RACES and Ruminations (PART II)
Omakase Formula's 2024 Formula One Awards
Part I of this recap of the 2024 Formula One season introduced RACES, my ratings model identifying the best (and worst) drivers of 2024. Although you don’t need to read that before reading this, I do recommend you still check it out!
And now, time for Omakase Formula’s 2024 Formula One Awards
It’s still nice to give ranks and awards without needing to base them solely on cold, hard numbers. RACES does a solid job covering the overall driver performance aspect of the season, but Formula One is more than that! So here are a few miscellaneous awards to acknowledge some of the highlights 2024 had to offer:
GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR:
Honorable Mentions: Italy and Qatar
The highlight of Monza was the tense finish. But it’s worth pointing out how much of a circus the race was. Pretty much every team had at least one glaring strategic error and/or driver error that day, and you can read all about it in my Italian Grand Prix recap.
Qatar had it’s fair share of collisions and Safety Car deployments, and it was a lesson in Formula One stewarding. But it was Alex Albon’s wing mirror that stole the show. The indecision from Race Control over what to do when the answer was obvious meant the ensuing green flag-yellow flag situation can be considered the catalyst that ruined 20% of the grid’s race: Hamilton and Sainz ran over the debris and received punctures, Norris was penalized for the yellow flag situation, and Perez spun out at the restart on cold tires after the stewards finally called out the Safety Car to deal with the mess left by the mirror.
3rd Place: Canada
Canada is no stranger to exciting races, and variable conditions this year gave way to an exciting race with plenty of chaos and multiple Safety Car periods. At the end, the top 4 drivers all finished within five seconds of each other. It also featured an interesting exhibit on race strategy: Red Bull decided to have Perez drive his wrecked car back to the pits in order to avoid a Safety Car and preserve Verstappen’s lead, even though it guaranteed a fine for the team and grid penalty for Perez in the next race. The gamble made sense, although it didn’t pay off: the Safety Car was deployed the very next lap when Sainz spun off and crashed into Albon.
2nd Place: Britain
Heading into his final year at Mercedes, Hamilton hadn’t won a race since 2021. That he finally ended his winless streak at Silverstone in a race that started cloudy, turned rainy, and ended sunny was something straight out of a fairytale. I wouldn’t call it his best performance of the year, as he had some help from one of McLaren’s classic 2024 strategy errors and Russell retiring mid-race. But in terms of pure emotion, only Norris’s win in Miami and Leclerc’s win in Monaco can claim to match what happened that Sunday in July.
1st Place: Sao Paulo
So much happened during this race weekend. Weather forced qualifying to be held on race day for the first time since 2019, and the ensuing qualifying session tied the record for most red flag periods (5). Stroll made it to Q3 but couldn’t set a lap time after crashing out at the end of Q2. Albon crashed at the end of Q3 but still qualified 7th…only to be unable to start the race when Williams couldn’t repair his car in time.
When it was time to race, Stroll—in what was undoubtedly the most embarrassing driver moment of the season—spun out on the formation lap, hit a wall, and then beached his car in a gravel trap. This resulted in an aborted start, only for some drivers to incorrectly set off on a second formation lap, resulting in a third formation lap. And all of this happened before the race even technically began.
The chaos continued once the lights went out. There was one VSC deployment, three appearances by the Safety Car, a red flag, and the first mid-race disqualification since 2007.
Oh, and there was also the matter of the eventual race winner producing a drive for the ages.
DRIVE OF THE YEAR:
Honorable Mentions: Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Sao Paulo), Lewis Hamilton (Las Vegas)
Everyone knew the rain was going to wreak havoc, but no one could have predicted that the chaos would result in both Alpines on the podium. The result at Interlagos was significant for Alpine’s season: it propelled them up to 6th place in the Constructors’ Championship, and the mental boost the result offered allowed them to end the season strong and hang on to that position. It was also significant from a grid perspective: this was the only time in 2024 a car that wasn’t a McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, or Mercedes finished on the podium. Therefore, it’s only fair to lump both Ocon and Gasly’s drives together.
Hamilton’s Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend got off to a positive start, but he was forced to start 10th due to numerous errors in qualifying. However, a superb drive, which at one point saw him set multiple fastest lap times in a row, saw him climb all the way up to 2nd place and pull within touching distance of Russell in 1st place. Mercedes and Hamilton’s last season together saw plenty of ups and downs, but from a purely driving perspective Las Vegas was the biggest reminder of just how good Hamilton still is.
3rd Place: Lando Norris (Singapore)
Winning from pole position often feels decidedly boring. There’s nothing interesting on paper about a driver finishing first in a race where they also started first.
