2024 F1 drivers ranked: Is Verstappen really No1?

The 2024 F1 season has been one of the most exciting ever seen, and yet the result is familiar.

Max Verstappen has used the spread of performance across the top four teams of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes to his advantage, eking out a championship margin in a variety of ways.

Dominant race wins, canny damage-limitation drives and defensive masterclasses have all gone into this season, helping the Dutchman to a fourth consecutive title.

But is he the best driver of the year? The campaign has seen the emergence of new stars, grizzled veterans battling on and one-off cameos stealing the show.

Below we rank the all the drivers of Formula 1 2024 before throwing the debate over to you. Have your say on the top performers of 2024 and vote in our Season Review Awards at the bottom of the page

23. Logan Sargeant

It really has been a sorry season for Logan Sargeant.

His 2022 F2 campaign – featuring four wins – is better than either 2025 GP graduates Oliver Bearman or Kimi Antonelli have enjoyed this year – showing Grove’s faith was well-placed when it promoted him for 2023.

It just didn’t work out though, with one point scored in 36 starts. As well as being off the pace, Sargeant had a tendency to crash quite a lot, also appearing (understandably) moody and unengaged with his day job.

Williams decided to end the pain after the Dutch GP weekend, during which he destroyed yet another car. He really has been the worst F1 driver of 2024.

22. Lance Stroll

It says something about Logan Sargeant’s season that Lance Stroll isn’t ranked bottom of this list. If the American had even managed a mediocre 2024 campaign, it would probably have looked better than his Canadian counterpart.

While Aston Martin hasn’t shown the electrifying pace it had last year, the irrepressible Fernando Alonso has still been a regular point scorer.

The same can’t be said of Stroll, who had a ten-race pointless streak between Belgium and Qatar. Alonso snared points in half those races. It’s true that the Canadian is going up against a grand prix great in the shape of his team-mate, but he really should be doing better.

Stroll’s had a few gaffes this season, but the nadir came when he spun off on the formation lap of the Sao Paulo GP, clipping the barriers. Adding insult to injury in signature style, the Canadian then immediately drove into the gravel trap, beaching the car and putting himself out of the race before it had even started – his season illustrated in just a few seconds.

21. Sergio Perez

At least Sergio Perez began the season with some semblance of competitiveness. He scored four podiums in the first five races – three of them runner-up placings – and was ‘only’ 25 points behind Verstappen after that fifth round in China.

And then his form totally collapsed. Since Miami, when he came home fourth in the sixth race of a 24-date calendar, Perez hasn’t finished inside the top five once. Not once.

In that period, his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen has scored five wins and nine podiums in total. The 2024 champion has racked up 429 points to Perez’s 152; the Mexican should be doing better than this.

It’s been the general consensus for several years that the Milton Keynes machines have been difficult ones to drive, and that only Verstappen appears to be able to get the very best out of it – but Perez is still supposed to be an elite racing professional who can deal with this thing up to a point. It’s a cliché that fast cars aren’t necessarily well-balanced or easy to drive.

Will Red Bull make a change, ripping up its second driver’s two-year contract? It looks like it.

“We will fully support him until the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi. Whatever he decides after that is ultimately his decision,” team boss Christian Horner said ominously in Qatar.

20. Daniel Ricciardo

2024 was Daniel Riccardo’s shot at redemption. After coming back with the Red Bull junior team midway through last season, the seven-time race winner’s goal this year was to show he still had what it takes, and thus be promoted to the senior squad in 2025.

Would the charming smile and semi-amusing witticisms carry him all the way? It wasn’t to be. The Australian was summarily outperformed by his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, when it appeared most at Red Bull hoped things would be the other way round.

Ricciardo chalked up just three points finishes in 18 races. His young Japanese colleague collected seven in that time. The Australian showed very occasional flashes of speed, but ultimately it became plain to all that the 35-year-old wasn’t going to rediscover his race-winning form.

“I put my best foot forward, let’s say the fairytale ending didn’t happen but I also have to look back on what it’s been,” said Ricciardo when the end appeared nigh in Marina Bay. “Thirteen or so years and I’m proud.”

In the wake of the Singapore race it was announced Ricciardo had been dropped in favour of Liam Lawson with immediate effect.

