Worthy of a Hollywood Movie
A recap of the final triple-header of the 2024 Formula One season
The most thrilling Formula One season (not to mention the longest-ever at 24 races) has finally concluded. Though we didn’t end up getting a Drivers’ Championship that came quite down to the wire, we did get a fantastic finish to the Constructors’ Championship.
2024 showed there was some parity at the top of the grid for the first time in years. For the first time in the sport’s history, seven different drivers won multiple races. It all sets up what should be a thrilling 2025 worthy of a Hollywood movie (coincidentally, F1, starring Brad Pitt, is scheduled to premiere in June next year).
But before we even talk about 2025, a look at the last triple-header of 2024:
McLaren hang on.
Las Vegas GP result:
Lando Norris: 6th (Qualified 6th)
Oscar Piastri: 7th (Qualified 8th)
Qatar GP result:
Oscar Piastri: 3rd (Qualified 4th)
Lando Norris: 10th (Qualified 3rd)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Lando Norris: 1st (Qualified 1st)
Oscar Piastri: 10th (Qualified 2nd)
Las Vegas, with its emphasis on straight line speed and low drag, was always going to be a weaker circuit for McLaren. A P6-P7 finish, combined with a valuable assist from Mercedes finishing 1-2, meant Vegas ended up being about as realistically good as it could have been for McLaren despite Norris officially losing out on the Drivers’ Championship there.
Qatar, where downforce is important, was always going to be a stronger circuit for McLaren. It certainly looked that way for most of the Qatar Grand Prix. But McLaren’s race in Qatar will ultimately be remembered for what is without a doubt the most controversial penalty of the season.
Norris received a 10-second stop/go penalty (meaning, as the name suggests, you actually have to stop for 10 seconds as opposed to having 10 seconds added to your race time) for failing to slow under yellow flags. This penalty is standard procedure for such an infringement. What makes it controversial this time around, however, was the circumstance under which it was applied.
The yellow flags that initially came out due to the wing mirror that had fallen off Alex Albon’s Williams should have resulted in some sort of Safety Car or VSC to allow the debris to be cleared. Had it been dealt with immediately, a 10-second stop/go penalty would have been the fair punishment. However, the yellow flags lasted one lap, after which green flag racing resumed for four more laps with the mirror on-track before Valterri Bottas did the inevitable and ran over the mirror. This begs the question: if race control felt normal racing could occur with the mirror on the track, what was the point of the initial yellow flag that resulted in Norris receiving a penalty? Because if the yellow flags that were shown because of the wing mirror were withdrawn despite the wing mirror still being on-track, that would mean race control—correctly or not—had initially decided the mirror to be a non-issue before Bottas ran over it. In such a case, Norris being penalized as if this were a normal safety infringement feels severe given race control leaving the mirror on-track for four laps clearly illustrated they believed there was no safety concern in the first place.
That’s not to say Norris shouldn’t have been penalized—safety is paramount and it’s the responsibility of both him and the team to pay attention to this. But the application of the penalty in this case feels disproportionate to the offense. And in a weekend where the stewards deemed it possible to modify the punishment based on the circumstance (see the Mercedes section of this recap), their inability to take mitigating circumstances into consideration when it comes to this instance feels downright odd.
Fortunately, the penalty in Qatar didn’t have long-term impacts. Norris produced a composed drive under pressure in Abu Dhabi to win the grand prix. clinching McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship since 1998. It’s an incredible turnaround for a team that found themselves at the bottom of the championship standings less than two years ago, and despite the multiple twists and turns this season offered it would be insane to look at where McLaren are now versus where they were in early 2023 and still say they didn’t deserve this title.
Want some more perspective on just how long McLaren have waited to win this Constructors’ Championship again? When they last won it in 1998, neither Norris nor Piastri had even been born.
Ferrari’s last gasp push for a title falls short.
