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The2024 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship forFormula One cars and was the 75th running of theFormula One World Championship. It was recognised by theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of internationalmotorsport, as the highest class of competition foropen-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over a record twenty-fourGrands Prix held around the world.
Drivers and teams competed for the titles ofWorld Drivers' Champion andWorld Constructors' Champion, respectively. Defending Drivers' ChampionMax Verstappen ofRed Bull Racing started off the season with seven wins in the opening 10 races, but was pressured byMcLaren driverLando Norris for the rest of the season after hisRB20 fell behind Norris'sMCL38 in terms of performance. Verstappen performed consistently at the front of the field and maintained his points advantage to win his fourth consecutive Drivers' Championship title at theLas Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen's title made him only third drivers' champion afterKeke Rosberg in1982 andNelson Piquet in1983 to win the drivers' championship with a team that finished 3rd or lower in the constructors' championship and the second driver after Piquet to win the drivers' championship in a team that did not become constructors' champions on two or more occasions.[1] McLaren surpassed Red Bull and went on to achieve their ninth Constructors' Championship title at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, narrowly ahead ofFerrari by just 14 points. With their first Constructors' Championship victoryin 26 years, McLaren became the first constructor other than Red Bull andMercedes to win the title sinceBrawn in 2009.
All teams competed with tyres supplied byPirelli.[2] Each team was required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars.[3]: Article 8.6
Throughout the season, each team had to field a driver in one of the first two free practice sessions who had not competed in more than two races, on two occasions, once for each car.[3]: Article 32.4c Oliver Bearman's debut forFerrari at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix did not count, as he only participated in the third practice session.[34]
| Constructor | Practice drivers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Driver name | Rounds | |
| Alpine-Renault | 61 |  Jack Doohan | 9, 12 |
| Aston MartinAramco-Mercedes | 34 |  Felipe Drugovich | 20, 24 |
| Ferrari | 38 39 |  Oliver Bearman Arthur Leclerc | 20 24 |
| Haas-Ferrari | 50 | Oliver Bearman | 7, 10, 12–13 |
| KickSauber-Ferrari | 97 |  Robert Shwartzman | 15, 20 |
| McLaren-Mercedes | 29 28 |  Patricio O'Ward Ryō Hirakawa | 20 24 |
| Mercedes | 12 |  Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 16, 20 |
| RB-Honda RBPT | 40 | Ayumu Iwasa | 4, 24 |
| Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 37 |  Isack Hadjar | 12, 24 |
| Williams-Mercedes | 45 46 |  Franco Colapinto Luke Browning | 12 24 |
| Source:[17] | |||
Alfa Romeo ended their partnership withSauber and left Formula One following the conclusion of the2023 season as Sauber prepared to become theAudi works team from 2026.[35][36] The team was rebranded asStake F1 TeamKick Sauber, competing with the constructor name Kick Sauber.[15][37]AlphaTauri rebranded asRB and relocated the aerodynamics operations of the team toMilton Keynes in theUnited Kingdom amidst a management restructure.[23][38][39]
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The only change from the drivers contracted at the beginning of2023 occurred at the formerAlphaTauri team, who replacedNyck de Vries withDaniel Ricciardo from the2023 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. All driver and team combinations that competed in the final round of the previous season remained unchanged for the start of the next season for the first time in Formula One World Championship history.[40][41]
Carlos Sainz Jr. was forced to withdraw from theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix after he was diagnosed withappendicitis and required anappendicectomy.[42] He was replaced byFerrari reserve andFormula 2 driverOliver Bearman, who made his Formula One debut.[10] Sainz returned at the followingAustralian Grand Prix.[43]Kevin Magnussen ofHaas received two penalty points for causing a collision at the Italian Grand Prix, taking his total to twelve penalty points in twelve months, and triggering an automatic race ban for the followingAzerbaijan Grand Prix.[44] He was replaced by Bearman, who raced for the second time in the season as a reserve driver.[45] Magnussen returned at the subsequentSingapore Grand Prix.[44] Bearman replaced Magnussen at Haas again during theSão Paulo Grand Prix for the free practice and sprint sessions as Magnussen felt unwell.[46][47][48] This was later expanded to the rest of the weekend following sprint qualifying.[14]
From theItalian Grand Prix onwards, Formula 2 driverFranco Colapinto replacedLogan Sargeant atWilliams, making his Formula One debut. Sargeant was replaced following a series of poor performances, with team principalJames Vowles stating that the driver change would give the team the best chance to score points over the remaining rounds.[49]Daniel Ricciardo was dropped fromRB due to poor performance ahead of theUnited States Grand Prix withHelmut Marko, head of theRed Bull's driver development programme, stating that Ricciardo had lost his "killer instinct".[50][51] He was replaced by the reserve driverLiam Lawson, who drove in the2023 season in place of the injured Ricciardo at the same team, then known asAlphaTauri.[52] Reserve driverJack Doohan made his debut at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he replacedEsteban Ocon atAlpine, after Alpine required Ocon to vacate his seat to drive for Haas in the post-season test.[53]