But Norris’s win in Singapore wasn’t your average win from pole position.
It was the most dominant race performance of 2024. Yes, his margin of victory in the Netherlands was technically larger. But in Singapore he still finished over 20 seconds ahead of anyone else even after slowing down and coasting home at the end on the instructions of his team. Only Verstappen in 2nd place and Piastri in 3rd finished within a minute of Norris, and only the top 7 managed to avoid being lapped by him. That this all happened at what is widely considered the most physically grueling race on the calendar only makes the achievement even more incredible.
You could argue there were still more exciting drives in 2024. That might be true—at the end of the day, there’s only so much excitement you can create when you don’t technically need to overtake anyone to win the race. But few performances in 2024 were anywhere near as awe-inspiring.
2nd Place: Charles Leclerc (Italy)
The early pit stop for Leclerc initially seemed to doom his chances of victory, and Ferrari had to compromise and throw the dice on a one-stop strategy in order to have any hope of getting a win. Leclerc delivered with a masterclass in tire management, holding off a charging Piastri to claim Ferrari’s first win at Monza since 2019. It was a nail-biting finish to what had already been an eventful race, and there’s no sight quite like the post-race celebrations of a Ferrari win at Monza.
1st Place: Max Verstappen (Sao Paulo)
It would be beyond blasphemous to suggest there was a better drive this year than Verstappen’s charge from 17th to 1st at Interlagos. This drive is an instant all-time classic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up going down as the best drive of Verstappen’s illustrious career.
OVERTAKE OF THE YEAR:
Honorable Mentions: Franco Colapinto (Singapore), Carlos Sainz (Mexico City)
Colapinto’s dive down the inside into Turn 1 on the opening lap in Singapore (you can see him in the dark blue Williams at 0:07 in the linked video) to overtake three cars was another demonstration of why he should be in the conversation to replace any driver who struggles in 2025. Sainz’s overtake on Verstappen to re-take the lead in CDMX (1:14 in the video) was incredibly gutsy—he was extremely late on the brakes at Turn 1 and didn’t budge when Verstappen tried to fight back at the subsequent chicane. The reason this overtake doesn’t make the top 3 is because Sainz pretty much drives his entire car over the apex at Turn 2 to defend position. It’s probably the only thing he could have done at that point to keep the lead, but given Verstappen and him were side-by-side when it happened it was a slightly messy maneuver to make what was a great overtake stick.
3rd Place: Lando Norris (Japan)
Overtaking someone on the outside isn’t as common for obvious reasons: it’s a lot harder. What makes Norris’s overtake on Hamilton in Japan (2:33 in the video) even more impressive, however, is that Turn 1 at Suzuka is a deceptively difficult corner to try and do so. It’s a downhill approach to a long, high-speed corner, making it more difficult to judge braking correctly, while the outside line means grip is at a premium.
2nd Place: Oscar Piastri (Azerbaijan)
I don’t think anyone thought this overtake (2:37 in the video) was coming until it actually happened. Leclerc looked far enough ahead that he seemed to be safe, only for Piastri to perfectly execute the divebomb to snatch the lead, setting up the best driver battle of 2024 (more on that below).
1st Place: Alex Albon (Canada)
It’s a shame Albon’s race in Canada ended early after he was knocked out when Sainz collected him after spinning out, because this double-overtake in the wet (3:40 in the video) on Ricciardo and Ocon was absolutely phenomenal.
BATTLE OF THE YEAR:
3rd Place: Hamilton vs. Verstappen (Hungary)
Hamilton put on a strong defensive drive to keep an already incensed Verstappen at bay. Desperate to overtake, Verstappen made a lunge down the inside into Turn 1, only to lock up, clip Hamilton’s car, and briefly go airborne, giving us one of the season’s most dramatic photos.
2nd Place: Verstappen vs. Norris (United States)
2024’s champion and runner-up engaged in multiple battles throughout the season, but their tussle in Austin stands out as the highlight. Norris put on a brilliant display to stick close to Verstappen in dirty air, and Verstappen put on his own masterclass in defensive driving to keep Norris behind. This battle is also notable for the necessary discussions it prompted over racing guidelines, with Verstappen’s late braking to keep the inside line while pushing Norris off-track coming under scrutiny.
1st Place: Piastri vs. Leclerc (Azerbaijan)
Just watch the moment at 5:17. That’s all you need to understand the intensity of the battle between Piastri and Leclerc in Baku.
