Coming into this season most fans believed that it would be a repeat of last year with Redbull dominating the races and running away with the title. However, to say that it exceeded the expectations of fans would be a major understatement. 7 different race winners, a dynamic, unpredictable driver market and a constructors title on the line, the 2024 F1 season is already becoming one of the best in recent memory.

Finlay McSporran
Published: 16:43, 7th August 2024

In this article we’ll look at some of the highlights from the first half of the season.

Hamilton to Ferrari

Before the season even started, the F1 world was rocked by the news that 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025.

Such a move was unheard of in F1, as Hamilton was leaving the team where he earnt 6 of his 7 drivers titles to join a direct championship rival. Despite the gravity of the situation, the move made sense at the time, as Mercedes had the 4th fastest car while Ferrari had the 2nd.

But with Mercedes now back to their winning ways it begs the question, is Ferrari the right move for Hamilton?

Sainz Comeback win

During round 2 in Saudi Arabia Ferrari’s Calos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis after struggling throughout practice, ruling him out for the remainder of the weekend.

Replacing him would be 18 year-old Oliver Bearman who after just 1 hour of practice qualified P11 for the Grand Prix, converting in into a P7 on Sunday in what was a great debut.

But for Sainz it was a missed opportunity, as his teammate Charles Leclerc took P3 while he was forced to watch on from the slidelines.

After Undergoing surgery the Spaniard was back in the car for the next round in Australia, qualifying 2nd alongside Max Verstappen.

Mechanical issues for the Redbull allowed Sainz to inherit the race lead, holding off his teammate to take just his 3rd victory in Formula 1, only two weeks after his surgery.

Moments like this marked Sainz out as one of the best on the grid, which is why so many teams have been trying to sign him.

Leclerc’s Home win

Charles Leclerc hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to racing in his home town of Monaco. In 2017 while racing in F2 he retired on lap 1 after starting on pole due to a suspension issue. In 2021 his car broke down on the formation lap before he even started the race, and last year he finished 6th after starting 3rd, thanks to a bad strategy call from his team.

But this year was different. On Saturday he took a dominant pole 2 tenths ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastry in 2nd.

A big crash on lap 1 for Sergio Perez and the 2 Haas cars brought out the red flags, allowing everyone to switch onto the hard tyres which could run to the end of the race.

This eliminated any strategic element from the race which allowed Leclerc to lead all 78 laps on his way to victory at Monaco, ending his streak of bad luck at this track, dubbed the ‘Monaco curse’.

This was his first F1 win in over a year and while it might not have been his most impressive victory it was defiantly the most well earned after trying and failing to win here so many times in the past.

Verstappen and Norris Collision

Coming into the Austrian GP, McLaren driver Lando Norris was on a pretty impressive yet disappointing run of form, missing out on wins at tracks such as Imola, Canada and Barcelona.

The pace was definitely there as Norris had won the Miami GP and looked to be the fastest driver during the past few races but had struggled to convert that pace into race wins.

The Austrian GP looked to be more of the same, as he was in 2nd for most of the race behind Max Verstappen, however on lap 52 he was given a lifeline as a slow stop for Redbull allowed him to creep up to the back of the race leader and fight for the win.

The battle began on lap 59 with Norris sending one down the inside of Verstappen at turn 3 however he ran wide and went off the track, giving the place back to Max.

The battle would rage on for another few laps as Norris desperately tried to pass the Redbull but just couldn’t find a way by.

On lap 64 Norris tried to go round the outside however Verstappen moved to the left, making contact with the McLaren and taking Norris out of the race while Verstappen limped back to the pits for repairs.

The drama in front allowed Mercedes driver George Russel, who was 3rd at the time, to pass the leaders and claim a surprise victory, in what was just his second even win in Formula one, while Mercedes took their first in over a year. They wouldn’t have to wait long for there next victory however, as Lewis Hamilton won the very next race at Silverstone.

Hamilton’s British GP Win

Up until 2021, Lewis Hamilton had the unique record of being the only driver to win at least one race in every season of his F1 career. However this impressive streak came to an end in 2022 as he failed to win a race that year. The win drought would continue into 2023 and there were serious doubts as to whether F1’s most decorated driver was performing to his usual high standard.

Come round 12 of the season at Silverstone and Mercedes had finally brought a car that was capable of winning races as they locked out the front row with George Russel beating Hamilton to pole.

But with rain on the way and plenty of other drivers in contention, it was going to be tough for Mercedes to convert it into another win.

A mechanical DNF for Russel left Hamilton as the only Mercedes left in the race as the rain came down on the track, allowing the two McLarens to slip past Hamilton and into the lead.

Amid the changing conditions Hamilton made his stop at just the right time, taking back the lead of the race and holding off a late charge from Verstappen to take a record-braking 9th win at Silverstone and bringing an end to the winless run, reminding everyone why he is one of the best drivers in the sports history.

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Formula 1