With the 2024 F1 season done and dusted, FormulaRapida.net decided to draw out a ranking system in a ‘Tier’ system, moving away from a traditional, individual ranked order.
The long 2024 F1 season had its share of strong performances from everyone on the grid, whether at the front of the field or at the back. For this reason, we decided to do away with the traditional system of an individual, ranked system of categorisation.
Darshan Chokhani – FormulaRapida.net’s own – decided on the Tier system where we have divided the 18 drivers in four tiers, with the remaining regulars along with substitutes in the others section.
Here’s how they are stacked up –
Tier 1 –
Max Verstappen:
He could have been the lone driver in Tier 1 considering his performances in the Red Bull car which wasn’t upto the mark in 2024. But the other two deserved their place too alongside Max Verstappen in the first tier. The Dutchman started off 2024 in style, dominating like he did in 2023. But as the season progressed, the problems started to creep in and his results faltered. Despite the issues, the Dutchman scored crucial points, much needed to retain the title. He fought through with his team, who were jostling to find solutions. The constructors’ side was soon diminishing due to non scoring by Sergio Perez, but the drivers’ side was maintained by the Dutchman.
His drive in Brazil was probably the best in the circumstances where he made the most of wet conditions to secure the win in a car which shouldn’t have crossed the line first. In addition, his aggression against Lando Norris in the couple of races helped him maintain the edge, while the debate around clean or not clean continued on. So much so, he sealed his fourth title with two races remaining in Las Vegas. He probably deserved the title too – whether he can win the fifth, it will all depend on Red Bull now. In all, he scored nine wins and 14 podiums to go with four sprint wins, along with eight pole positions and three fastest laps.
Lando Norris:
For the first time in his career, Lando Norris had an outside chance to probably win the F1 drivers’ title. He and McLaren were in two minds by the looks of it, whether to keep the mindset on constructors’ championship or also push for drivers’. Initially, they didn’t but when on a roll, they went for it. They eventually dropped back on drivers’ title when it looked otherwise. The Brit was caught in the web of Verstappen, whose aggression managed to sway the battle on his side. Even Norris had his share of shortcoming, especially his starts when he lost places after starting on pole. Nevertheless, it was still a sound season for him to finish second for the first time in his career.
He managed to beat his teammate well, despite criticism from quarters of getting overshadowed by Oscar Piastri at times. Norris seemed like was caught up in two minds, where he often talked about some of his shortcomings which he needs to improve. On the other side, he wanted to be ruthless and aggressive, which didn’t come naturally to him. He still did well for him to secure his career first win and celebrate the constructors’ championship win with McLaren. In all, he scored four wins and 13 podiums to go with one sprint win and four sprint podiums, along with eight pole positions and six fastest laps.
Charles Leclerc:
Completing the wolf pack was Charles Leclerc. The Top 3 as they finished in the championship deserved the Tier 1 spot. The start for the Monegasque was a tad slow, but the consistency he had all-through the year is what kept him alive not just to be in the Top 3, but also have an outside-outside chance of championship glory. His only dip came when Ferrari had a dip, otherwise, he was on it when the car was alive. He kept the fight alive until the last for Ferrari in the constructors’ championship with Carlos Sainz’s support. But it wasn’t to be for the team, who lost by just the 14 points. In fact, on the drivers’ side too, he lost second by just the 18 points to Lando Norris.
The Monegasque looked pretty strong and made less mistakes in the course of the season. He wasn’t always in the direct fight against Max Verstappen and or Norris, but consistent Top 5 results helped him immensely. Overall, he scored three wins and 13 podiums to go with two sprint podiums, along with three pole positions and three fastest laps. Talking about the consistency, he finished in the Top 5, a total of 21 times from the 24 races where the three times he didn’t, he had a DNF in one and scored no points in the other two.
Tier 2 –
Carlos Sainz:
Much like teammate Charles Leclerc, even Carlos Sainz wasn’t too far off in terms of consistency which helped Ferrari to be close to claim the F1 title. Even though he missed a grand prix, he was in the Top 5 of the drivers’ standings – missing fourth by just the two points against Oscar Piastri, who won the constructors’ championship. Despite the known fact that the 2024 season will be the final one for Sainz with Ferrari, it didn’t deter the Spaniard to give it all. Granted, we can say that he was also doing it for himself for his future cause, but that doesn’t undermine his driving. He had a great run and only missed marginally to be in Tier 1. Overall, he scored two wins and nine podiums to go with one sprint podium along with one pole position and one fastest lap.
