2024 F1 midseason review: Best driver, favorite races and pleasant surprises (2024)

Seven months into 2024 and 14 grands prix into a 24-race run, we can verify one thing about this season: It’s a banger.

It wasn’t long ago that we expected Max Verstappen and Red Bull to continue their dominance from 2023 when the team won all but one race and Verstappen all but three. However, the emergence of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes has shattered that notion, transforming this season into a thrilling battle.

Now that we’ve reached the annual summer break, it’s a good time for everyone to pause and breathe. So we here at The Athletic have gathered our thoughts on what we’ve seen so far —and what we hope to see before the season wraps up at Abu Dhabi.

— Luke Smith, Madeline Coleman, Patrick Iversen and Alex Davies

The best driver

Luke Smith: He’s no longer dominating, but Verstappen remains my pick for the best driver so far this season. His performances in the early part of the year were vintage Verstappen, and while the Red Bull car has slid back on performance lately, he’s remained ever-present at the front, continually extending his points lead. It’s a testament to his consistency and quality and why he remains the driver to beat in F1.

Alex Davies: The numbers (and Luke) say Verstappen, but my heart says Oscar Piastri. Sure, he’s only got the one win and four podiums to his ledger for 2024, but I’m blown away by the progress he’s made in a season and a half in F1, to the point where he’s made Lando Norris less of a number one driver and himself less of a number two. To go with the strongest pairing on the grid, McLaren has among the most equal —and that’s a credit to the young Australian. His steady demeanor held even through the messiness of his main win in Hungary, and it will surely hold through many to come.

Madeline Coleman: There’s a bit of an echo in here. To no surprise, I agree with Luke — Verstappen is the best driver of the year thus far. His consistency is unmatched, and even without a dominant car like the “unicorn year” of 2023 (as Christian Horner calls it), the Dutchman is still competitive at the front.

Patrick Iversen: It’s fun to have to think about this question again. Major props to Piastri, who I believe has been the most consistent top driver not named Verstappen. But I agree with our writers that Verstappen has remained the class of the field. Through 14 races, Verstappen has eight pole positions and nine podiums. He hasn’t had to win every race to run away with the drivers’ championship (he’s up by 78 points) and single-handedly keep Red Bull atop the Constructors’ Standings. He’s the best driver in the world.

The best race

Coleman: The British Grand Prix was high up there for me, but the Australian Grand Prix may be my favorite so far this year. Carlos Sainz missed the Saudi Arabian GP due to appendicitis and doubted that he would be fit enough to compete when he made the flight from Europe to Australia. But 16 days after surgery, the Ferrari driver won in Australia.

Davies: The post-race disqualification of George Russell spoiled the party, but not so badly that I’m not picking the Belgian Grand Prix. It wasn’t as competitive at the end as Silverstone, but you can’t beat it for storylines. Just about anywhere you looked, you had drama: Verstappen trying to charge through the field, Sergio Pérez slipping behind as he raced to save his career, general uncertainty about the drivers’ market on the eve of the summer break, and finally Russell pulling out a (temporary) win thanks to some strategic mastery and tire whispering.

Smith: Compared to last year, a wealth of choices! But for me, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone stands above the rest. Multiple leaders, different weather conditions, some tense on-track battles and a fight for the win that went to the very end. It felt like any of the five drivers could have won that race — F1 at its finest.

Iversen: Gosh, there are so many to choose from. It’s all a blur. I loved Silverstone for the same reasons Luke did, but I’ll go with the Austrian Grand Prix for variety’s sake. The laps-long Verstappen-Norris battle, the mutual destruction on the final lap, Russell’s swoop by to take the win. In most years, the wheel-to-wheel drama and late twist at the Red Bull Ring would be an easy pick for the best race. But this year is unlike most years.

The best radio moment

Smith: Hamilton breaking down in tears after taking the checkered flag at Silverstone was heart-wrenching. He’d never sounded like that in nearly 20 years on the F1 grid. He couldn’t hold back the emotion as he spoke to his race engineer, Pete Bonnington, on the radio. The kind of feeling sport can so beautifully stir.

Davies: Race engineer Will Joseph imploring Norris to give the lead of the Hungarian GP back to his teammate by calling out what mattered more. “The way to win a championship is not by yourself,” Joseph told Norris. “It’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.” It unintentionally highlighted the eternal weirdness of a sport where your teammate is frequently your chief rival and framed the decision Norris had to make between himself at the moment and his team in the long run.

Coleman: The team radios have become a fairly big talking point in recent weeks, and there have been quite a few standout moments, whether it be Pierre Gasly saying, “Ciao” after overtaking teammate Esteban Ocon or Toto Wolff and Russell’s exchange when the Mercedes driver took the lead of the Austrian GP. One of my favorites, though, is Sainz’s after winning the Australian GP, when he wanted to celebrate the 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc.

Iversen: This is easy. During qualifying at Hungary, McLaren engineer Tom Stallard told Piastri not to “excessively impede” other cars in the pit exit. Piastri’s reaction was priceless. 😏

Oscar's eyes told the whole story 👀😂#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/M5Gt4XDse3

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 20, 2024

Favorite off-track moment

Smith:Leclerc joining F1’s “dog dad” gang with his adorable puppy, Leo. More pets in the F1 paddock, please.

Davies: The reveal of the Red Bull RB17, Adrian Newey’s “utopia car.” I spent a decade as an automotive journalist before coming to The Athletic to cover F1. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the occasional story about a completely insane, multi-million-dollar car until this one came around.

Coleman: It isn’t a specific moment but more of a recurring event (for lack of a better term). All the teams are tasked with getting the drivers to create social media and marketing content, and Williams Racing’s Team Torque with Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon has been entertaining. I enjoyed the crossover episode with “The Fast and the Curious.”