DRAMATIC MOMENT OF THE YEAR (ON-TRACK):
Honorable Mentions: Russell and Verstappen set identical qualifying times (Canada), Alex Albon’s wing mirror causes chaos (Qatar)
Formula One times laps to the thousandths, meaning identical lap times are incredibly rare. But not only did that happen in Canada, it occurred between the two drivers battling it out for pole position. Russell started the race first by virtue of setting his lap time first—only the second time this tiebreaker has been used to decide pole position.
As for Qatar, I’ve already talked at length about Alex Albon’s wing mirror earlier in this post, so I won’t repeat myself here beyond reiterating just how insane that entire sequence of events was.
3rd Place: Lap 1 (Monaco)
Despite being Formula One’s crown jewel, Monaco receives some understandable criticism these days for the quality of racing it provides (though I will always be one of its defenders). The size of modern Formula One cars and the tight, winding streets that make up the Circuit de Monaco make for an all-or-nothing experience. When nothing happens, absolutely nothing happens.
But when something happens, it’s nothing short of fireworks.
This year saw the race red-flagged on the opening lap, when Magnussen made contact with Perez and the two then collected Hulkenberg. Ocon retired after he went airborne trying to pass Gasly at Portier. Sainz suffered a puncture after hitting Piastri, forcing him wide at Casino and seeing him drop down the grid—only to be saved by the race restart being a grid reset because Zhou hadn’t crossed the first timing sector when the red flags came out. No other lap in 2024 saw quite as much pandemonium. Teams were able to get their mandatory tire change out of the way during the red flag period, meaning the rest of the race was a zero-stop strategy procession. But that arguably says more about the rules, which essentially grant teams a free pit stop in this scenario, than about racing in Monaco.
2nd Place: Russell’s disqualification (Belgium)
The disqualification technically happened off-track, but that didn’t make it any less dramatic. After putting together a gutsy drive to hold off Hamilton and Piastri for the win, Russell became the first race winner since 1994 to be disqualified when his car weighed in at 1.5 kg below the minimum weight. This might not have had broader championship implications, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t impactful. Hamilton being declared the race winner after was key to us getting Formula One’s first ever season where seven drivers won multiple races. And let’s not forget the disqualification looms large from a RACES perspective too.
1st Place: Norris and Verstappen clash—and then crash (Austria)
Clashes—and crashes—between race leaders aren’t uncommon. But Norris and Verstappen’s battle and subsequent collision in Austria came so late in the race that it completely upended what had been shaping up to be a relatively straightforward race with a seemingly foregone conclusion. It was a reminder that nothing is ever over until the checkered flag is waved.
CRINGEWORTHY MOMENT OF THE YEAR:
3rd Place: “Papaya Rules”
To this day, I truly believe no one—not even McLaren themselves—knew what “Papaya Rules” meant. It turned what should have been simple (one of your drivers in championship contention and the other is not, I wonder who should get priority?) into something convoluted. It also made all the drama in Hungary look even worse in retrospect. I never want to hear this term ever again. Sadly, I know I probably will every time McLaren are in contention for a championship.
2nd Place: RB’s handling of Daniel Ricciardo’s exit
Like I said in my Singapore recap, the decision to replace Ricciardo wasn’t incorrect. But letting the rumor mill handle the setup for Singapore being his last race and only confirming it the Thursday after the race meant Ricciardo received an incredibly awkward send-off, where everyone had to say goodbye without actually saying it. It’d be one thing if Ricciardo were a relative newcomer or wasn’t a prominent figure in the sport. But he was neither, which made his send-off feel incredibly undeserving.
1st Place: Williams give Albon Sargeant’s car in Australia
The firestorm this decision caused truly highlighted how bad things were looking for Sargeant. When one driver crashes and can’t can’t start a race, they won’t start a race. That Williams had Albon drive Sargeant’s car in Australia after Albon crashed out in practice was proof of how little faith the team had in Sargeant. Albon then failing to score points (he finished 11th) only made the entire situation even more awkward. You could argue Williams learned their lesson—Albon sat out in Brazil after his car couldn’t get repaired in time. But I would argue it was a case of the team having more faith in Colapinto, who had already scored five points across five races at that point, than in Sargeant, whose time in Formula One saw him score one point in 36 races.