Oscar Piastri:
In only his second season, Oscar Piastri ended up just outside the Top 3 in fourth. He could have lost it to Carlos Sainz, who was only two points behind, but the Australian showed good performance for most part. Considering it was his second season, the experience factor does come into play, which is why his consistency wasn’t as great, but he did a good enough job to help McLaren take the F1 constructors’ championship along with Lando Norris. As he admitted himself, there are things to learn for his third season, but if he can bring that consistency level in his performance, he will tough to beat despite being young in his F1 career. Overall, he scored two wins and eight podiums to go with one sprint win and three sprint podiums, along with one fastest lap point.
George Russell:
When Mercedes was good on its day, George Russell performed to the mark. There was a brief period where they looked pretty strong and he made the most of that. He was on point in qualifying especially against teammate Lewis Hamilton, but in race pace, they matched each other well – although the former did beat the latter finishing sixth in the standings. The two were on their own most of the time while the likes of Max Verstappen, Ferrari and McLaren fought among themselves. There were moments when Mercedes put itself in the mix, but those were only handful of races. Russell took charge within Mercedes as he is expected to with the departure of Hamilton. He scored two wins which was three but he was disqualified in Belgium, which left him with two victories and four podiums to go with one sprint podium, along with four pole positions and two fastest laps.
Lewis Hamilton:
In his last year with Mercedes, it wasn’t as good as they expected it to be. He was good in the races, but most were recovery drives after lacklusture qualifying, which is why George Russell managed to beat him in the drivers’ standings. Yes, his position in Tier 2 could be argued but Lewis Hamilton delivered whenever it mattered and showed his class too. It was not fluent as such because of his qualifying gap, but in races, he was top notch. Eventually, he scored the two wins – which includes inheriting his teammate’s Belgium one – and five podiums to go with one sprint podium along with two fastest laps.
Fernando Alonso:
The above four were pretty much given in the first two tiers but the drivers coming next are some exceptional performers in a rather inferior car. Leading the charge was Fernando Alonso, who put Aston Martin in places where it didn’t deserve to be. They were good enough to start the 2024 F1 season, but dropped off as the season progressed, but the Spaniard still managed to put it in the Top 10 whether qualifying and or races. Granted he was not as consistent in doing so, but still he was ahead of the other midfield drivers who did well for themselves. To finish ninth in that Aston Martin car was a big step, which included two fastest laps as well.
Nico Hulkenberg:
For most part, Nico Hulkenberg ran in the Top 10 of the drivers’ championship and was one of the most consistent midfield performer driving the Haas. He more or less beat his teammate Kevin Magnussen fair and square and consistently put the car in Q3 – which was his strength all-through – despite the strong competition around. He almost finished 10th in the drivers’ standings, but for the last-gasp run from Pierre Gasly, who pipped him by just the one point. The German, though, did good enough to find himself in Tier 2 where pre-season, they did not give themselves a chance to be consistently inside the Top 10.
Pierre Gasly:
The late run certainly put Pierre Gasly in Tier 2, otherwise he would have been either in Tier 3 and or Tier 4 even. Despite the lack of performance in the Alpine car, the Frenchman did score handful of points early on. The breakthrough did come in Austin, but the results only came in races in Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which totally changed the trajectory of his and Alpine’s season. Much like Nico Hulkenberg, even Gasly was fairly consistent to be in Q3 even though the car not always deserved to be in that position. The podium in Brazil was icing on the cake for Gasly, who together with Esteban Ocon dragged Alpine to sixth which was unthinkable at the start of the 2024 F1 season.
Tier 3 –
Yuki Tsunoda:
All the debate around a Red Bull seat, but Yuki Tsunoda was slightly letdown to be in Tier 3. He put up some good performances and more or less beat both Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson, but together with the car’s performance, he was 50-50 as well especially against the likes of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly, who found a place in Tier 2. We can say that Visa Cash App RB let him down, but somewhere the Japanese didn’t look extraordinary apart from maybe Brazil, where he started third and if not for luck, would have been on the podium. It was marginal still on missing out but that is what makes the difference and probably that was one reason that he was looked over by Red Bull again.
Esteban Ocon:
While teammate Pierre Gasly made merry, Esteban Ocon had his up performances but it was not as much as the other. He felt slightly undone considering he was leaving the team, but for Alpine, points did matter considering the position they were in. Nevertheless, Ocon did a goodish job still and of course the second place in Brazil remains the highlight. Although the races following that diminished his will as such and a proposition to start early with Haas, forced him to vacate the seat for Jack Doohan in Abu Dhabi. Eventually, Gasly scored almost double of what Ocon did, which is fair reason for the latter to be in Tier 3 and the former to be in Tier 2.