The 2024 calendar comprised a record twenty-four Grands Prix.[54] TheChinese,Miami,Austrian,United States,São Paulo andQatar Grands Prix featured thesprint format.[55]
TheChinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since2019 after being cancelled for four years in a row due to difficulties presented by theCOVID-19 pandemic in the country.[57] TheEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, which wascancelled in the preceding year due toflooding in the area, also returned to the calendar.[58] TheJapanese Grand Prix moved from its traditional October autumn date to one in April as part of the efforts to group races in regional blocks to help address environmental concerns surrounding travel between races. As a consequence theAzerbaijan Grand Prix moved from April to September.[54] TheRussian Grand Prix was under contract to feature on the 2024 calendar.[59] However, the contract was terminated in2022 in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[60]
In response to extreme weather conditions resulting in cockpit overheating during the2023 Qatar Grand Prix, teams were now allowed to install a "scoop" to the car that is intended to cool down the driver and cockpit area.[61] Teams were not allowed to start wind tunnel orcomputational fluid dynamics work for the 2026 season, which will see major technical regulations rule changes, until 1 January 2025. However, teams were still allowed to do other preliminary research and development work not covered by these restrictions.[62][63]
The "alternative tyre allocation" trialled at the2023 Hungarian andItalian Grands Prix, where drivers were given 11 sets of tyres in an attempt to cut costs in the sport, was discontinued. Therefore, teams reverted to having 13 sets of tyres available per driver during every non-sprint race weekend with the allocation being 12 sets for a sprint weekend.[64] The C0 tyre compound (the hardest compound inPirelli's dry tyre range), which was introduced but not used during the2023 season, was dropped from the tyre line-up.[65] This compound was previously known as the C1, but was renamed at the start of the 2023 season following the introduction of a new C1 compound that slotted between the old C1 and current C2 compounds in terms of hardness.[66] A proposed trial for a ban on tyre blankets for this season and a full ban in 2025 was abandoned.[67]
The decision appeal process was amended for the 2024 season. The deadline to submit a right of review request was reduced from fourteen to four days after an event. In an attempt to stop potentially frivolous appeal attempts, the FIA also introduced a fee for the process.[68]
The structure of the sprint weekends was changed again for 2024, with the goal of rationalising sprint events and separating them from the rest of the Grand Prix weekend.[69][70] A sprint weekend began with a single practice session, followed by the sprint qualifying session, which set the starting grid order for the sprint race. The sprint was then the first session to take place on Saturday, followed by qualifying for the main race. The Grand Prix itself remained on Sunday.[71] The FIA sporting regulations for the championship now referred to the qualifying for the sprint as "sprint qualifying", as opposed to "sprint shootout". The term "sprint qualifying" was previously used in the inaugural season of the sprint format in2021 to refer to the sprint itself.[72] Additionally, sprint weekends now had two separateparc fermé periods as opposed to one. The first lasted from the beginning of sprint qualifying to the end of the sprint, and the second lasted from the beginning of qualifying for the Grand Prix until the start of the Grand Prix itself.[73]
The rules forDRS usage in Grands Prix were adjusted slightly. Drivers were now allowed to use DRS one lap after a race start, safety car restart, or red flag restart, one lap earlier than in previous seasons. This modification, tested during sprint events in 2023, was implemented to encourage earlier overtaking opportunities and increase competitiveness in the opening stages of a race.[74][75]
The FIA increased the number of internal combustion engine (ICE) components and associated power unit elements allowed per driver from three to four per season. This change was made to accommodate the record-length calendar and reduce the frequency of grid penalties caused by engine wear and failure.[74]
Prior to Thursday's two practice sessions at the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, updated rules were introduced to discourage drivers from driving too slowly on in-laps and reconnaissance laps during qualifying. Drivers were initially required to not exceed a maximum time taken to drive through each marshalling sector. This was a change from 2023, when the FIA introduced a maximum time across an entire lap.[76] However, prior to Friday's third practice session and qualifying, the rules were reverted to the 2023 full-lap method, though the rule now applied on both in-laps and out-laps.[77]
The standard sanction for a driver overtaking another driver off the track and gaining a lasting advantage was upgraded from a five-second time penalty to a ten-second time penalty, although five-second penalties could still be awarded. The change was made as the five-second penalty was considered insufficient, with drivers regularly gaining more than five seconds through illegally overtaking slower cars off track.[78]