Las Vegas GP result:
Carlos Sainz: 3rd (Qualified 2nd)
Charles Leclerc: 4th (Qualified 4th)
Qatar GP result:
Charles Leclerc: 2nd (Qualified 5th)
Carlos Sainz: 6th (Qualified 7th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Carlos Sainz: 2nd (Qualified 3rd)
Charles Leclerc: 3rd (Qualified 19th)
In the end, Ferrari did all they could to try and take the Constructors’ Championship. You could argue a surprising over-performance by Mercedes in Las Vegas and Sainz running over the wing mirror debris and getting a puncture in Qatar meant there were a few points left on the table, but racing is inherently unpredictable. Given where Ferrari were looking mid-season, being able to head into Abu Dhabi with a chance at claiming their first championship of any kind since 2008 is more than they could have possibly hoped for. The grid penalty Leclerc took in Abu Dhabi for a new energy store was perhaps the fatal blow for Ferrari’s chances given he fought back valiantly up the grid to finish on the podium. But even then you could argue Ferrari still managed to put pressure on McLaren because Max Verstappen’s collision with Piastri in the first corner on lap 1 was the sole reason why the battle between McLaren and Ferrari ended up being a 1 vs. 2 rather than a 2 vs. 2. At the end of the day, Ferrari couldn’t get the job done, but you’d be hard-pressed to say they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities they were given.
Despite the disappointment, Ferrari have to be looking forward to 2025. The team’s strong ending to the season made them look like genuine title contenders for the first time in a long time, and no matter the result this year they should be confident they can be competitive from the get-go in 2025 and push for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. The warning shot has been fired.
Verstappen gives Red Bull wings.
Las Vegas GP Result
Max Verstappen: 5th (Qualified 5th)
Sergio Perez: 10th (Qualified 15th)
Qatar GP Result
Max Verstappen: 1st (Qualified 2nd)
Sergio Perez: DNF (Qualified 9th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Max Verstappen: 6th (Qualified 4th)
Sergio Perez: DNF (Qualified 10th)
Verstappen clinched a fourth straight Drivers’ Championship courtesy of finishing ahead of Norris in Vegas and followed it up with a win in Qatar. As I said in my Brazil recap, a fourth championship firmly establishes him as an all-time top 5 driver. This championship, while not technically the most hard-fought of his titles, is in many ways still a special one given he held on to the title even as Red Bull’s car advantage eroded away.
Speaking of Red Bull’s car, the team simultaneously being knocked out of contention for the Constructors’ Championship in Qatar despite Verstappen winning the race (not to mention him also defending the Drivers’ Championship) is both a sign of how much the gap between the top teams has tightened this season and further proof the team’s situation with Perez had become completely untenable. Perez had absolutely no business qualifying as low as he did in Vegas, and despite a points *point* finish in Vegas he still finished behind the sister RB of Yuki Tsunoda. As if losing out to the inferior sister car wasn’t already bad enough, a marginally improved qualifying in Qatar was undone in part by his own doing—the clutch failure his car experienced on lap 38 occurred as he was rescuing the car after he spun out during the Safety Car restart. Was the mechanical failure bad luck? Yes, and had it occurred under almost any other circumstance we wouldn’t be discussing it further. However, the spin that contributed to the clutch failure was entirely Perez’s own manufacturing. In many ways, these two events aptly sum up Perez’s season. As unlucky as he may have been (remember, he was actually right about Red Bull’s car development going the wrong way), he also has consistently failed to take advantage of the opportunities offered to him (remember, Red Bull’s car was still solidly top 4 on the grid even with the development going awry).
Verstappen may have given Red Bull wings—his championship means the team still have something worth celebrating this season. But it’s clear the team could have found themselves in a better position to lift the Constructors’ Championship if it weren’t for Perez, who finished eighth in the Drivers’ Championship. That’s the lowest finish by a second driver in a championship-winning car since 1994. The driver that time around? Jos Verstappen. Yes, as in Max Verstappen’s father. And unlike Perez, Jos Verstappen missed more than a third of the season. It’s no wonder that Red Bull finally decided to do the inevitable and announced the team and Perez would be parting ways next year.
Mercedes blow hot-and-cold until the end.