Iversen: I did love when Leclerc lectured Sainz about how he built a paper airplane all wrong, only to throw his plane and realize it was much, much worse. Also, shout out to nap time in the press room.

My most anticipated second-half moment is …

Smith: The fight for the Constructors’ Championship. Given his existing buffer, I still think Verstappen will sew up the driver’s title. However, McLaren’s rise and Red Bull’s decision to stick with Pérez despite his form has set up a terrific storyline going into the second half. For the first time in three years, we might have a title showdown in Abu Dhabi.

Davies: It’s hard to call this a moment because I can’t say when it might happen —but I’m betting we’ll have a race where McLaren gets its shot to overtake Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. Considering we came into 2024 expecting more Red Bull dominance, I can’t wait to see it really and properly challenged, whatever the outcome.

Coleman: The Constructors’ Championship fight was my first choice because a battle is brewing. But instead, I’ll go with a race weekend. I’m interested to see what Year 2 of Las Vegas is like. Despite the rocky start, it ended up being one of 2023’s most exciting races, with a three-way fight for the win unfolding. Can it deliver again, or will the off-track spectacle overshadow the on-track action?

Iversen: I’m excited to return to Austin, Texas, and Vegas with an actual Constructors’ title fight on the line. The atmosphere at both races last year was superb but lacked real stakes on track. This fall should be different, and I can’t wait to feel the energy from fans at the final U.S. races. (Not to mention that Texas plays Georgia the same weekend as the United States GP, so Austin will be extra electric.)

One pleasant surprise so far

Smith: The fact F1 has become so competitive and, frankly, exciting once again is amazing news for everyone and hugely unexpected. Given how dominant Red Bull was to start this year, to sit at the summer break with seven different winners and genuine uncertainty over who will win each week is refreshing. And what we need F1 to be like.

Davies: To build on Luke’s point about the competitive level of the field, I’m particularly pleasantly surprised by the recent strength of Mercedes. The team has looked so lost at points throughout the past couple of years and more than once has smacked into a brick wall after thinking it was light at the end of the tunnel. But three wins in six races is real, and it’s great.

Coleman: RB and Haas’ progress. It is a new chapter for both teams, even more so for RB with the new name, new leadership, and new focus on its independence, and they both have more points at the “halfway” mark of the year than they did by season’s end in 2023. Haas went from the back of the grid to being seven points off of RB, which leads the midfield (if you exclude Aston Martin, which is on an island of its own). Not to mention, Nico Hülkenberg outscored a Ferrari and Red Bull during the recent triple-header.

Iversen: The quiet rise of F1’s youth movement. It’s all over the place.

Bearman’s terrific debut and contract with Haas. Norris and Piastri’s emergence as two of the sport’s top drivers. Russell is showing he’s ready to lead at Mercedes (and Kimi Antonelli could be on the way next year as his teammate).

Further down the grid, Yuki Tsunoda has stepped up for RB and Albon continues to justify Williams’ faith in him. The next generation of great F1 drivers has its fingerprints all over this season.

One unpleasant surprise

Smith: Mercedes and Red Bull’s reluctance to consider Sainz for a seat in 2025. I get the reasons for passing on him, and Sainz will be a good fit for Williams. But he deserved to keep a front-running seat for next season after putting in some of the best performances of his career. It’s a shame he won’t be in the mix for podiums or wins next year.

Davies: The paltry state of Aston Martin. The team gave us such a good storyline in 2023, coming out of the gate looking like a real threat. The real bummer, though, is that this past offseason did nothing to reverse its late-2023 downturn. With 73 points, it’s 193 behind Mercedes and just 39 ahead of RB. My takeaway is that the F1 field is split between four top teams and the rest, rather than the five-and-five break we’re used to.

Coleman: How long it’s taking for the full-time drivers to pass Ollie Bearman in the standings. He replaced Sainz for the Saudi Arabian GP and scored six points with a seventh-place finish. But with just 10 races still left on the calendar, the current F2 driver sits 14th in the driver standings, ahead of seven F1 drivers.

Iversen: The behind-the-scenes drama. From the allegations against Horner to the ongoing Andretti saga to Susie Wolff bringing legal action against the FIA to the investigation into the FIA president… The on-track thrills have made it easy to forget how off-track news threatened to overwhelm the sport in the season’s opening months. A few of these stories are still ongoing.

I will always remember …

Smith: The three weeks I spent in the Middle East across Bahrain and Saudi Arabia through the various twists of the Horner/Red Bull story. The reaction of the media center as we all gradually received the anonymous email containing the leaked messages, purported to have been sent by Horner but upon which he’s always refused to comment, was surreal.

Davies: 7:23 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 1, when I woke up to a phone call from Pat, who replied to my “hello” with, “Hamilton is going to Ferrari.” For everything we’ve covered about the switch since then, nothing sticks in my mind like the pure shock of the news itself.

Coleman: My first Monaco Grand Prix — the picturesque drive into Monaco from Nice, the sights and sounds of the cars whizzing past while I stood trackside for the first time, and the duality of Monaco. Oh, and you can’t forget Leclerc’s emotional home win.

Iversen: The first half of the season wasn’t just about stirring moments. It was also about sentimental ones, like Zhou Guanyu’s emotional drive in China and long-awaited wins for Norris and Hamilton. The one that will always stick with me is Leclerc’s win in Monaco. The way he carried the memory of his late father with him during the final laps around his hometown was genuinely touching.

His win also opened up a world of possibilities. If Leclerc could cleanse himself of his “Monaco Curse,” what else could happen this season? A lot, it turns out.

(Photos of Rudy Carezzevoli and Kym Illman: Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images)