From theMiami Grand Prix onwards the FIA altered the regulations for judging a potentialjump start. Under the previous regulations, stewards were unable to penalise a driver for a jump start if it had not been picked up by an FIAtransponder. This rule led toLando Norris ofMcLaren appearing to avoid a penalty despite visibly moving early at the start of theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix. The update to regulations allowed stewards to penalise a driver if they were moving before the start, even if the transponder did not register the infringement. The regulation also clarified jump starts would be judged "after the four-second light is illuminated and before the start signal is given by extinguishing all red lights."[79]
From theDutch Grand Prix, penalties accrued during the sprint race which could not be served, due to retirement, could be transferred into grid penalties for their next race. This had already been the case for penalties accrued in Grands Prix.[80][81]
During the summer break, the regulations were updated to allow teams to createmule cars based on existing cars from the2020–2023 period to enable teams to better prepare for the changes to the technical regulations due for the2026 season. Teams using the mule cars would only be allowed to use drivers with 500 kilometres (310 mi) of experience of driving a current Formula One car at consistent racing speeds.[81][82]
During the summer break, the regulations for red flag procedures were clarified: during a red flag period, cars could be instructed to line-up on the starting grid, instead of in the pit lane, where the pit lane needed to be closed for safety reasons. The regulations were additionally altered to state that a driver who stops outside of the pit lane during qualifying and receives physical assistance will no longer be able to participate in qualifying.[80][81]
A single pre-season test was held at theBahrain International Circuit inSakhir on 21–23 February.[83][84]Carlos Sainz Jr. ofFerrari set the fastest time in the three-day test,Haas completed the most laps.[85]
The season began with aRed Bull 1–2 at theBahrain Grand Prix.Max Verstappen took pole position ahead ofCharles Leclerc andGeorge Russell. Verstappen's teammate, and 2023 Championship runner-up,Sergio Pérez qualified fifth, half a second behind Verstappen.[86] Verstappen won the race by 22 seconds, ahead of Pérez andCarlos Sainz Jr.[87] Verstappen led every lap and took fastest lap, for his fifth careergrand slam. Charles Leclerc, who started on the front row, finished fourth having cleared the Mercedes of Russell late in the race, after dealing with brake issues throughout the race.[88][89][90] Following the race, Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 8 points from Pérez and 11 from Sainz, eventual championship runnerup was in 6th, 18 points behind Verstappen. In the Constructors' Standings, defending champions Red Bull ledFerrari by 17 points,Mercedes were an additional 11 points back in third and eventual constructors champions McLaren were 4th, 32 points behind Red Bull.[91]
Red Bull Racing continued to show their pace at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix with Verstappen taking pole,[92] and winning the race in "dominant" fashion, securing his 100th podium.[93][94] Verstappen led the opening laps of the race. Asafety car period, following a crash involvingLance Stroll, was called on lap 7. Verstappen, along with the top 5, chose to make a pitstop during this phase, with Norris inheriting the lead. Verstappen overtook Norris for the lead on lap 12, and held it for the rest of the race. Pérez finished second, having started in third, making his past Leclerc for second in the early stages, Leclerc maintained third to the race's conclusion.Oscar Piastri finished fourth, having struggled to overtakeLewis Hamilton for a large portion of the race. During the weekend, Sainz was affected withappendicitis, which resulted in his withdrawal from the event on Friday morning to have surgery. In his place,Ferrari junior driverOliver Bearman, stood in for Sainz.[95] Bearman qualified eleventh and went on to finish seventh, and was widely praised for his performance, having missed the weekend's opening two practice sessions.[96] Following the races' conclusion, Verstappen extended his championship lead to 15 points over Pérez, Leclerc moved into third, 12 points further behind. Norris was seventh, 39 points behind Verstappen. Red Bull extended their lead to 38 points over Ferrari, McLaren moved into third, an additional 21 points behind.[97]
Alex Albon crashed his car heavily during the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, writing off the chassis. With no spare chassis available, Williams made the decision for Albon to take over Logan Sargeant's car, with Sargeant withdrawing from the weekend. Team principal James Vowles justified this decision by arguing Albon had a better chance to score points, and praised Sargeant for his sportsmanship.[98] Verstappen took pole position, with Sainz second and Pérez qualifying third,[99] Pérez was demoted three places for impeding, promoting Norris to third on the starting grid.[100] Verstappen retained the lead at the race start, before suffering from brake issues, Sainz made his way past Verstappen into the lead on lap 2, with Verstappen retiring the car shortly afterwards. This retirement meant Verstappen would fail to take a record equalling 10th consecutive victory. Sainz was able to build a lead over his rivals and secured the win largely unchalleged. His teammateCharles Leclerc successfullyundercut Norris to take second. Norris completed the podium and succeededNick Heidfeld for the most podiums without a victory in Formula One. Piastri finished fourth, having been instructed to let Norris, with Pérez fifth. Alonso and Russell were running sixth and seventh in the final stages, with Russell attacking Alonso, before Russell crashed in the closing laps, Alonso was deemed to have driven in a "potentially dangerous way in the build up to the incident earning him a post race penalty.[101] Following the race Verstappen and Red Bull maintained their championship leads with 51 and 97 points respectively. In the drivers' championship Leclerc moved to second, on 47 points with Pérez third on 46, Norris was 6th on 27. In the constructors', Ferrari closed the gap to 4 points, with McLaren 42 points behind Red Bull.[102]