Las Vegas GP result:
George Russell: 1st (Qualified 1st)
Lewis Hamilton: 2nd (Qualified 10th)
Qatar GP result:
George Russell: 4th (Qualified 1st)
Lewis Hamilton: 12th (Qualified 6th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Lewis Hamilton: 4th (Qualified 16th)
George Russell: 5th (Qualified 6th)
Las Vegas and Qatar yielded two very different results for Mercedes. A big question surrounding the Constructors’ Championship was how much Mercedes, who were out of championship contention but had shown at various points in the season they could compete for wins with the top 3 teams, could play spoiler. The team answered that question with a 1-2 in Vegas right as the season reached its climax. It was a result that threw a wrench in Ferrari’s championship hopes, something that will be even more crushing for Ferrari given the result seemingly materialized out of the thin air when you consider the middling performances Mercedes had been putting on post-summer break.
The good vibes from Vegas, however, did not last into Qatar. Hamilton also suffered a puncture thanks to Albon’s infamous wing mirror, and his race was doomed once he received a drive-through penalty (where a driver has to drive through the pit lane at the pit lane speed limit before rejoining the track) for speeding in the pit lane. As for Russell, he started on pole at Qatar after controversially getting Verstappen penalized for driving excessively slowly on the racing line during qualifying. This was a weird penalty to call, especially since Russell himself wasn’t on a flying lap when it happened and therefore was not impacted by it. As a result, the stewards took that mitigating circumstance into account, handing Verstappen a one-place grid penalty rather than the standard three-place penalty (which brings back the question: if they can clearly modify punishments accordingly, why couldn’t they do that for the Norris penalty?).
Verstappen was obviously displeased with how Russell handled the situation, and he called Russell out for being two-faced and said he’d “lost all respect” for him (Russell, by the way, responded by calling Verstappen a “bully”). But it was ultimately Verstappen who had the last laugh: Russell held onto pole position for a total of less than one corner, as he was passed by Verstappen and Norris on Turn 1 of the opening lap. From there, Verstappen went on to win the race, while Russell never recovered.
In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton suffered another Q1 exit (his third in the last six race weekends), meaning a great fightback in his final race for Mercedes still left him in fourth. Meanwhile, Russell started towards the front of the grid, but still couldn’t finish on the podium despite various grid and race penalties derailing the races of not only his teammate, but also Verstappen, Piastri, and Leclerc. It was a race weekend that perfectly summarized 2024 for Mercedes: competitive, but not quite in championship contention.
Aston Martin’s re-run of 2023 was what you would expect from a sequel: worse than the first one.
Las Vegas GP:
Fernando Alonso: 11th (Qualified 16th)
Lance Stroll: 15th (Qualified 18th)
Qatar GP result:
Fernando Alonso: 7th (Qualified 8th)
Lance Stroll: DNF (Qualified 15th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Fernando Alonso: 9th (Qualified 8th)
Lance Stroll: 14th (Qualified 13th)
Aston Martin’s 2024 ended up being a re-run of their 2023. And like most sequels, it was worse than the first one. The difference this year was that the car started the season in a less competitive position, meaning by the end of the season it was almost a miracle that Alonso was able to drag the car into the points at all. Case in point: Stroll (an unquestionable underperformer) was able to score 29 points in the second half of 2023. In the second half of 2024, Aston Martin as a team scored just 26 points. Out of those 26 points, Stroll accounted for one.
Alpine keep the drama going until the very end.
Las Vegas GP result:
Esteban Ocon: 17th (Qualified 11th)
Pierre Gasly: DNF (Qualified 3rd)
Qatar GP result:
Pierre Gasly: 5th (Qualified 11th)
Esteban Ocon: DNF (Qualified 20th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Pierre Gasly: 7th (Qualified 5th)
Jack Doohan: 15th (Qualified 17th)
After Alpine’s shock double podium in Brazil, the team managed to hold on to 6th place in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to a couple of strong performances from Gasly in the final triple-header. But it wasn’t without the dramatics that have seemingly become an integral part of the team.
A brilliant qualifying performance from Gasly in Las Vegas was cancelled out when he was forced to retire from the race with an engine problem, while Ocon’s race in Vegas was ruined when the team effectively gave him a drive-through penalty by not being ready the first time he entered the pits. Things would only get worse for Ocon from there. After being taken out by Nico Hulkenberg on the opening lap in Qatar, Alpine suddenly released him early and brought in Doohan for Abu Dhabi.
