The 21st round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship got underway on Sunday with the Brazilian Grand Prix, held at a rain-soaked Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo.
The win went to Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen, who recovered from 17th on the grid, thanks to a combination of impressive driving and sheer luck. It was the reigning champion's first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
2024 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix - Photo via Getty Images
McLaren's Lando Norris claimed pole in Brazil but after a chaotic race, marred by multiple crashes and safety car periods, he only managed sixth. He was at the front early on but was held back by a safety car period, allowing Verstappen to move ahead.
Verstappen leads the Drivers' Championship, and while Norris has been catching up quickly, with there being only three races left in the 2024 season and the gap standing at 62 points, the McLaren driver will need some miracles to come out on top after the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris
McLaren still looks set to take home the Constructors' Championship, thanks to the strong performance of both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri this season. Norris has three wins under his belt, while Piastri has two. In contrast, Red Bull's Sergio Perez continues to struggle, which has led to Red Bull dropping to third in the Constructors' Championship behind McLaren and Ferrari after the previous race in Mexico.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is third in the Drivers' standings with three wins under his belt, but Ferrari's mixed performance means he's also very unlikely to catch up with Verstappen. Sainz, who is out of contention for the title, joins Williams next season, as he is being replaced at Ferrari by Mercedes-Benz AMG's Lewis Hamilton. Filling Hamilton's seat at Mercedes will be Italian youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
U.S. driver Logan Sargeant has also been replaced at Williams for the remainder of the season by Franco Colapinto, who made his F1 debut five rounds ago in Italy and already scored some points. Colapinto doesn't have a seat at Williams next year, though. The team has already confirmed current driver Alexander Albon will join Sainz at the squad next year.
Previously dominant Mercedes has also had a mixed performance this season. Hamilton and teammate George Russell have finished strongly in some rounds, ending their performance drought of the start of the current season and in the past few seasons, though both have had less than spectacular pace in the past few rounds.
Oliver Bearman
A standout driver this season and potential future great is Oliver Bearman, a Ferrari reserve driver who managed six points in his debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and scored another point in Azerbaijan. He filled in for Sainz at Ferrari at the Saudi round and Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Azerbaijan, and his impressive performance has won him a seat with Haas in 2025. He will be joined at the American squad by Esteban Ocon, who leaves Alpine at the end of the current season. They replace Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg. Magnussen is currently without a seat for next season, while Hülkenberg is set to join Sauber, which will become Audi in 2026.
Another driver who will be out next season is RB's Daniel Ricciardo. The F1 veteran was the last of the finishers at the Singapore round, and was replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season. Lawson already participated in five F1 races in 2023, when he sat in for an injured Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, the team that was rebranded RB in 2024. He raced for the first time under the RB banner a couple of rounds ago at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, where he already managed to score some points.
Liam Lawson - Photo via RB
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 393 points
2) Lando Norris, McLaren – 331 points
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 307 points
4) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 262 points
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 244 points
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 192 points
7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 190 points
8) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 151 points
9) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 62 points
10) Nico Hülkenberg, Haas – 31 points
11) Yuki Tsunoda, RB – 28 points
12) Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 26 points
13) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 24 points
14) Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 23 points
15) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 14 points
16) Alexander Albon, Williams – 12 points
17) Daniel Ricciardo, RB – 12 points
18) Oliver Bearman, Ferrari – 7 points
19) Franco Colapinto, Williams – 5 points
20) Liam Lawson, RB - 2 points
21) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber – 0 points
22) Logan Sargeant, Williams – 0 points
23) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber – 0 points
1) McLaren – 593 points
2) Ferrari - 557 points
3) Red Bull Racing – 544 points
4) Mercedes-Benz AMG – 382 points
5) Aston Martin – 86 points
6) Alpine – 49 points
7) Haas – 46 points
8) RB – 44 points
9) Williams – 17 points
10) Sauber – 0 points
Bahrain Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Australian Grand Prix – Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Japanese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Chinese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Miami Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Monaco Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Canadian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Spanish Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Austrian Grand Prix – George Russell, Meredes-Benz AMG
British Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG
Hungarian Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Belgian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG
Dutch Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
Italian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Singapore Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
United States Grand Prix (Austin) – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Mexican Grand Prix – Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Brazilian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Las Vegas Grand Prix – TBA
Qatar Grand Prix – TBA
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – TBA
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