SHOCK OF THE YEAR (OFF-TRACK):
3rd Place: Andretti-Cadillac to join as Formula One’s 11th team in 2026
It’s not necessarily a shock that Andretti-Cadillac are joining the grid—the initial bid was approved by the FIA (motorsport’s governing body) in 2023. However, the bid was rejected by the Formula One Group (which is responsible for Formula One’s commercial rights) due to the plan’s reliance on the team having an engine deal with an existing manufacturer in the short-term before Cadillac debuts an in-house engine in 2028. The veto made it seem likely Cadillac would make their debut in 2028, with a 2025 or 2026 debut being possible only if they bought into an existing team. However, it’s clear that the desire for new blood on the grid won out, and Andretti-Cadillac will be using Ferrari engines in 2026 and 2027 before becoming a works team in 2028.
2nd Place: Dutch Grand Prix to leave the calendar after 2026
The Dutch Grand Prix returned in 2021 on the coattails on Verstappen’s success, so the announcement the race wouldn’t be on the calendar after 2026 came with a flurry of speculation about how much longer Verstappen would be staying in Formula One. But the fact is the race could likely continue even after Verstappen retires. That the race organizers wanted to stop hosting because they wanted to move on to other opportunities, rather than issues of funding or lack of demand, hurts. Zandvoort is a great (not to mention unique) circuit, and the race has proven popular with fans. Even if you’re someone who thinks a 24-race season is too long, the Dutch Grand Prix shouldn’t be one of the races on the chopping block. It’s a shame to see it go, especially when we’re still stuck with a race around a Miami parking lot (and I say that as someone who genuinely appreciates Formula One’s expansion in America).
1st Place: Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari
2024’s first big shock proved to be the biggest one of the year. It was a genuinely stunning move, and I say that as someone who’s dreamt and hoped for this moment over the years. Hamilton had stayed so long at Mercedes that, at 39 years old, it looked likelier than not that he would end his career there. His decision to pursue a new challenge proves not just his hunger to keep competing, but also the enduring appeal of Ferrari. The sport’s most storied constructor is probably the only team a driver of Hamilton’s caliber would have considered a move to, and Ferrari’s willingness to sign him at this stage of his career when they could have their pick of anyone shows just how highly rated Hamilton still is. And as RACES shows, Ferrari are right—even at 39, Hamilton is still great.
TEAM OF THE YEAR:
3rd Place: McLaren
If we were looking at the best team over multiple seasons, McLaren would undoubtedly win this given they were dead last in the championship at the start of 2023. But the end of 2023 proved they had what it took to be competitive, and it became clear when Norris won in Miami they had a legitimate shot at winning a championship. Their various struggles to adapt to their newfound status as championship contenders (if not favorites) influenced how long it took them to finally take the lead in the team championship. Those growing pains are normal (see Red Bull in 2009 and Mercedes in 2013), and they deserve credit for still winning the Constructors’ Championship.
Where McLaren deserve criticism, however, is their handling of the Drivers’ Championship. Understanding you have a title-winning car should’ve meant recognizing both championships were on the table. Yet the team’s support of Norris’s championship hopes was both late and—as the whole “Papaya Rules” fiasco illustrated—half-hearted. Even if Norris was always the championship underdog in 2024, he deserved better from the team he stuck by through thick and thin.
2nd Place: Ferrari
Ferrari heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi with a chance at the Constructors’ Championship may have been partially down to McLaren’s mistakes. But it was also a testament to Ferrari delivering when it came to what they could control. Their season looked like it could be derailed when the notorious upgrades package they introduced in Spain turned out to be downgrades. That’s what would have happened in previous years. But Ferrari were able to deliver a relatively quick turnaround, which kept them in play. Some inspired strategy calls during races—another thing that had been missing in previous years—meant they came close to pulling off one of the unlikeliest Constructors’ Championship victories in recent years.
1st Place: Haas
Yes, I am claiming the best team of 2024 was the one that finished…seventh.
The turnaround at Haas under Ayao Komatsu’s leadership has been nothing short of incredible. Sure, every team has their ups and downs when it comes to car development. But this is Haas we’re talking about, which means it’s basically been constant lows. The only statistic you need in order to grasp how phenomenal their 2024 was in the context of their team’s history? Haas scored 58 points in 2024—6 more than they managed from 2020-2023 combined. That they accomplished this with Hulkenberg and Magnussen—veteran journeymen who are respectable but, as their RACES illustrates, not phenomenal—only makes this accomplishment all the more incredible.
And finally, DRIVER OF THE YEAR:
3rd Place: Charles Leclerc
2nd Place: Lando Norris
1st Place: Max Verstappen
You didn’t really think I would go through all the trouble of creating a model to identify the best drivers of the season, only to immediately deliver a verdict that undermines said model, did you?
And that’s a wrap on Formula One…until the 2025 season kicks off in March. Until then, be sure to check out other content we’ll be posting on Omakase Formula!