Ocon’s early departure was a shock, not only because the driver himself seemed to hint at his own surprise by revealing he had a special helmet livery planned for Abu Dhabi, but also because it was an unceremonious send-off for a driver who had been with the team for five years and had given the team it’s only victory to date under the Alpine name (the team scored victories while it was known as Renault and Lotus). The official argument for the early release was that it would allow Ocon to immediately partake in testing for Haas (his new team for 2025). But this excuse rings hollow when you consider other drivers such as Sainz and Hulkenberg were all able to immediately start testing with their new teams post-Abu Dhabi.
Whatever the real reason behind Ocon’s early departure may be, it’s clear another botched driver situation at Alpine (following fiascos with both Alonso and Piastri in 2022) won’t do their reputation any favors, either in the paddock or with the public. And if they thought their late surge to snatch 6th in the Constructors’ Championship would give people something relatively positive to discuss, they’re gravely mistaken. All the uptick in results does at the end of the day is underscore just how dramatic and tumultuous this season was for the team.
A solid end to a consistent 2024 drums up anticipation for Haas in 2025.
Las Vegas GP result:
Nico Hulkenberg: 8th (Qualified 9th)
Kevin Magnussen: 12th (Qualified 12th)
Qatar GP result:
Kevin Magnussen: 9th (Qualified 10th)
Nico Hulkenberg: DNF (Qualified 18th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Nico Hulkenberg: 8th (Qualified 7th)
Kevin Magnussen: 16th (Qualified 14th)
Haas may have finished below Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship, but the fact they were the only team outside of the top 4 of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes to score points at every race of this triple-header highlights a consistency the team hasn’t seen since they finished 5th in 2018. Haas scored points at 13 of 24 races this year, but what’s equally notable is how close they were to scoring points when they didn’t: the team had the 11th place driver at six grands prix.
2025 will see a new-look Haas, as Hulkenberg departs for Sauber and Magnussen leaves the sport. The veteran duo will be replaced by Ocon and Ollie Bearman, a driver pairing that could keep the consistency of this year going if the car’s development stays on track. Plenty of eyes will be on Bearman, as 2024’s super-substitute makes his full-time debut. If he has a solid season, expect the existing chatter about top teams being interested in him to intensify.
RB’s season ends with on-track mediocrity and off-track fireworks.
Las Vegas GP result:
Yuki Tsunoda: 9th (Qualified 7th)
Liam Lawson: 16th (Qualified 14th)
Qatar GP result:
Yuki Tsunoda: 13th (Qualified 14th)
Liam Lawson: 14th (Qualified 17th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Yuki Tsunoda: 12th (Qualified 11th)
Liam Lawson: 17th (Qualified 12th)
The three-way battle for 6th place in the Constructors’ Championship after the race in Brazil never materialized: RB scored just two points across the final-triple header to fall away from Haas and Alpine. But results are rarely the main storyline when you’re the sister team of Red Bull. Due to Perez’s departure, RB’s driver carousel offered up one final twist: Liam Lawson will be moving to Red Bull in 2025, and Tsunoda will be joined by current Red Bull reserve driver and this season’s Formula 2 runner-up Isack Hadjar.
I won’t delve into the details of why this is a surprising decision that has left many scratching their heads in this post (stay tuned for the final season recap), but it’s fair to say this decision is one that leaves plenty of questions and a trail of potential consequences in its wake. But you don’t need to be a Formula One fanatic to understand the bafflement being expressed. After all, just look at the results across the last races. Lawson was the lower-performing driver, but he got the promotion.
Williams will hope to leave the destruction of 2024 behind.
Las Vegas GP result:
Franco Colapinto: 14th (Pit Lane Start)
Alex Albon: DNF (Qualified 17th)
Qatar GP result:
Alex Albon: 15th (Qualified 16th)
Franco Colapinto: DNF (Qualified 19th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Alex Albon: 11th (Qualified 18th)
Franco Colapinto: DNF (Qualified 20th)
There’s bad luck. And then there’s whatever Williams went through in 2024.
