazil or on a delicate track like Las Vegas.

5. Lewis Hamilton

Far from his level. Lewis Hamilton achieved two victories in 2024, although one of them came after the disqualification of the one who crossed the finish line first, his teammate Russell (at Spa). Throughout the year, Lewis seemed very disconnected, far from his best level of form, suffering during many Grand Prix and continued to be outpaced by Russell, beating him 8 to 16 in qualifying and the same race result in 24 course appointments. Perhaps not having a championship car reduced his motivation and performance.

Suspense:

Not enough. ‘Checo’ Pérez This is the big negative surprise of the season. In recent years, being away from Max and the failure in qualifying was not a problem because he had a very good car that allowed him to win every Sunday. However, in a tighter F1 like 2024, the problems are greater. His car was far from his driving style and while the evolution of Red Bull led to bigger setbacks for the car, everything was more complicated for Pérez to enter a crisis of results where he was not ever appeared.

Much more is expected of Sauber All in all, a team that took a red lantern for its lack of evolution throughout the year, falling short of expectations. They didn’t agree either Sargeant and Ricciardoearly dropped from their respective teams.