It looks like the Perth native’s tally of eight GP wins will be his lot – he’s part of F1’s past now, not its future.

19. Zhou Guanyu

It’s been a torrid 2024 for Zhou Guanyu but, unlike the names above, there was light at the end of the tunnel for the Chinese driver.

Until the penultimate round of the season, neither he nor Sauber colleague Valtteri Bottas had scored a point. They didn’t even look liked scoring one for most of it.

However, after being hopeless in every department for much of 2024, new development parts finally came on song for the Swiss squad late in the year, with Zhou vindicating the direction taken by securing an eighth-place finish in Qatar.

The team will have an all new line-up in 2025, but Zhou exits on a high note. The rumour mill suggests he’ll be a Ferrari reserve driver next year.

It remains to be seen if he’ll ever race anything again, or become the Esteban Gutierrez to Fred Vasseur’s Toto Wolff – looking semi-wise standing there at a loose end in the garage, but ultimately contributing nothing (apart from increased car sales in China).

18. Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon is F1’s wind-up merchant, the smiling assassin who is all friends off the grid, all daggers on it.

The Frenchman might not quite have the searing pace of his rivals, but it doesn’t matter as he’ll elbow you out the way anyway.

It seems like that this approach has finally moved him on from Alpine though, after a five-year stint.

Both Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso took issue with Ocon when they were on the opposite side of the garage, so fireworks looked likely when childhood friend-turned-foe Pierre Gasly was hired by Alpine last year.

All parties have largely managed to keep a lid on it, but things erupted at the 2024 Monaco GP when Ocon lunged on Gasly in the opening sequences, and took himself out of the race.

Then-team boss Bruno Famin warned there’d be “consequences” for the indiscretion, and it was announced shortly afterwards Ocon was out at the end of the season, before being replaced by Jack Doohan for the season finale.

It really hasn’t been a stellar season for Ocon. While Gasly has found form to bring his points finishes for the year to nine, Ocon has managed just half that with four top tens. He’ll hope for better fortunes at Haas next year.

17. Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen has enjoyed an upturn in performance with a couple of points finishes towards the end of 2024, but like last year the feisty Dane will be disappointed with his results this season.

Magnussen is used to leading the charge at his respective teams, but has been largely left behind by Nico Hülkenberg since the German joined Haas in 2023.

As a result Magnussen’s F1 career looks to be over, with only Red Bull now deliberating over who to hire and looking within for its next driver.

Before he was tempted back to grand prix racing by Haas, Magnussen moved to replicate his father Jan’s success in IMSA with a year at the Cadillac Chip Ganassi team.

He’ll be racing for BMW at Daytona next year and K-Mag himself told Motor Sport it was his aim to do the Indy 500 – maybe now’s the time to really live the American dream?

16. Valtteri Bottas

F1’s fastest mullet Valtteri Bottas has been driving the wheels off his below-par Sauber C44 all year, to no avail. For the first time in his career, he’s gone a whole season scoring no points.

The 35-year-old is out at the team after this year, but has shown in 2024 he still has the pace and commitment to put up good results. His eleventh place in Qatar, oh-so-close to scoring points in a terrible car, proves the hunger is still there.

Disappointingly, it looks like Bottas will be announced as a Mercedes reserve driver for 2025. Doesn’t he want to race instead of just picking up a cheque? He’s confirmed he already turned down a full-time IndyCar drive next year.

Here’s hoping the Finn throws in a bit of sports car racing in the near future to make himself more than a living Uber Eats meme.

15. Liam Lawson

Red Bull often gives the impression that its recruitment search is personality driven almost as much as it is by performance.

Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Sergio Perez have all wilted in the face of Max Verstappen, the fact the Red Bull is difficult to drive only compounding the issue.

Liam Lawson made five substitute appearances for the injured Daniel Ricciardo last year, sensationally out-qualifying the rest of the Red Bull roster – including Verstappen – on his way to scoring points in Singapore.

The Kiwi was infuriated when he wasn’t picked for a drive in 2024, and he brought this ballsy attitude into this season by immediately upsetting Fernando Alonso with robust driving on his RB return at Austin.

That and scoring points in COTA delighted Red Bull boss Christian Horner, putting Lawson in the frame for the 2025 Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.

