F1 2024 midseason review: How this season has gone so far

Jonathan Victoria • 21 Aug 2024 Features

Not the season we all imagined, but the one we all deserve…

14 rounds gone, 10 more to go as the Formula 1 summer break draws to a close and we get back to the exciting action that has been displayed throughout the 2024 season so far.

At this point 12 months ago we were in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons of all time. It was a crazy notion to think that just one year on, we’d have a 2012-esque battle featuring multiple different race winners and some classic races.

To honour the return of motorsports premier competition and to help add to the anticipation of its return, I bring you my F1 2024 midseason review, taking a look at the highs and lows, winners and losers and more from the season so far, plus my predictions for the remainder of the season.

Best moments

There sure isn’t a lack of these from this season so far!

I could put every non-Verstappen race win here as they have been very welcome moments after the season we endured in 2023, but then that wouldn’t please the Oranje army very much.

I’ll start by appeasing them first in that case, as the reigning World Champion has still been in fine form, if not for some less-than-champion-like moments. His victory at the Circuit Jacques Villeneuve may have been one of the best of the season.

Speaking of the Canadian Grand Prix, I can’t not mention Alex Albon’s sensational double overtake. From all the years I’ve been watching F1 and all the races, clips and highlights I’ve seen, that is easily one of the greatest and most impressive things I have ever witnessed during a race.

Back to best wins and there have been some feel-good, well-deserved victors so far. Lando Norris finally getting his first win was a nice moment but was rather quickly matched (or possibly even eclipsed) by Charles Leclerc finally getting his home Monaco victory.

Sir Lewis Hamilton ending his win drought in an exhilarating British Grand Prix to give him the all-time record for most wins at one circuit was an emotional and personal favourite moment, as was Oscar Piastri getting his first career win one race later in Hungary, a race I was in fact in attendance for.

George Russell’s surprise victory in Austria was very welcome given the circumstances of it, but his stolen victory in Spa was an impressive drive from the Brit who fully deserved the win.

And then there’s his young countryman, Ollie Bearman, who stepped in and stepped up when Carlos Sainz wasn’t able to run during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Bearman’s impressive 7th-place finish caught the eye of everyone and has rightfully been rewarded with a Haas seat for next year.

Credit: Ollie Bearman's IMPRESSIVE F1 debut 👏🐎 (Sky Sports F1, YouTube)

But Sainz may just have the most incredible win this year, taking the victory in Melbourne just two weeks after having an appendectomy. 

As someone who himself has had an appendectomy this year, I can tell you with 100% certainty that there would’ve been no chance I could have gotten into the seat of an F1 car two weeks after the surgery, let alone going on to win a race. So kudos to Sainz for that.

Other than the victories, I think we all have enjoyed the circus that is the driver market of this year. Sainz taking his sweet time before deciding on the Williams seat has been the main highlight, although it hasn’t quite kicked off the chain of moves that we all expected would happen rather quickly after he made his choice.

There is still time though and four seats available, including that enticing Mercedes seat, so more groundbreaking news is guaranteed to come over the next few months.

Favourite race – British Grand Prix

It was between the British and the Canadian Grand Prix for my favourite races of the season but, as usual, I am letting my bias shine through, Hamilton’s first win since 2021 takes the cake.

I have only ever been genuinely emotional during sporting events five times - four of them being from F1 and three being Hamilton-related, but this one comes out top. 

With how everything has gone for him over the past two and a half seasons and especially from earlier this season when it looked like he would be subjected to a year of dismay before he departs Mercedes for Ferrari, to come fighting back especially with a vintage Silverstone win was special.

Biggest winners

In terms of teams, McLaren continued their strong second half of 2023 and have at points this year looked like they’ve had the best car on the grid. 

Norris especially has had times where he’s looked like the top dog on the grid, although only one win when he could have had five or even seven shows a driver and a team, as some of those lost wins weren’t completely on Lando, who is learning the ways of being a race leader and winner.

Ferrari started the year well and looked to be Red Bull’s biggest challenger, with four straight podiums to start the year with a 1-2 finish in Australia. While they have fallen behind McLaren and Mercedes again, both Sainz and Leclerc have looked decent at points and each has a race win to show for it.

Mentioning the Mercedes there, they have done a phenomenal job of getting themselves back to race-winning ways, especially since Canada. Three wins and two pole positions are a strong look for the eight-time Constructors’ Champions. And all it took was a leaked email…

Best driver – Max Verstappen

Verstappen has continued to be the best driver on the grid, despite some instances where he hasn’t looked quite like a three-time World Champion.

Seven wins and nine podiums speak for themselves though, and I’m fairly certain that he will hold on to his championship lead for the remainder of the year.

While Verstappen’s dominance hasn’t been as clear this season compared to last year, he is still capable of the big 10+ second victories if the track suits the Red Bull beneath him.

Even when it doesn’t he has more than enough race-winning experience now to know what he has to do to take the chequered flag first. While his methods may at times be a bit on the dodgier side, it has worked for him his entire career and as long as he’s not being penalised for them, he has no reason to stop.

Low points

From the highs to the lows, there have been some not-so-great moments this year. Usually we wouldn’t dwell on them, but for the sake of it, I’m going to point some out. 

Esteban Ocon’s stunt in Monaco, seemingly attempting to take out his own teammate, rightfully earned him a lot of backlash. I fully expected Alpine and then-team boss Bruno Famin to suspend him for a race, but the announcement of him being dropped following the end of the season was also a valid choice.

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc in particular suffered a torrid Austrian Grand Prix, with things going poorly as early as Sprint Qualifying on the Friday. 