Nothing sums up the series of unfortunate events that plagued Williams throughout the year like the last few races. Remember that in Brazil Williams had three crashes: both drivers crashed during qualifying, and the team could only repair Colapinto’s car in time for the race—only for him to crash out of the race. After getting both cars repaired for Las Vegas, Colapinto suffered another crash in Q2, forcing the team to scramble once again to get his car repaired in time. Both cars miraculously started the race, only for Albon to retire halfway through with a cooling issue after working his way up to P10. In Qatar, Colapinto’s race was over at the start after he found himself a victim of Nico Hulkenberg’s opening lap crash. In Abu Dhabi, Colapinto was again forced to retire due to an engine issue, but not before his race had already been ruined by a puncture sustained when Piastri rear-ended him.
The two most telling statistics for Williams in 2024? They had as many crashes as points (17), and had 13 occasions where a car failed to finish or start a race (no other team had more than 6). It’s a record they’ll be keen to avoid in 2025, but the arrival of Sainz won’t be the automatic boon many might think it is. This isn’t a knock on Sainz—his experience will undoubtedly help bring the crash count down, and a Sainz-Albon pairing gives Williams their strongest lineup since 2016. However, the cost of repairing the 2024 cars will have taken time and money out of preparing for next year. With new regulations coming in 2026, it’s unlikely Williams will divert any long-term focus to the short-term. This means if the 2025 car struggles from the outset, chances are the team will find themselves in for another long season stuck towards the back of the pack.
Yes, Sauber still exist.
Las Vegas GP result:
Zhou Guanyu: 13th (Qualified 13th)
Valterri Bottas: 18th (Qualified 19th)
Qatar GP result:
Zhou Guanyu: 8th (Qualified 12th)
Valterri Bottas: 11th (Qualified 13th)
Abu Dhabi GP result:
Zhou Guanyu: 13th (Qualified 15th)
Valterri Bottas: DNF (Qualified 9th)
AND YES, THEY’VE FINALLY SCORED POINTS THIS SEASON!
14 months and 28 races after they last scored points (coincidentally, also in Qatar), Sauber finally broke their points-less streak when Zhou finished eighth. It would prove to be their only points of the season, but it at least meant their season wouldn’t go down in infamy.
Sauber’s struggles this season can be largely pinned down to the scrap metal they called their car. But even pointing the finger at the obvious wasn’t even enough to save both Zhou and Bottas, who will be replaced by Hulkenberg and reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Unlike with Perez’s departure, Sauber’s completely uncompetitive 2024 car means teams are likely to give both Zhou and Bottas some extra consideration.
Zhou’s three years in Formula One were far from spectacular, but he could probably get a reserve role if he wanted. Since he avoided Logan Sargeant/Nyck De Vries levels of disaster during his time as a driver, he could still be in the conversation for a return to the grid in the future, especially if a team opts for a mid-season swap. At 25, he also still has time on his side. For Bottas, a return to the grid looks more difficult given he’s now 35 years old. But the fact he’s already been confirmed as a reserve driver for Mercedes next year is proof his time at Sauber hasn’t completely damaged the reputation he built up during his previous stints at Williams and Mercedes.
As for Hulkenberg and Bortoleto? I would expect Sauber, like Williams, to head into 2025 with one eye already firmly trained on 2026. In Sauber’s case, 2026 will be important not only because of the new regulations, but also because that’s when the team will become the Audi factory team. Making a splash then will undoubtedly be more important than showing improvement next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the general feeling in the team is that 2025 is just a formality to get through.
Here’s hoping they don’t have to wait another year before they score points, though.
Miscellaneous Musings:
There’s one more exciting Formula One post in store for 2024! Stay tuned for an in-depth review of the best races and moments of the 2024 season, along with a look at the season’s MVPs (and LVPs) with the help of something I’ve been working on and am excited to introduce!
For the eagle-eyed readers, well-spotted: that photo at the top of the post is of Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem on the podium in Abu Dhabi with Leclerc and Russell. Surely not a spoiler for F1, right?