However, since then Lawson’s been shaded by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who’s scored a few more points and been slightly faster in qualifying – giving Horner a tricky decision when it comes to picking a replacement for the apparently doomed Sergio Perez.

Has Lawson done enough to earn a drive alongside the world champion in 2025?

14. Franco Colapinto

Brought in by Williams to replace the hapless Logan Sargeant for the business end of the season, Franco Colapinto has burst onto the scene and been a real breath of fresh of air.

He seems to usually score points or crash – as a neutral viewer looking for entertainment, you can’t argue with that.

The outspoken Argentine also pointedly told Esteban Ocon he should’ve saved his tyres (and therefore also the planet) after snatching his fastest lap point away in Austin, then later suggested Williams gamble the rest of its 2024 budget in the Las Vegas casinos to pay for its crash damage. In the modern media-trained world, Colapinto’s difficult not to like.

At a certain point both Red Bull and Alpine were sniffing around with a view to having him in one of their cars next year, but it now looks like one prang too many has ended that idea. He’ll most likely be a Williams reserve in 2025.

13. Oliver Bearman

It might seem odd to put a driver who’s only appeared on three GP weekends this year at 13 in this list, but the fact is that 19-year-old Oliver Bearman mightily impressed every time he got in the car. Furthermore, he’s done so on each occasion with little-to-no preparation.

When Carlos Sainz’s appendix gave in just prior to this year’s Saudi race, the Scuderia drafted in its teenage prodigy, who paid it back big time.

Given just one free practice session before qualifying – his call-up was that late – the Essex native stuck his Ferrari 11th on the grid at one of the fastest and most challenging circuits on the calendar.

Bearman then showed maturity beyond his years by fighting his way through the field and holding off Lewis Hamilton to secure a sensational seventh place on his debut.

Six months later and he was back in an F1 car again, this time for Haas in Baku after Kevin Magnussen had incurred a one-race ban after racking up too many penalty points.

He beat experienced team-mate Nico Hülkenberg to finish tenth in the GP, making him the first driver in the series’ history to score points for two different teams in his first two events.

He raced for a third time in Brazil, replacing an unwell Magnussen, and out-paced Hülkenberg again in the sprint qualifying session. The young Brit found the sprint itself and the Sunday race more of a challenge, but you can hardly blame such a green rookie.

Bearman has already made his mark, and will race for Haas in 2025.

12. Alexander Albon

It’s been a challenging year for Alex Albon. The Thai-British charger has shown clear speed, but a combination of reliability issues, crashes and downright bad luck has prevented him from making much of a dent on this year’s championship. As a result, his Williams team languishes in ninth place in the constructors’.

The early races of the season set the tone. The car overheated in Bahrain, he collided with Kevin Magnussen in Saudi, before Albon destroyed his Williams in Melbourne practice, the team unable to fix it due to a lack of spare parts – team-mate Logan Sargeant had to give up his car instead.

Things carried on in the same manner before Albon finally grabbed two points in Monaco, much to the team’s delight. He scored two more in Silverstone, then a brace came in Italy and Azerbaijan, before his fortunes took a downturn once again.

Albon’s FW46 failed when running in a strong position in Singapore, he was taken out in the start at Mexico and a qualifying crash rendered his car unrepairable for the Brazilian race. Albon again had to retire from the points in Vegas when a plastic bag got caught in his radiator – summing up his year really.

11. Pierre Gasly

It’s been a season of two halves for Pierre Gasly.

The Alpine car, produced by a team which has had a remarkable turnover of senior staff in recent years, was slower than slow when rolled out in Bahrain.

It was unsurprising for an outfit which was so incoherent in its make-up, but Gasly and team got their heads down, eventually being rewarded.

A run of four points finishes started in Monaco, Alpine suddenly having the chance to make progress in the championship after previously vying for the wooden spoon with Sauber.

Another run of points has come late in the season, Gasly secured a third place in the chaotic Sao Paulo GP, and qualified third in Vegas.

It meant Alpine leapt to sixth in the constructors’ table after bringing up the rear earlier on in the season, and held on to that place in the final rankings in Abu Dhabi. With a new team boss in Oliver Oakes, wheeler-dealer Flavio Briatore brought into the fold and a highly-committed driver in Gasly, can the team build on the progress next year?

