F1 News
Sky Sports rate the F1 grid on their 2024 season, with Verstappen far ahead
The end of the 2024 Formula 1 season has come around, and that means that driver ratings for the whole year are now being put together. Sky Sports have had their say, and, unsurprisingly, Max Verstappen is topping the list after he earned his fourth consecutive driver's title from the British broadcaster.
Sky Sports saw Verstappen under pressure for the first time since his first title in 2021 by a rapid McLaren and Lando Norris: "The Dutchman was more than equal to the task, responding to McLaren matching and then bettering Red Bull's pace a quarter of the way into the season by claiming a series of hard-fought crucial victories at Imola, Montreal and Barcelona."
From then on, McLaren's MCL38 was simply more competitive, and so Verstappen's main concern was to limit the damage: "He showed remarkable consistency to maintain an advantage over the hard-chasing Lando Norris, with some of the performances to take second places perhaps more impressive than his dominant early-season victories."
Brazil Grand Prix the highlight of the year
Of course, it also touches on the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Verstappen drove to victory from P17, which all but sealed his fourth world title: "The finishing touches to his superb campaign were applied with a stunning win in the wet at Interlagos from 17th on the grid and a first dry-weather victory since June in Qatar to send a reminder to his rivals that beating him will remain a formidable challenge in 2025."
Still, there was a small blemish following Sky Sports: "Verstappen's campaign wasn't far from perfect, but he let himself down in Mexico with a reckless, over-aggressive and unsporting approach to battling Norris."
No other driver really came close to Verstappen, with Norris the next highest with an 8.5 rating from the British broadcaster, followed by Charles Leclerc with the same rating, then teammate Oscar Piastri with a 7.5. For Lewis Hamilton, he could only record a 6.5, while Sergio Perez's dreadful season was summed up y his 3.5 overall rating. Only Logan Sargeant, who was replaced at Williams halfway through the season, scored lower with a 3.
This article was created in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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