Verstappen took pole position at theJapanese Grand Prix, 0.066 seconds ahead of Pérez, who had his first front-row start since the2023 Miami Grand Prix, with Norris third and Sainz fourth.[103] The top five maintained their positions at the race start, before the race was red-flagged due to a heavy crash that involvedDaniel Ricciardo andAlexander Albon at turn three, which necessitated repairs to the tyre barriers. The top runners again maintained position at the restart, with Verstappen quickly managing to extend a one-second lead, putting him outside DRS range. Norris was the first on the front runners to pit on lap 12, with the rest of the top four following suit over the next few laps, with Norrisundercutting Pérez and Leclerc taking the lead, having yet to make a stop, over the following laps, Verstappen retook the race lead, and Pérez regained second from both Norris and Leclerc before the latter made his pitstop, undercutting Norris into third. In the closing stages Sainz closed in on and overtook Norris for fourth, and then overtook teammate Leclerc for third courtesy of team orders, Sainz was the faster car andFerrari felt that a battle for position would risk Norris catching and overtaking at least one of the pair. The race therefore ended with Verstappen winning ahead of Pérez, Sainz and Leclerc with Norris in fifth.[104][105][106] Ricciardo's teammate Tsunoda scored a point, making him the firstJapanese driver to score points at their home race sinceKamui Kobayashi's podium in the2012 edition of the race.[107] Following the race, Verstappen extended his Championship lead to 13 points, with Pérez moving into second, Leclerc a further four points back on 59. Sainz remained in fourth with Norris moving up to fifth. In the constructors' Championship, Red Bull moved to 141 points, 21 ahead of Ferrari and 72 ahead of McLaren.[108]
TheChinese Grand Prix saw the first sprint of the season. Sprint qualifying was held in wet conditions and ended with Norris taking pole ahead of Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.[109] Championship leader Verstappen struggled in the firstsprint qualifying of the season, ending up fourth.[110] Verstappen went on to win the sprint race, he gained one position at the first turn, after polesitter Norris ran wide and dropped to seventh after the first lap. Verstappen overtook Alonso for second on lap 7, and Hamilton for the lead on lap 9 where he remained for the rest of the race. Behind Verstappen, Hamilton finished second. In the closing laps, a fight for third place emerged between Alonso, Pérez, Leclerc, Sainz and Norris. Sainz attempted an overtake on Alonso, opening a gap for Pérez to take third and Leclerc fourth. Alonso dropped back with a puncture, allowing Sainz to take fifth ahead of Norris.[111] Verstappen took Red Bull's 100th pole position for the Grand Prix, ahead of Pérez and Alonso.[112] Verstappen managed to maintain his lead into the opening turn, while Alonso managed to overtake Pérez for second around the outside of turn 1. Norris and Piastri retained fourth and fifth. The Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Sainz dropped to seventh and eighth. The opening laps saw Alonso drop down to fourth behind Pérez and Norris, and Leclerc move up to fifth, gaining positions from Hülkenberg, Russell and Piastri before the pit stop phase opened. Alonso, Verstappen, Pérez, Piastri and Sainz all made pit stops before asafety car was deployed. Under this safety car, Norris and Leclerc made their only pitstops of the race, with Verstappen, Pérez and Piastri taking second pit stops for fresher tyres. This saw Verstappen leading from Norris, Leclerc, Pérez and Sainz, Russell, Leclerc and Piastri. The second half of the race saw a battle develop between Leclerc and Pérez for the final podium position, with Pérez moving into third on lap 39. Verstappen was able to win the race, ahead of Norris, Pérez, Leclerc, Sainz, Russell, Alonso and Piastri.[113][114] At the races conclusion, Verstappen moved to 110 points, 25 clear of Pérez in second, and 34 clear of Leclerc in third. Sainz and Leclerc retained fourth and fifth on 69 and 58 points. In the Constructors' standings, Red Bull moved 44 points clear of second placed Ferrari, with McLaren a further 55 points back.[115]
TheMiami Grand Prix saw a second consecutive sprint weekend. In sprint qualifying, Verstappen took pole from Leclerc and Pérez, with Sainz fifth behind Ricciardo.[116] The Mclaren pair were fastest across practice and the opening sprint qualifying sessions but were unable to replicate this in the final part of sprint qualifying and ended up sixth and ninth.[117] At the start of the sprint, Verstappen immediately covered the inside of the opening turn to maintain first place. Pérez attempted a move for second around the outside of the corner but ran wide, yielding third toDaniel Ricciardo. Norris was tipped into a spin at the first corner, and was then hit by Stroll, causing Norris' retirement with terminal damage. After a brief safety car period, the lead drivers initially maintained position. Ricciardo was overtaken for third on lap 5. The race ended with Verstappen winning from Leclerc and Pérez, with Ricciardo able to narrowly hold on to fourth from Sainz and Piastri.[118] Verstappen took pole for the Grand Prix ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, Pérez and the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri.[119] Verstappen was able to maintain his lead through the first corner. Behind, Pérez locked his front tyres causing Sainz and Leclerc to take avoiding action. Leclerc was able to maintain second, with Piastri making his way up to third ahead of Sainz, Pérez and Norris. A couple of laps into the Grands Prix, Piastri was able to overtake Leclerc for second. Pérez was the first of leading cars to pit, and was soon followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri and Sainz before the safety car was deployed following a collision between Magnussen and Sargeant. Norris took advantage of this to make a pitstop and rejoined the track in first, ahead of Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Pérez. At the safety car restart, Verstappen briefly challeneged Norris for lead, before Norris was able to pull away. Sainz managed to make his way past Piastri. Piastri attempted to retake the position, but collided with Sainz, forcing Piastri to pit for repairs and dropping him out of the points. Norris took his maiden Formula One victory, having previously held the record of the most podiums without a victory, and giving McLaren their first victory since the2021 Italian Grand Prix. Verstappen was second from Leclerc, Pérez, Sainz, with Hamilton achieving his best result of the season to that point with sixth. Ocon scored Alpine's first point of the season with tenth place.[120] Following the event, Verstappen increased his points tally to 136, 33 ahead of second placed Pérez, with Leclerc in third an additional five points back and Sainz and Norris both on 83 points. In the Constructors Championship, Red Bull extended their lead over second placed Ferrari to 52, and their lead over third place McLaren to 115.[121]
At theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen took an "unexpected" pole by 0.074 seconds, equallingAyrton Senna's record of eight consecutive pole positions.[122] Piastri was second, ahead of Norris and the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Sainz, Pérez qualified 11th.[123] Piastri was demoted to fifth on the starting grid for impeding another driver during qualifying.[124] The top six drivers held positions on the opening lap, with Pérez making up ground and overtakingDaniel Ricciardo for tenth. The leading cars made their pit stops around the twenty lap mark with McLaren duo pitting first and then Verstappen, and the Ferrari pair. During the pit stop phase, Piastri was able to successfullyundercut Sainz for fourth place. As the race reached the 40 lap mark, Leclerc closed the gap to Norris, Leclerc being told he was the faster driver of the pair. By lap 50, Norris had stronger pace and was able to pull away from Leclerc and was also able to start closing the gap forward to Verstappen. Norris closed within a couple of seconds of Verstappen, but was unable to overtake before the races conclusion. Verstappen therefore won the race, ahead of Norris and Leclerc. Piastri claimed fourth ahead of Sainz, Pérez recovered to 8th.[125] Norris stated that he could have overtaken Verstappen if the race were a couple of laps longer.[126] Following the race, Verstappen moved to 161 points in the Drivers Championship. Lecelrc moved up to second on 113 with Pérez dropping to third on 107. Norris moved into a clear fourth, 6 points behind Pérez. In the Constructors' Standings, Red Bull's lead increased to 56 points over Ferrari, with McLaren a further 58 behind.[127]
Verstappen's record equaling run of consecutive pole positions ended at theMonaco Grand Prix, as he qualified sixth. Pole position was instead taken by Monégasque Leclerc, ahead of Piastri, Sainz and Norris, Pérez qualified 18th.[128] At the start Leclerc held position, Piastri and Sainz collided lightly at the first corner, resulting in Sainz receiving a puncture which dropped him down the feld. Pérez, Magnussen and Hulkenberg were also involved in a collision which stranded the three cars on track, causing ared flag. The race was restarted based on the original starting order, meaing that Sainz would retain his third place start. For the second start, the drivers changed tyre compound, therefore fulfilling the rule to run two tyre compounds allowing them to complete the race without a pitstop. . The race was run with the top five within a few seconds of each other, but no overtaking attempts. Leclerc took his first win since the2022 Austrian Grand Prix and the first at his home Grand Prix.Oscar Piastri took his first podium of the season in second, and Sainz finished third.[129] Following the race, Verstappen's championship lead over Lerclerc was cut to 31 points. Norris and Sainz moved up to third and fourth, 56 and 61 points behind Verstappen, respectively. Pérez dropped to fifth, one point behind Sainz. In the Constructors' Standings, Red Bull's lead was cut to 24 points over Ferrari, and 92 over McLaren.[130]
After Verstappen and Russell set identical lap times during qualifying for theCanadian Grand Prix, Russell secured pole position by virtue of setting the time first. Norris and Piastri were third and fourth, the Ferrari 11th and 12th with Pérez 16th.[131] The race began under wet conditions. Most of the field elected to start the race on theintermediate wet tyre, with the Haas duo of Magnussen and Hülkenberg starting on the full wet tyre. The leading drivers held position on the opening laps. A band of heavy rain played into Haas' favour with Magnussen and Hülkenberg able to make their through the field, with Magnussen running as high as fourth before the rain eased, and he lost his advantage. With the track starting to dry up, Norris was setting the fastest lap times and was able to make his way into the lead by 21. Verstappen also overtook Russell for second. Norris was able to pull away from Verstappen, with Russell dropping back towards Piastri. The safety car was deployed shortly afterwards, Verstappen and Russell made pit stops immediately, although Norris missed the pit lane and had to complete another lap. This allowed Verstappen and Russell toundercut Norris for first and second. After the safety car was withdrawn, Norris was once again the fastest car on track, but was unable to make a pass on Russell for second. Verstappen and Russell both made pitstops around lap 40 for dry weather tyres, with Norris electing to stay out until lap 47. When Norris made his stop, he was able toovercut Russell and rejoined the track side by side with Verstappen. Verstappen was able to take first, and Norris dropped back on colder tyres, being overtaken by Russell for second, before Rusell made an error, allowing Norris back through. The closing laps saw Versappen and Norris pull clear and maintain first and second to the end. A fight ensued for the final podium position, which was claimed by Russell ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. Leclerc, Sainz and Pérez all retired.