Five memorable moments from a Formula 1 season like no other

Heading into the 2024 Formula 1 season, many fans feared it would be more of the same.

Max Verstappen was coming off a comfortable 2022 campaign and then a historically dominant 2023 campaign, entering 2024 as a three-time world champion with Red Bull looking untouchable. And when it was announced that the calendar would feature a record 24 races, it was hard to shake the underlying feeling that this year was going to drag on and on.

However, this season has been anything but boring. There was a parity on the grid that had not been seen in recent years, with seven different drivers winning multiple races for the first time ever. Ten different drivers also finished on the podium, and there was a genuine attempt to unseat Verstappen.

And at the final race in Abu Dhabi, McLaren won its first constructors’ championship since 1998 after Lando Norris capped a stellar season with victory.

“It’s amazing,” Norris said. “The team has done an incredible job this season to get back to where they were at the start. I’m so proud of everyone. It’s been a great journey and to end the season with another race victory is perfect.

With attention already turning to next year’s campaign, here’s a look back at five unforgettable moments from a breathtaking 2024 F1 season.

Verstappen victorious… again

Although Norris has fought valiantly throughout the season, it still seems like no one can stop the Flying Dutchman.

After a titanic battle with Lewis Hamilton for the championship in 2021, Verstappen won the title in 2022 before winning 19 out of 22 races the following year to take the championship by almost 300 points.

He won seven of the first 10 races in 2024 and it looked like he would win the title uncontested for the fourth consecutive season.

However, Red Bull’s typical pace and dominance faded as the chasing pack, particularly McLaren, began to catch up. Verstappen won only two of the next 14 races after winning the 10th round in Spain.

Teammate Sergio Pérez’s struggles throughout the season meant Verstappen often found himself without a rear gunner in his battles up front, which further tipped the scales against him, but the Dutchman is not a multiple-time champion of the world for no reason.

He hasn’t finished outside the top six all season and his remarkable display of consistency prevented Norris from breaking into the lead that had built up over the first half of the campaign.

A fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship came with two races remaining in Las Vegas, ending a title fight that forced him to give his best.

“It’s been a long season and, of course, we started amazing, it was almost like a cruise, but then we had a tough race,” he said after the checkered flag at Sin City.

“But as a team we stuck together, we continued to work on improvements and we came away with the victory. Incredibly proud of everyone, of what they have done for me.

“I think in some ways, of course, I still prefer last season; I enjoyed it a lot, but I think this season definitely taught me a lot of lessons. I’m very proud of how we handled this as a team as well. So in a way, of course, that also makes it a very, very special and beautiful season.

It seemed like 2024 couldn’t get any sweeter for the Dutchman, but before the final race of the season, he and partner Kelly Piquet – daughter of three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet – announced they were expecting their first child . together.

Title rivals meet in Austria

The Austrian Grand Prix proved to be a hot spot in the championship battle.

Verstappen qualified for the Grand Prix on pole with Norris behind him in P2 and they remained in that order for much of the race.

The Briton made several courageous attempts to take the lead while Verstappen fought back fiercely – both drivers’ actions threatened to venture into the ‘reckless’ category.

Things came to a head on lap 64, when the rivals collided as Norris attempted an overtake on the outside of Turn 3 and Verstappen tried to cut him off. Norris suffered late race damage to his car, while Verstappen fell to P5, allowing Mercedes’ George Russell to take victory, while Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium .

“It depends on what (Verstappen) says. If he says he didn’t do anything wrong, then I lose a lot of respect for that,” a “disappointed” Norris told Sky Sports in his post-race interview.

“If he admits he’s a little stupid and he meets me and he’s just a little reckless in a way, then I’ll have a little respect for that.”

“Everyone can have their own opinion. From the outside it’s easy to judge and comment,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “Of course we will talk about it. It’s just a shame that it happened.

Hamilton takes emotional win at Silverstone

Arguably the most shocking moment in F1 this year came before the season, when it was announced that Hamilton would leave Mercedes after 12 seasons with the team, joining Ferrari in 2025 in one of the most amazing people of all time.

The 39-year-old won six Drivers’ titles with the Silver Arrows and helped them win seven consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021. However, he seemed visibly affected by Mercedes’ declining performance, suffering a couple of early exits in qualifications, often in difficulty. with the pace of the race and going all of 2022 and 2023 without a win, the first winless seasons of his 17-year career.

With Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari all showing better pace than Mercedes, it looked like it would be much of the same for Hamilton, until he took a memorable victory at the British Grand Prix in July.

He held off a charging Verstappen in a rain-affected race to take his first victory in more than two and a half years.

“There were definitely days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or if I was going to get back to where I am today, but the important thing is that I had great people around me who continued to support me,” said an emotional Hamilton after the race.

He celebrated on the British flag-draped podium what was his final home race as a Mercedes driver.

Team commissions drama in Hungary

At McLaren, much of the focus was on Norris’ title quest, although his teammate Piastri, in his second season after impressing as a rookie last year, showed why he has often been touted as the next big thing in sport.

The Australian took his first career Grand Prix victory in Hungary earlier this year, although it was not without controversy.

After overtaking teammate Norris early in the race for P1, Piastri took the lead and looked well placed to take victory. However, McLaren pitted Norris first on the second round of stops, “undermining” Piastri and allowing him to take the lead.

McLaren wanted Norris to let Piastri retake the lead he had gained once the Australian had closed the gap using his fresher tyres, but he was unable to catch the Briton. Meanwhile, Norris consistently resisted calls from the team for him to slow down, despite his race engineer Will Joseph urging him to “do the right thing”.

It looked like McLaren was heading into an embarrassing intra-team conflict that likely would have been avoided by simply pitting Piastri first, but Norris eventually slowed to let Piastri pass on lap 68 of 70 to give McLaren its first 1-2 finish since 2021 as the entire garage breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The grid says goodbye to Danny Ric

One of F1’s most beloved characters appeared to bid farewell to the sport earlier this season.

Daniel Ricciardo competed in what will likely be his final F1 race at the Singapore GP in September, ending a glittering 257-race career that saw him win eight races and take 32 podiums.

Although there has been speculation about Ricciardo’s future throughout the season, rumors that Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson would replace the Australian at RB intensified ahead of Singapore. He crossed the finish line in 18th position after changing tires towards the end of the race in a successful attempt to record the fastest lap of the GP.

Ricciardo was seen taking his time getting out of the cockpit closed park and was visibly emotional during his post-race interview. Four days later, his departure was made official by RB, with Lawson stepping in for the rest of the season.

The 35-year-old spoke exclusively to CNN Sport earlier this year and discussed his outlook on his career.

“I’m proud. Don’t get me wrong, if this ended today I would be proud of what I did,” he said at the time. “But in the same vein, you’re never fully satisfied because the reason I got into Formula 1 was to try to become world champion.

His ultimate goal may have eluded him, but Ricciardo has put together a resume that would be the envy of many drivers during his 15-year F1 journey.

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