Kevin Magnussen:
The Dane seemed to be in a similar boat as Esteban Ocon in some ways against teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Yes, Kevin Magnussen did miss couple of races due to unforeseen circumstances, but overall, he could have done slightly better than what he achieved in the end. Certainly, he drove better in 2024 and sometimes results didn’t go his way but since Hulkenberg could extract more, it made the difference of Tier 2 and Tier 3. Even though it was potentially his last season in F1, Magnussen drove the way he always does, which certainly makes him an exciting driver to watch.
Alexander Albon:
The Thai was very close to miss out on Tier 3 considering the performances of his and the Williams car. Despite promise and some points, the two didn’t gel well in 2024 which is why they found themselves only ninth in the standings. In a way, it seemed like ‘all talk, no performance’ from Williams. The 12 points he managed is not the best look for Alexander Albon. Granted, there were moments he was unlucky, but starting out overweight and then ending using limited to old parts, only made things worse for the Thai. There were some spirited performances which kept him afloat, but with Carlos Sainz at his side in 2025, he can’t be a slouch at all.
Tier 4 –
Zhou Guanyu:
It was almost an empty handed last F1 season for Zhou Guanyu, but for Qatar which not only helped him but also Sauber to score some points and not have zero against their name. The Chinese racer was okish during the season considering that he always had the updates later than teammate Valtteri Bottas, which left him on a catch up job. He had his shortcomings and despite the late updates, the Finn did look like the quicker driver on most occasions. Yes, he didn’t score but he came closer to score more than Guanyu. Sometimes car performance and driver performance goes hand in hand, which is why Tier 4 suits both the teammates.
Valtteri Bottas:
As noted in the case of Zhou Guanyu, teammate Valtteri Bottas had a similar performance graph. The only difference is for the Finn to score zero points as opposed to Guanyu managing to score something. Bottas did perform slightly better than his teammate but the Finn’s luck didn’t help him. It is very rare for Bottas to be in such position, but that’s how it was in his last season with Sauber, which he admitted to be a mistake to join in the end.
Lance Stroll:
Unlike teammate Fernando Alonso, it was another forgettable year for Lance Stroll with Aston Martin. The Canadian did do a decent job early in the year which he doesn’t remember about, but in overall context when Alonso was pulling through in worst of times, Stroll just couldn’t do it himself. It shows in the points gap of 46 between the two, which was the second highest gap between teammates in 2024 after Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. And there is no excuse for Stroll to not be closer irrespective of the performance of the Aston Martin car.
Sergio Perez:
There was a thought that passed through, if Sergio Perez can fit in Tier 4 or be totally out of it? But his earlier performances and the fact that he still managed to retain eighth, helped him make it in the proper tier list. As noted above, the difference between him and Max Verstappen was the highest among teammates, which stood at 285 points. It also made the difference in Red Bull not just losing out the constructors’ championship, but also finish third behind Ferrari. The car was not upto the mark, but the Mexican just couldn’t control anything. There is a threshold of a bad run which Perez crossed and eventually lost his seat to Liam Lawson for 2025 season.
Notable runners –
The 2024 F1 season saw host of part-time runners. Although Daniel Ricciardo started off as a full-time driver, but his average performances eventually cost him the seat to Liam Lawson after Singapore. The Australian never looked to beat Yuki Tsunoda straight up and lost his seat. The Kiwi, though, was aggressive and did pop up well, but he didn’t blasted Tsunoda away either. But it clicked with Red Bull still to secure the coveted seat alongside Max Verstappen in 2025.
Much like Lawson, even Franco Colapinto put in some highlighting performances where he scored but the dip did come which wasn’t helped by the fact that Williams found itself in a crash hole. He still did a better job than Logan Sargeant, who just couldn’t get himself out of the spiral he was in from the start of the 2024 F1 season. He ultimately lost his seat to Colapinto, who did a better job than the American. Oliver Bearman, meanwhile, got two opportunities with Ferrari and Haas, and he did a good job overall baring the race in Brazil where rain didn’t help him much. At the same time, Jack Doohan got the one outing which was a decent run to learn before the full run in 2025.
Here’s F1 drivers on Zandvoort
Here’s teams categorised in tier for F1 2024
Here’s F1 sharing 2024 stats
Here’s statistics from Pirelli
Here’s F1 drivers rating Max Verstappen as best of 2024
Here’s F1 team bosses giving 250 points to Max Verstappen
Here’s F1 fans voting Brazil GP as best
Here’s revised F1 2026 car
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
