The 2024 Formula 1 season has come to an end, and within the 24 races that this season had, it ended with seven different winners from four different teams and a running constructors championship battle between the top teams: Redbull, McLaren, and Ferrari. Max Verstappen’s dominance during the 2023 season, which broke numerous records, had fans declaring it “boring” and “negative.” Many people thought that this season would be incredibly similar, but that changed almost immediately going into the first month of the season when Carlos Sainz, a Ferrari driver, won in Australia.
The biggest stories of 2024
Right before the start of the season, it was announced that Carlos Sainz would not be renewing his contract with Ferrari for the following seasons and would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton. This news led the F1 world to a massive shock because Hamilton had previously suggested that he would end his Formula 1 career with Mercedes.
Following Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, Sainz announced in July that he would be joining the Williams team for 2025 and beyond. Sainz is an incredible driver, and he has showcased it multiple times during this season. However, seeing him sign into a midfield team disappointed many fans. Sainz was a heavily influenced contender for a lot of the teams throughout the season, Red Bull being one of them.
Many believe that Red Bull has made a huge mistake not signing Sainz for the 2025 season, Sergio Perez has continued to show that he isn’t up to Verstappen’s level. While Sainz would be a satisfactory contender for the team, so would many young drivers waiting in Red Bull’s junior lineup.
On Nov. 25, F1 announced that it reached an agreement with General Motors, meaning that General Motors/Cadillac will be the 11th team on the grid for the 2026 season.
The championship battle
The championship battle between Lando Norris (McLaren) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was an interesting one. Throughout the season there were multiple races where Norris and Verstappen were fighting for the championship title, which left many questioning who would win the drivers championship.
But, following the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen had officially won his fourth world championship. Even though Verstappen had won the championship, both McLaren and Ferrari eventually surpassed Red Bull in the standings. Red Bull had won the previous two constructors’ championships, but due to Sergio Perez struggling with pace and earning points for Red Bull, McLaren eventually won their first constructors title since 1998.
Mid-season drops
Logan Sargeant was dropped from the Williams team following the Dutch Grand Prix. However, this news didn’t come as a surprise to many fans. James Vowles, the team principal, had stated that Sargeants’ performance this season wasn’t up to the standards that he had wanted.
Soon after, Williams promoted Franco Colapinto from their driver academy to replace Sargeant. His performance this season has been satisfactory for many of the teams, and due to this many are confused about the stance on his future and whether he is a contender for a long-term F1 seat in the future.
Daniel Ricciardo was let go from VCARB after the Singapore Grand Prix. Even though
he ended his F1 season in 14th place, his performance wasn’t enough to convince VCARB to keep him.
Many people were convinced that Ricciardo would be taking Perez’s seat at Red Bull for the rest of the season as talks had risen, but that information never followed through. Ricciardo was replaced by Liam Lawson for the last six races of the season. But, Lawson currently does not have a contract signed with VCARB, or any other team for 2025.
Incoming rookies
The 2024 season started with no driver changes within the grid and now we’ll be going into a season where only 3 teams will have the same driver lineup from the previous season. The 2025 grid will have multiple new faces, as of now, 4 rookies signed with teams for the 2025 season. Andrea Kimi Antonelli signed with Mercedes, Oliver Bearman signed with Haas, Jack Doohan signed with Alpine, and Gabriel Bortoleto signed with Kick Sauber.
This has been a season to remember, as it had multiple race winners and an ongoing constructors battle. Fans are excited to see how the 2025 season will play out for Hamilton at Ferrari, the incoming rookies, Sainz at Williams, and who will be the dominant team in the following season.