[132] The result saw Verstappen maintain the lead (on 194 points) ahead of Leclerc (138), Norris (131). In the Constructors, Red Bull moved to 301 points, ahead of Ferrari (252) and McLaren (212).[133]
Norris took his second career pole position at theSpanish Grand Prix, ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc and Sainz. Pérez started the race in eleventh.[134] Norris lost the lead toRussell after a slow start. Verstappen overtook Russell on lap three and led the remainder of the race to take victory ahead of Norris and Hamilton, who recorded his first podium of the season and Mercedes' second podium in a row.[135]
TheAustrian Grand Prix featured the third sprint of the season. Verstappen took pole position for the sprint, which he proceeded to win ahead of the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Verstappen also took pole position for the main race and was on course to win after leading the majority of it, but Norris soon closed the gap to him after a slow pit stop for Verstappen, who was now on older tyres with Norris having a tyre advantage. After multiple laps battling for the lead, Verstappen and Norris made contact, marking Norris' second retirement of the season following the Miami Grand Prix sprint, and Verstappen dropped down to fifth after a puncture. Russell benefited from the two making contact to take his second career victory, and Mercedes' second victory in the ground effect era, after the2022 São Paulo Grand Prix. He was joined on the podium by Piastri and Sainz.[136]
Russell took pole position for theBritish Grand Prix and led the first half of the race, which was held under intermittent rain, before retiring due to a water cooling issue. Norris inherited the lead after passing Russell, but he lost time switching to soft tyres after the period of rain had ended. Hamilton took advantage of this to inherit the lead as Norris' soft tyres began to degrade, allowing Verstappen, who was on hard tyres, to overtake him. By the end of the race, Verstappen began to close in on Hamilton, but the latter held on to take his first victory since the2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Following Russell's victory at the Austrian Grand Prix a week earlier, Mercedes won consecutive Grands Prix for the first time since 2021. Hamilton's victory was the 104th of his career, and his ninthBritish Grand Prix victory, which also broke the record he shared withMichael Schumacher for most Grand Prix wins at a single circuit. This made Hamilton the first driver to win after his 300th start.[137]
Norris and Piastri locked out the front row at theHungarian Grand Prix, which was McLaren's first front-row lockout since the2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Piastri led a majority of the race before Norris gained the lead via anundercut. McLaren invokedteam orders on Norris, telling him to slow down and let Piastri by to take his maiden Grand Prix victory and McLaren's first 1–2 finish since the2021 Italian Grand Prix, where Norris had also finished second to his teammate. The result meant they overtook Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. Hamilton, having battled with Verstappen for the majority of the race, finished in third for his 200th career Formula One podium, and Verstappen, who criticised the car's pace and strategy options, ended up finishing in fifth after colliding with Hamilton. Meanwhile, Pérez, who was knocked out of Q1 after crashing out, recovered from sixteenth to seventh.[138]
Verstappen qualified fastest for theBelgian Grand Prix, but took a grid penalty leaving second-fastest Leclerc on pole position. Hamilton jumped Pérez off the line and overtook Leclerc in the opening laps to take the lead of the race before Russell shuffled into the lead following pit stops. Russell was running older hard tyres, but brought the car home without any further pit stops to take what was initially a victory ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. Russell was later disqualified post-race due to having an underweight car, promoting Hamilton to victory, Piastri to second and Leclerc to the podium.[139]
TheDutch Grand Prix marked the first race following the summer break. Norris took pole position for the race, but lost out to second-placed Verstappen at the start. Norris caught up to, and passed Verstappen and went on to win his second Grand Prix, by over twenty-two seconds, ahead of Verstappen; Leclerc completed a one-stop strategy to finish in third. Norris's victory marked McLaren's first at the venue sinceNiki Lauda's triumph in1985, and ended a three-year streak of Verstappen victories at theCircuit Zandvoort since its reintroduction to the Formula One calendar in2021.[140]