During the race, the Monagasque suffered front wing damage on the first lap which required a pit stop. He would go on to make a total of four stops during the race and ended up finishing in a lowly 11th place, the first time this season he finished outside the points when he has finished the race.

He followed that up with another dismal showing at Silverstone, making an ill-advised early switch to intermediate tyres in a gamble that didn’t pay off, ultimately finishing 14th.

The season also started with a sticky situation at RB at the Bahrain Grand Prix when Yuki Tsunoda was asked to let his teammate Daniel Ricciardo pass during the race.

His angry outburst and lack of adherence may have been enough for some, but after the race, the Japanese driver decided to take things one step further by divebombing his teammate and then passing by him rather closely to show his frustrations.

It was a sore moment and one that could have seen the relationship between the pair begin to deteriorate, what with a potential Red Bull seat on the line. 

While nothing else has happened since and the two have seemingly repaired their relationship, it still marks a down point and immature moment from the talented Tsunoda.

Worst race – Bahrain Grand Prix

Sticking with the first race of the season, I’ll only briefly touch on this race as there really wasn’t much to say about it.

Verstappen won by a clear 22 seconds over his teammate Sergio Perez with Sainz taking the third spot, the result looking like we hadn’t moved on from the 2023 season and bringing a lot of sorrow to fans.

While we know now that the race wasn’t a representative at all of the season to come, it sure did dampen the mood of many who were excited to see what could be in store for the year.

Better was expected

Coming into the year, I think many were expecting an exciting season with many teams competing and possibly a smaller gap between the front and back car than we have seen in recent years.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t exactly been the case. While the fight at the front has been very interesting, further back there have been some disappointing showings.

Aston Martin are the first team that comes to mind. After their leap forward at the start of last year to become a podium-capable side, I expected them to do the same again this year and be within the fight for more again to start this year.

Instead, they have been the most consistent team in the grid, in that they are very solidly capable of keeping ahead of the midfield and back runners while subsequently not being on the front runners' level. A proper fifth-best side, I really thought they’d do more.

Williams have also been very unimpressive, taking a step backwards from their seventh-place finish last year to now looking certain of a ninth-place finish, even after Alpine was in one of the worst positions I have ever seen a team be in to start the year.

In terms of drivers, Daniel Ricciardo has rather let me down this year. I, like many, really thought and hoped that he would be able to revive his career back with the Red Bull team and could work some magic with RB.

But it really does seem as though his time in the F1 may be numbered as he has been thoroughly underwhelming this year, with only three points finished to his teammates’ seven. It’s asking a lot to keep him in the seat for next season.

Most disappointing driver – Sergio Perez

Of course it is. It couldn’t be anyone else.

This should have been the year that Perez took control of his career and proved that he is the right man to partner Verstappen.

While the year did start off looking that way with four podiums in the first five races, once the European portion of the season hit, he slumped into a really bad run of form that he is still experiencing.

Sitting way down in seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, Perez’s poor showings are costing Red Bull dearly in the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren and Ferrari breathing down their necks. 

He needs to step up his performances to help the team and to secure his future with them. Yes, I realise he has already signed a contract extension for next season, but that reeks of financial decision and no better alternate option. He needs to do better.

Second half predictions

Moving on from the past, lets look to the future. There’s still 10 races to go and both championships are still somewhat up for grabs - the Constructors’ more so than the Drivers’, but with how things are going, you just never know.

Drivers’ champion – Max Verstappen

Like I said earlier, I am going to tip Verstappen for the championship win still. I can’t imagine he isn’t going to pick up anymore wins and that he won’t continue to finish high during each race.

It may be a bit of a Jenson Button 2009 victory where he wins it on solid consistency, but it’ll be enough. 

The Red Bull, while seemingly not as strong as it once was, is still good enough to deliver on certain tracks and Max is still the best driver on the grid. I reckon with his 78-point lead, he’ll hold on.

Constructors’ champion – McLaren

I can’t say the same for his team though, as with Perez severely underperforming as he has been so far, I can’t see Red Bull defending the Constructors’ Championship.

They currently hold a decent 42-point lead and all it takes is for Perez to step it up a notch to start at least consistently outscoring the Ferrari’s and maybe even Mercedes. With Verstappen’s strong finishes each race, they could keep a hold of their lead.

But those are ifs, and I don’t like dealing with ifs. The facts are that McLaren have a strong car with two competent drivers who are consistently outscoring Red Bull each race and will likely continue to do so.

Pair that with the fact that Perez is finishing behind at least one Ferrari and Mercedes each race and you start to see a picture where that Red Bull lead will keep dwindling.

I’m going with McLaren to win it this season, and even Ferrari to finish ahead of Red Bull if things don’t change with Perez.

Second-half winners – Mercedes & Max Verstappen

To end things off, I’m going with the crazy prediction that many have for this year rather than speaking about the winners.

I’ll touch on that briefly though, as I believe while Norris will pick up a couple more wins, Verstappen will shine to win the most races and retain his title.

On the teams’ side, I reckon Mercedes will make some big leaps again and continue to fight for wins, ultimately looking the most impressive by the end of the year. They may not finish any higher than fourth in the standings, but they can look very good in doing so.

Combine those two then and you get the narrative that many believe may happen, and that is Verstappen leaves Red Bull to join Mercedes.

Yes, it is a long shot, especially if he wins the championship. But if Red Bull loses the Constructors and Mercedes makes big gains, I wouldn’t count it out at all.

Plus, I quite like to be controversial, and stranger things have happened in F1.