The most outstanding race drives of the 2024 F1 season
Across the 24 races of the 2024 season, some 24 different drivers took part in a grand prix – the most since 26 contested the 2017 campaign.
RacingNews365 has whittled those drives to what we believe to be the six best of the season – and it’s for you to decide who had the best drive from our selection.
Drivers could only be selected for one race performance, so let us know what you think in the poll at the bottom of the article – or tell us in the comments what we missed!
Ollie Bearman – Saudi Arabian GP
Originally set to be on F2 duty, Ollie Bearman deputised for an appendicitis-stricken Carlos Sainz, jumping in the Ferrari ahead of FP3.
He qualified 11th, and after a shaky opening lap, settled in and began to pick off the cars in front, eventually finishing seventh to bank six points, ahead of both Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
The drive all but confirmed his place in F1 for 2025 with Haas, something officially confirmed later in the season.
Carlos Sainz – Australian GP
Returning from having his appendix out, Sainz put in a masterful performance in Melbourne, driving beautifully for a third career win.
He overtook Max Verstappen – gunning for a record-equalling 10th straight win and how had won 22 of the previous 25 races.
He was aided by Verstappen’s rear brakes exploding, but Sainz put the manners on the Red Bull when sweeping into the lead and enhanced his chances of signing for Red Bull or Mercedes, but was ultimately overlooked.
Charles Leclerc – Italian GP
Some might question why the Monaco GP isn’t on this list, but that was won on Saturday in qualifying, so the race was effectively a parade.
At Monza, after a poor run of form after a botched upgrade, Leclerc stole the Italian GP from McLaren, opting for a one-stop when Norris and Oscar Piastri did two-stops.
It breathed fresh life into Ferrari’s title challenge, which ultimately ended 14 points short, but Leclerc’s second Italian GP win was his finest of the season, masterfully looking after his hard tyres on a day of high degradation.
© XPBimages
Max Verstappen – Sao Paulo GP
17th to first in dreadful conditions and showed title rival Norris just how high the bar actually is.
One of the greatest drives in Formula 1 history, no further explanation is necessary.
Esteban Ocon – Sao Paulo GP
Alpine got lucky and gambled with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly to stay out on intermediate tyres as the rain got heavier and did not pit for a fresh set.
This vaulted the pair up the order, and when the red flag came for Franco Colapinto destroying yet another Williams, they cashed in.
On the restart, Ocon actually drove away from the field in the lead, before a further restart saw him being mugged by Verstappen who was in a class of one.
But as the Ocon-Alpine relationship soured towards the end, with him fearing unequal equipment, this was a final hurrah at what is now firmly Gasly’s team.
Lewis Hamilton – Las Vegas GP
Like Leclerc in Monaco, you might wonder why Lewis Hamilton’s British GP success is not his option, but his Las Vegas romp from 10th to second was a better performance.
Annoyed after an uncharacteristic qualifying mistake ruined Q3, Hamilton carved through the field, making light work of Verstappen and the Ferrari pair as the Mercedes found a sweet spot.
He was too far behind to worry team-mate and leader George Russell, but it was a stunning job from Hamilton to chip the gap down to as low as five seconds at one point, eventually finishing 7.3s behind for a 154th and final Mercedes podium.