At theItalian Grand Prix, Norris and Piastri locked-out the front row for McLaren ahead of third-placed Russell with the Ferraris in fourth and fifth. Norris lost out at turn four to Piastri, and Russell sustained front-wing damage. Most teams opted to run a two-stop strategy, but Ferrari opted to run a one-stop strategy which Leclerc initially criticised. The one-stop strategy would pay off eventually, with Leclerc cycling into the lead ahead of Piastri. Leclerc kept his lead until the chequered flag was flown to win the Grand Prix, scoring Ferrari's first victory at their home race since2019, which was also won by Leclerc. Piastri and Norris, the latter scoring the fastest lap on lap 53, rounded off the podium. The race also saw the debut ofFranco Colapinto for Williams, the team replacingLogan Sargeant for the rest of the season. Colapinto finished twelfth in his debut race.[141]
At theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, Leclerc took the pole position ahead of Piastri and Sainz, while Verstappen qualified sixth and Norris down in 17th. Norris would make up two places after Hamilton and Ocon were relegated to a pit lane start for changing power unit components duringparc fermé. In the race, Leclerc maintained his lead off the line with Piastri in second, ahead of Pérez in third. The front-runners started on the medium tyres before swapping them for hards. The leading trio maintained their places, closely following each other after the round of pit stops. Piastri took the lead on lap 20 and defended it against Leclerc for the rest of the race to take his second victory. Pérez and Sainz, while battling for third, crashed on the penultimate lap, which elevated Russell to the last podium spot. Norris, who initially started fifteenth, finished fourth ahead of his championship rival Verstappen and also took the fastest lap. Colapinto, who had made his debut in the previous race, scored the first points of his Formula One career, after finishing eighth; this made him the firstArgentine driver to score a point sinceCarlos Reutemann at the1982 South African Grand Prix. Bearman, who returned as a replacement for the banned Magnussen at Haas, took the final point, becoming the first driver in history to score for two different teams in his first two races. McLaren took the lead of the Constructors' Championship from Red Bull, leading it for the first time since the2014 Australian Grand Prix. This also marked the first time a non-Red Bull team led the Constructors' Championship since the2022 Miami Grand Prix.[142]
At theSingapore Grand Prix, Norris took pole position, led all laps, and won comfortably ahead of Verstappen and Piastri. However, he was denied his first grand slam byRB driverDaniel Ricciardo who set the fastest lap of the race,[143] in what would turn out to be his final Grand Prix before departing the team days later and being replaced byLiam Lawson.[52]
At theUnited States Grand Prix, Verstappen took pole position for the sprint, led all laps, and won comfortably ahead of Sainz and Norris who took pole position for the main race ahead of Verstappen and Sainz. Fourth-placedCharles Leclerc took the race lead on lap one and went on to win. Leclerc finished ahead of teammate Sainz for a Ferrari 1–2, and Norris finished third on track before being dropped to fourth behind championship rival Verstappen due to receiving a penalty.Lewis Hamilton endured a bad Grand Prix, suffering a Q1 exit and early retirement from the race, while teammateGeorge Russell crashed out in qualifying, started in the pit lane, and finished in sixth. OnLiam Lawson's first race of the season, he endured a grid penalty which meant he started 19th, and recovered ten places to finish in ninth.Esteban Ocon scored the fastest lap, obtaining the first of his Formula One career and Alpine's first ever fastest lap on his 152nd start.[144]
At theMexico City Grand Prix, Sainz took pole position for the race, but briefly lost the lead to second-placed Verstappen. He passed the lead Red Bull, who would later receive two separate ten-second time penalties for forcing Norris off-track and gaining an advantage. Sainz led all laps from lap nine onwards to take a comfortable win, the second consecutive for Ferrari, and the fourth win of his career. Leclerc was running in second for the majority of the race before he survived a near-encounter with a wall that allowed Norris to pass him for second. Leclerc got the fastest lap, while Pérez's home race ended in him qualifying eighteenth, fighting with sister team driver Lawson, and finishing last of the finishers. Three cars retired: Alonso on his 400th Grand Prix entry, along with Albon and Tsunoda, following a lap one tussle that ended with both retiring. The success of Ferrari allowed them to pass Red Bull for second in the Constructors' Championship.[145]
At theSão Paulo Grand Prix, Piastri took pole in sprint qualifying, with Norris second, Leclerc third, and Verstappen fourth. The top four kept the position they started in for the first 17 laps, until Verstappen passed Leclerc for third on lap 18. On lap 20, Hülkenberg retired due to a mechanical failure, necessitating a virtual safety car. Shortly before the virtual safety car was deployed, McLaren swapped their cars, putting Norris into the lead. Norris finished the sprint first, ahead of Piastri, and Verstappen. However, Verstappen later received a five-second time penalty for a virtual safety car infringement, dropping him to fourth, which promoted Leclerc to the final podium spot. The points positions were completed by Sainz, Russell, Gasly, and Pérez.