10. Nico Hülkenberg

Age really has been just a number for 37-year-old Nico Hülkenberg since his return for Haas last year.

As team-mate Kevin Magnussen has struggled over the past two seasons, his German counterpart has spearheaded the Banbury team’s challenge, with the squad in the hunt with Alpine and RB for sixth in the constructors’ championship.

Hülkenberg has scored points in nine GPs this season, and his strong form as well as vast experience has earned him a move to the Sauber/Audi project next year.

It looks like he’ll need it, with project leader Andreas Seidl – who hired Hülkenberg – fired. Audi was apparently unhappy with the way the team is being run preceding the rebrand in 2026. Still, it’ll be a nice pay-check for the veteran driver to round off his F1 career with if the car’s hopeless.

9. Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda has been locked in a fierce battle for tenth in the championship with Nico Hülkenberg for most of this season, but was shuffled back to 12th by the emergence of Pierre Gasly and Alpine.

Tsunoda has always shown speed – he scored points on his 2021 debut – but has previously suffered from inconsistency as well as issues from his temperament.

This has been his best season yet though, scoring in nine grands prix to rack up 30 points. If anyone in the Red Bull fold has recently shown themselves worthy of a promotion to the senior squad, it’s Tsunoda.

The Milton Keynes team has promoted drivers who had achieved far less than Tsunoda – see Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat – and it seems history will repeat itself with Liam Lawson in the box seat to join Verstappen in 2025.

Christian Horner and co are apparently concerned that Tsunoda’s sometimes-fiery approach, limited technical feedback and occasional prang make him unsuitable for one of F1’s top drives, but this season is good evidence to make the case otherwise.

8. Lewis Hamilton

It’s been a strange season for Lewis Hamilton – and it hasn’t all been down to the car.

The pace of the W15 E Performance (catchy name we know) has come and gone and returned again as the season has progressed.

It seemed to peak around the British GP, when Hamilton put in one of his greatest ever drives – coupled with brilliant strategic calls from the still-sharp Silver Arrows team – to win his first race in three years.

After Mercedes dominated the Belgium GP, Hamilton being given the win after George Russell’s disqualification, the pace fell away once more, and so seemingly did Hamilton’s enthusiasm.

The difference between Hamilton and Max Verstappen – as well as Fernando Alonso – is that when the seven-time champ’s not winning, he seems to lose interest. Those other two will fight for whatever’s on offer.

In cool conditions on the smooth Vegas track, Hamilton and his Merc came alive again, charging from tenth to second. Qatar was a disappointment, before he surged to fourth from the back of the grid in Abu Dhabi.

When under pressure in the Qatar sprint from Charles Leclerc, Hamilton admitted he didn’t even try to defend when he probably could have done.

For that apparent lack of commitment, it’s hard to rank F1’s most successful driver over the relentless performance of drivers like Alonso.

7. Fernando Alonso

When will 43-year-old Fernando Alonso’s racing powers finally diminish? No time soon it seems.

In an Aston Martin which hasn’t lived up to 2023’s regular podium finisher, the Spaniard still went on a run of six point-scoring finishes to start the season off, even managing to drag the car to fifth in Saudi.

While Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have had the pace to pretty much dominate the top eight spots since Miami, Alonso has been the joker in the pack, regularly infiltrating the upper echelons of the grid.

Team-mate Lance Stroll has scored less than half the Spaniard’s points. That Aston is fifth in the constructors’ title battle is largely due to Alonso.

As Aston began to struggle even more in 2024, so its veteran superstar has pushed on – a seventh place after a run of non-scores in Qatar demonstrated he’s hungry as ever.

6. Oscar Piastri

When he’s on it, Oscar Piastri has a claim to be the fastest driver in F1. He can score poles, set searing fastest laps and dominate races.

But sometimes he seems to struggle with tyre management and the vagueries of car set-up, leaving him an occasional non-factor in the grands prix and qualifying sessions.

Baku and Budapest (save for that stint behind Norris) as well as Monza were demonstrations of his brilliance behind the wheel.

But before Qatar, he hadn’t been on the podium for five races in what is arguably F1’s fastest car. The world championship is the most competitive it has ever been, but Piastri’s form still isn’t good enough if he wants to challenge for top honours.

