2024 Formula 1 Season

The 2024 season delivered Max Verstappen's fourth consecutive World Championship, but it was a far harder-fought title than his earlier romps, as Red Bull's dominance eroded steadily over the course of the year. Verstappen began imperiously, winning seven of the first ten races, but a prolonged mid-season slump in which he failed to win for ten consecutive rounds allowed McLaren and Ferrari to surge, turning what looked like another procession into a genuine contest that ran deep into the autumn.

Lando Norris emerged as Verstappen's principal challenger, taking his maiden Grand Prix victory in Miami and growing into a consistent front-runner as McLaren developed the fastest car in the field. The pair's increasingly physical battles, notably a contentious clash in Austin and a controversial penalty in Mexico, raised the temperature of the title fight. Verstappen ultimately clinched the championship with a superb wet-weather drive at a chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix, charging from 17th on the grid to victory in conditions that showcased his brilliance.

The constructors' battle was the closest in years and went the opposite way, with McLaren reeling in and overhauling both Red Bull and a fast-finishing Ferrari to claim their first Constructors' Championship since 1998. Ferrari, powered by strong late-season form from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, pushed McLaren to the wire, while Red Bull's challenge faded as their car's balance problems persisted and Sergio Perez's struggles cost the team valuable points.

Off the track, the season was dominated by the bombshell announcement that Lewis Hamilton would leave Mercedes to join Ferrari for 2025, one of the biggest driver moves in the sport's history and a seismic reshaping of the grid. The campaign confirmed that Red Bull's era of unchallenged supremacy was over and that a multi-team fight had returned, setting up a tantalising 2025 with McLaren ascendant, Ferrari resurgent and a new competitive landscape taking shape.