[146] Qualifying was postponed from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning due to heavy rain. Norris took pole position during a session disrupted by five red flags, ahead of Russell in second.Yuki Tsunoda qualified in third, the highest starting position ever for him and his teamRB. The race was held four hours after qualifying. Before the start, Williams were unable to repair Albon's car on time after he crashed out in qualifying, and Stroll was stuck in the run-off area on the formation lap after an unsuccessful attempt of rejoining the track, forcing both drivers out of the race. Russell held the lead for the first half of the race before Hülkenberg spun, bringing out a virtual safety car. Russell and Norris pitted in response, which allowedEsteban Ocon to inherit the lead ahead of Verstappen and teammatePierre Gasly. Heavy rain soon brought out the safety car, which turned into a red flag on lap 32 as Colapinto crashed in the last corner. Racing resumed again for a short period before Sainz spun into the barrier on lap 39, which brought out another safety car. The subsequent restart allowed Verstappen to take the lead from Ocon, while Norris dropped down to seventh after going off-track. He later was let past by his teammate Piastri, who received a ten-second penalty earlier for causing a collision with Lawson. Verstappen took his first victory in ten races after starting from seventeenth on the grid. He was joined on the podium by Ocon and Gasly, markingAlpine's first-ever double podium and their first podiums of the season.[147]
Verstappen had a chance to secure his fourthWorld Drivers' Championship title at theLas Vegas Grand Prix, with him being able to do so as long as he outscored Norris.[148] Russell took pole position and led a majority of the race from lights to flag, leading Hamilton, who endured a poor qualification, behind him. Russell secured his second win of the season, and this is the first time Russell won more than one Grand Prix in a single season. Additionally, Sainz and Leclerc finished in third and fourth, respectively, bridging closer Ferrari's gap to McLaren in the Constructors' Championship. Verstappen qualified and finished in fifth, with Norris behind him in sixth, allowing him to clinch his fourth consecutive title. Two retirements were observed, both due to mechanical issues:Pierre Gasly, who endured his best qualification of the season in third, andAlexander Albon due to overheating. Albon's teammateFranco Colapinto started from the pit lane after enduring a heavy crash in qualifying.[149]
McLaren had a chance to secure its ninthWorld Constructors' Championship title, the first since1998, at theQatar Grand Prix. McLaren could win the title as long as they outscored Ferrari and Red Bull in Sunday's race. Sprint polesitter Norris finished behind winner Piastri, for what was to be the final sprint of the season. Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying, but was demoted one position after the stewards deemed him to have driven unnecessarily slowly on a preparation lap, allowing Russell to inherit pole position. At the start of the race, Verstappen took the lead off Russell, which he held to win the race. Meanwhile, at the back,Esteban Ocon, in his final race with Alpine, was hit into Colapinto by Hülkenberg, creating a hole in his sidepod and forcing both Ocon and Colapinto to retire from the race. Colapinto's teammate Albon was hit byLance Stroll, the latter of whom later retired. Lawson joined Albon in spinning and was awarded a penalty after hittingValtteri Bottas; additionally, Hamilton received a penalty due to a false start. Albon's right wing mirror became detached from his car, resulting in double-waved yellow flags. The mirror was hit by Bottas, resulting in debris being scattered across the track. Hamilton and Sainz developed front-left punctures, although telemetry subsequently showed both drivers were seeing falling tyre pressure before passing the debris-covered area.[150] Norris was given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty due to failing to slow under yellow flags, and Hamilton a drive-through for speeding in the pit lane.Zhou Guanyu finished eighth, earning him four points; both his andSauber's first points of the season. Despite Verstappen's victory, Red Bull dropped out of contention for the Constructors' Championship.[151]
Due to McLaren not scoring enough points in Qatar, the battle for the Constructors' Championship came down to theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Ferrari winning their first since2008 if they outscored McLaren. Norris took pole and controlled the race to take his fourth career victory, which meant McLaren successfully secured their first Constructors' Championship since1998. Meanwhile, Leclerc started 19th and Sainz in third on his last race for Ferrari behind Norris' teammate Piastri, and Leclerc recovered to third behind Sainz while Piastri dropped to the back after a collision with Verstappen, which handed the latter a penalty; Piastri recovered to tenth. On Hamilton's last race for Mercedes, he started sixteenth after a team error during qualifying, but managed to recover to fourth after passing his teammate on the final lap. Of the four retirees, Pérez retired for the second time in three races due to hitting Bottas, Colapinto retired due to engine issues, Bottas struck Magnussen and broke his own suspension, and Lawson's brakes caught fire on the closing stages of the race.[152]
Points were awarded to the top ten classified drivers, the driver who set the fastest lap during the Grand Prix (only if one of the top ten), and the top eight of thesprint.[160][j] In the case of a tie on points, a countback system was used where the driver with the most Grand Prix wins is ranked higher. If the number of wins was identical, then the number of second places is considered, and so on.[162] Points were awarded using the following system:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sprint[f] | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Source:[160] | |||||||||||
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Notes:
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Notes:
"It was incredibly slippery," commented Verstappen. "I just struggled a lot to get the temperature in the tyres,
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