F1 top 10 drivers of 2024 – Part 1

What a year in F1! Here RacingNews365 gives you its run down of the top 10 drivers from 2024.

Its five writers – Ian Parkes, Sam Coop, Nick Golding, Jake Nichol, and Fergal Walsh – adopted F1’s grand prix scoring system, giving 25 points to the driver they felt performed best over the 24-race season, down to one point for the 10th-placed driver on their list.

That gave a comprehensive breakdown of the top 10, with drivers 10 to six listed here. The top five drivers will be announced on Sunday, and the total number of combined points scored from the five writers overall.

As always, this is a subjective list. You, our readers, may have your own view, so please feel free to provide your comments in the box below.

It was far from the swansong Hamilton and Mercedes had hoped for after the seven-time F1 champion dropped on the sport one of the biggest bombshells it has encountered in decades when it was announced on February 1 he was stepping out from under the wing of a Mercedes organisation that supported him for 26 years – the last 12 of those with the works team – and heading to rivals Ferrari to write one final chapter of his storied career. Many will feel Hamilton’s inconsistency over the 24 races is not worthy of his position on this list, particularly after being humbled by team-mate George Russell in qualifying. Mercedes’ failure to provide Hamilton with the aggressive car he requires over one lap, an unwanted trait of this ground-effect era, saw to that. In races, he more often than not came alive. His victory in the British Grand Prix, ending a 31-month drought, will live long in the memory.

This is likely to be a surprise entry for many people. In all honesty, lead editor Ian Parkes was the only one of the five-man team that did not include Tsunoda in his top 10. The Japanese driver hailed 2024 as his best season, predominantly for his consistency over the course of the record 24-race campaign. Tsunoda finished a career high of 12th over his four seasons in F1 to date, although was two points shy of his best total of 32 from his debut campaign in 2021, and with an additional two races this year. One area Tsunoda worked on throughout the campaign was his communication skills, trying to be more measured and controlled, scaling back on the bad language to ensure his team was given more in-depth feedback. Unfortunately, Tsunoda was still overlooked when it came to Red Bull’s consideration as to whom should replace Sergio Perez. Another year at the sister team beckons. 

There may be a degree of ‘recentism’ attached to Gasly’s position in the top 10, particularly when you consider a couple of the drivers beneath the Frenchman, such as Fernando Alonso. But Gasly merits his place based on where Alpine started the season – rock bottom – allied to the fact he kept his head down and supported the team in its hours of darkness. By season’s end, Gasly was regularly qualifying in the top 10, such was the remarkable turnaround in the car’s performance, which reaped its due reward. His 42 points, predominantly accrued in the final four races, were vital in Alpine securing a lucrative sixth position in the constructors’ championship.

It was a coming-of-age season for Russell, who entered the campaign knowing there was an opportunity within his grasp to show he has what it takes to become de facto team leader, as will be the case next year with rookie Kimi Antonelli as a team-mate, and in the wake of Hamilton’s decision to quit Mercedes and join Ferrari. And he did so on many occasions. His qualifying performances were often exemplary. Two wins and two additional podiums, however, were arguably not a just reward for his efforts. There was, however, a very strong finish to the season, with almost half of his points collected – 117 of 245 – in the final eight races. It has at least provided Russell with a platform on which to build, and with Hamilton no longer on the other side of the garage, it is a chance for him to firmly step into the spotlight.

Tune in on Sunday to see RacingNews365‘s top-five drivers of 2024.