F1 2024 driver ratings: Max Verstappen gets 9/10 but three stars rated 3/10 in horror year

The 2024 campaign saw records broken, a host of experienced drivers leave the sport, and three F1 debutants burst onto the scene, making for a memorable campaign ahead of the hotly anticipated 2025 season.

Express Sport takes a look at all 24 drivers to take to the start line in 2024…

Lando Norris – 8.5/10

Led ’s charge towards a first Constructors’ Championship title and registered his first four Grand Prix wins. He out-qualified his team-mate 21-3 over the season and was consistently strong with his race pace. Could have been more aggressive when battling at times.

Oscar Piastri – 7/10

A competent sophomore year with two wins and eight podium finishes. Completed every lap of the 2024 campaign, which is no mean feat. Lacked pace relative to Norris in qualifying and rarely showed the same blistering pace as his team-mate, but this is all expected from a second-year driver.

Charles Leclerc – 8.5/10

Except for a miserable four-race stretch between Montreal and Silverstone, this was an exceptional campaign for Leclerc. Finally, he avenged his home race hoodoo with an instantly iconic Monaco Grand Prix win and added victories in Monza and Austin for good measure.

Carlos Sainz – 7.5/10

Missed round two in Jeddah but finished just two points behind fourth-placed Oscar Piastri. Scored multiple race wins in a season for the first time in his career. A fitting end to his stay, but sloppy errors in Baku, Sao Paulo and Singapore mark him down.

Max Verstappen – 9/10

The fourth Drivers’ Championship crown is one of Verstappen’s most remarkable achievements in F1. The Dutchman won nine races – five more than any other driver – and was only out-qualified once by his team-mate across Grands Prix and sprint races. In 2024, we also witnessed the 27-year-old’s more undesirable traits in wheel-to-wheel combat and over the radio, but these will be little more than a historical footnote on an iconic campaign.

Sergio Perez – 3/10

A miserable year from round six onwards. Perez looks destined to lose his seat this week, and after being out-qualified by team-mate Verstappen 23 times in 24 races, a fresh start is likely best for all parties. Scored just 152 of his team’s 589 points.

George Russell – 8/10

Grew into the season as it progressed and deserved three Grand Prix victories, taking his Belgian Grand Prix disqualification into account. often overshadowed him in race trim, but a 19-5 qualifying record against, statistically speaking, the sport’s most outstanding one-lap performer is not something to scoff at.

Lewis Hamilton – 6.5/10

The record-breaking win in Silverstone was a moment of much-needed catharsis for the seven-time champion, but Hamilton will be pleased to see the back of 2024. It is clear that Hamilton remains a force to reckon with come race day, but his worrying qualifying record is a cause for concern as he prepares to take on Leclerc at in 2025.

Fernando Alonso – 8/10

The two-time champion’s season mirrored that of Verstappen, albeit without the silverware – strong throughout the first six races with a dramatic drop-off thereafter. Alonso’s struggles can largely be attributed to the unpredictable and laborious AMR24. He finished best of the rest, registering a P9 Drivers’ Championship finish by a 28-point margin, and dominated his team-mate in the qualifying head-to-head.

Lance Stroll – 3/10

Stroll’s start to the campaign was broadly in line with what we’ve come to expect from the Canadian – brief flashings of raw pace with inconsistent application. In the second half of his year, he was anonymous – except for when beaching his car in the Interlagos gravel – failing to score points in the final 11 rounds of the calendar.

Pierre Gasly – 8.5/10

When Alpine left round seven in Imola with just one point to their name, it was hard to imagine them ending the campaign with 65. Gasly spearheaded this charge with nine top-10 finishes in the final 17 races, and his qualifying form towards the end of the year mirrored his 2021 peak.

Esteban Ocon – 5.5/10

An immense drive to P2 in Brazil kick-started Alpine’s season and proved a fitting farewell for the 28-year-old, who was dropped with one round to spare to provide a debut to Jack Doohan. Two top-10 finishes in the final 13 events tell the story of Ocon’s season, although his struggles relative to Gasly can be partially caveated by the upgrade schedules of the two Alpine cars.

Jack Doohan – 6/10

Made his F1 debut at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, replacing and delivered the car home in one piece on an evening in which more experienced heads faltered. Faces an arduous task to match up to an in-form Gasly in 2025.

Nico Hulkenberg – 8.5/10

When Hulkenberg was sitting on the sidelines in 2022, it was hard to imagine how high his stock would rise in just two years’ time. The German racer out-qualified 16 times in 2024 and finished ahead of him in 16 Grands Prix, too. Along with his 10 point-scoring finishes, the 37-year-old finished 11th a further seven times.

Kevin Magnussen – 5.5/10

A season of two halves for Magnussen, who now faces the F1 exit door. The Dane scored points in just two of the first 15 events this season and even picked up a race ban for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but recovered well with a handful of strong showings thereafter.

Oliver Bearman – 7.5/10

Made three appearances in 2024, all under exceptional circumstances, and impressed in two. His barnstorming debut in Jeddah will be remembered for a long time, and scoring points in his first race for Haas in Baku was an ideal welcome gift ahead of a full-time programme in 2025.

Yuki Tsunoda –  8/10

Scored 30 of the 46 points scored by in 2024 and dealt a career-ending blow to . Out-qualified Liam Lawson 6-0 from the United States Grand Prix onwards. Another improved campaign for Tsunoda, who has surely done all he can to secure a seat for the 2025 season.

Liam Lawson – 6.5/10

Showed pace on race day, scoring points at the first time of asking in Austin and again in Brazil. While his efforts on Sundays were immense, Lawson found himself a magnet for controversy and on-track clashes, making enemies out of Alonso and Perez, and was out-qualified 6-0 by Tsunoda.

Daniel Ricciardo – 5/10

The eight-time Grand Prix winner’s F1 career came to an end with a whimper rather than the celebration that it deserved. A P4 finish in the Miami sprint was a standout moment, but after three top-10 finishes in 18 races, the writing was on the wall for Ricciardo come the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alex Albon – 7/10

Albon’s performances garnered him widespread praise in 2023, but with Williams failing to take a significant step forward in 2024, this was a more muted year for the Thai racer. He dominated prior to his exit in Zandvoort and picked up the scraps of points when on offer, but was offered a more significant challenge by Franco Colapinto when he burst onto the scene in Monza.

Franco Colapinto – 7/10

The breakthrough star of the 2024 season, it looked as though the sky was the limit for Colapinto after scoring points in two of his first four F1 races. Unfortunately for the Argentinian driver, three DNFs and no points in the final five events took his stock down a notch, and links to seats with Alpine, , and even dried up.

Logan Sargeant – 3/10

F1’s latest American export ended his sophomore season early with an FP1 shunt in Zandvoort that triggered a mid-year departure. Sargeant faces an exciting future in sportscars or even IndyCar, but his time with Williams was an ordeal that both he and the Grove-based team will want to forget.

Valtteri Bottas – 6.5/10

Annihilated his team-mate in the qualifying head-to-head with a 21-3 triumph but was unable to avoid a first-ever pointless season. Made it into Q3 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi but crashed twice on the way to an eventual DNF. Sauber’s 2024 season can be summarised by questionable strategy calls and the 10th fastest car on the F1 grid.

Zhou Guanyu – 4/10

After the extreme highs of his home Grand Prix, the middle portion of Zhou’s season was nothing short of miserable as he struggled to place his C44 machine higher than the back row of the grid. His form picked up in the final triple header, and he scored Sauber’s only points of the season with an impressive drive to P8 in Qatar.