If the Australian does work out his dips in speed from time-to-time, he’ll be a true force to be reckoned with.

5. Carlos Sainz

It’s been hard to choose between Carlos Sainz and George Russell for the fifth place spot in this list, but the fact that the Mercedes driver has the same number of race wins in a car inferior across the year to the Ferrari puts him ahead.

This has been the best season of Sainz’s career though, and he’s been consistent, only finishing outside the top six once.

After missing the Saudi Arabian GP due to having his appendix removed, the Spaniard fought back to take a brilliant win in Australia. If he never wins an F1 title, it might be Sainz’s best ever grand prix achievement.

He’s had a decent number of podiums in 2024 (eight), but in a car which has been one of the best two more or less all year, it’s not that stellar – team-mate Charles Leclerc has 12 for comparison, and three wins to Sainz’s two.

Moving to back-of-the-grid Williams next year, 2024 could prove to be the ‘Smooth Operator’s’ high point.

4. George Russell

George Russell’s late season breakthrough, refusing to be cowed by the inconsistencies of the 2024 Mercedes, puts him at fourth in this list.

It took the man from King’s Lynn nine races to score a podium this season, but his form has been strong since then, only getting better towards the business end of the season.

While a win in Austria was fortuitous following Lando Norris and Max Verstappen coming together, Russell was there to pick up the pieces.

He was unfortunate to be disqualified from victory at Spa, but the Brit’s commanding late-year form was rewarded with a dominant Las Vegas win.

With the talismanic Lewis Hamilton leaving for Ferrari next season, Mercedes needn’t be worried. Russell has had F1’s most successful driver beat in the second half of 2025, and looks all set to lead the team with confidence next year.

3. Lando Norris

It’s been easy to knock Lando Norris. An incredibly quick driver who has had the best car for the majority of this season, it seems like he’s shied away from grasping the nettle at the key moments.

This was illustrated yet again at Qatar, where he made a brilliant start from third to get ahead of pole-sitter George Russell, then found himself slightly ahead of Max Verstappen on the outside into Turn 2.

He had to keep his foot in to make it work and grab the lead. But he didn’t. Had the roles been reversed, you just know Verstappen would have swept round the outside.

It was Norris’s season crystallised, so close yet so far.

Still, he’s been on pole eight times this season. He took his debut F1 win, and three more since then. It shows he has the pace, but just needs a bit conviction in his racecraft.

2. Charles Leclerc

After Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc has been F1’s picture of consistency in 2024.

This was demonstrated nowhere better than in Ferrari’s home race at Monza, where he managed the tyres beautifully to take a famous win for the Scuderia, one of three for the season.

Aside from a trio of fifth places across a 24-race campaign, Leclerc has never finished lower than fourth. He’s scored the same number of podiums (12) and race wins (3) as Norris.

There’s an argument to say that if Leclerc had the McLaren at his disposal this season, the drivers’ fight would have been a lot closer. Leclerc has always had blistering speed, but this year he’s been rock solid in delivering it. Definitely his finest season yet.

1. Max Verstappen

If there was any doubt beforehand, 2024 proved that Max Verstappen is F1’s best driver.

Not only the fastest, capable of creating one-lap magic, he knows how to produce all it takes to win in the race too.

Whether it’s decisive overtaking, robust defending, dragging a recalcitrant car up the grid or managing tyres, Verstappen’s got what it takes.

Early on devastating form in then-the best car of the grid saw him win seven of the first ten races. He built his championship bid on this, keeping Lando Norris at arm’s length for the rest of the campaign like some grinning high school bully.

The fact Verstappen actually increased his championship margin over Norris following the McLaren driver’s breakthrough win in Miami just shows which driver is the complete package.

The Dutchman was able to just edge his British rival in Barcelona and Imola, outwit others on strategy in Canada as well as take strong podiums when all looked lost at Silverstone, Singapore and Austin.

Add to this his Interlagos masterclass and Qatar turnaround – going from eighth in the sprint to winning the grand prix – and it’s clear he has no equal in F1 right now.

In one of grand prix racing’s most competitive seasons, where seven drivers have won at least two races for the first time in history, Verstappen has clinched the title with two races to go.

It’s a statement that if anyone wants to beat him in 2025, they’ll have to seriously step up their game.

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