Best moments, biggest shocks and star drivers – Our writers reflect on 2024 at the midway point of the season

With an action-packed first half of the season behind us as F1 embarks on its traditional summer break, now feels like the ideal time to take stock of what has happened in the opening 14 races – and what could still be in store for the remaining 10. Will Buxton, Lawrence Barretto, Alex Jacques and David Tremayne reflect on the 2024 campaign so far and share their predictions for what could happen next.

What was the best race of the season so far?

Will Buxton (F1 Digital Presenter): We’ve been treated to some great races – Miami, Imola, Canada, Silverstone and Hungary all had me on the edge of my seat. But for me it’s Spa. It might not have had the most passes, or appeared the most out-and-out thrilling, but what stood out for me was that at the flag the top three were covered by a little over a second, and the top six in just under 10. And all this on the longest lap of the year and in a race uninterrupted by Safety Cars. It showed just how close the competition is this year and whetted my appetite for the second half of the season.

POLL: What has been the best Grand Prix of the 2024 F1 season so far?

Lawrence Barretto (F1 Correspondent & Presenter): We are fortunate that there are so many to choose from, but I'm going to choose Austria. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen's fight for the lead was enthralling and set the tone in their rivalry. It was unfortunate they came together, but George Russell didn't mind as he sailed to his first victory of the season, having driven brilliantly to run third and be in a position to take the opportunity.

Alex Jacques (F1 TV Commentator): Silverstone is at the top of the list for me. To have five drivers in with a shot of winning the Grand Prix is so unusual. The overtaking skill shown by so many in both the wet and dry was impressive and to have things conclude with such emotional scenes for Hamilton, as he ended his winless streak, made it a really special Grand Prix.

David Tremayne (Hall of Fame F1 Journalist): The British GP, without question, for me. Three of the top four teams – Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull – were in the fight in a race run in tricky weather conditions on one of the fastest and most demanding tracks on the calendar. And home hero Lewis Hamilton rose superbly to the occasion to drive his best race since Abu Dhabi '21 in an on-form Mercedes, master the tricky tyre management in each disparate stage, remind the world of his enduring talent, and score a hugely emotional, record-breaking win that was exactly what so many of the crowd had come to see. Who doesn’t love a happy ending?

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Who are your top three drivers from the season so far?

WB: You don’t win seven races without being the standout driver of the year, but the cracks have started to appear in Max Verstappen’s veneer, and no wins in four is a record he’ll want to set straight as soon as the holiday is over. Usually I’d put Lando Norris up here given his championship position, but he’s made too many mistakes which he himself recognises have hurt his season to date. So I’ll opt for Oscar Piastri, who has developed beautifully this year and put not only the rest of the grid but also his team mate on notice. And third I’m putting Lewis Hamilton. Has he always had the upper hand against his team mate? No. But Hamilton’s strength has always come from perseverance. His win at Silverstone was the cork in the bottle and, as the only multiple winner other than Verstappen, I think we will see more of the “old” Hamilton after the summer break.

LB: Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda. Norris will probably not agree with this as he sets himself such high standards and is so tough on himself, but the Briton has been immense this year and announced himself as a genuine title contender, even if he's got some edges that need smoothing. Charles Leclerc soaked up the pressure to finally win his home Grand Prix in Monaco and has driven impressively with a machine that has tailed off since that triumph. Yuki Tsunoda has had his best season ever so far, stepping up to lead RB with a string of brilliant points finishes. His form has been the backbone of the team's challenge for P6 in the constructors' championship and he's proven he deserves a seat in F1 for the foreseeable if he can keep driving like this.

READ MORE: Stella pledges to help Norris after McLaren driver claims he needs a ‘reset’ over the summer break

AJ: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri.

DT: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and George Russell. Max, obviously, because of seven wins in a car that, despite such statistics, is not always the fastest or the best handling. Lando because he is taking the fight to Max and Red Bull having finally broken through and scored his first Grand Prix victory and should/could have won at least two others. And while Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton have all also won races, and done so in style, I’d opt for George because he has consistently pushed himself and his Mercedes W15 no matter what the conditions and the car’s level of performance. He’s been consistently super-fast in qualifying, has led races, and ‘won’ twice. He lucked in to an extent in Austria (though he was hardly sloping along there) but made all his own luck at Spa and it wasn’t his fault his car proved to be underweight.

Can Max and Red Bull be defeated in the championships?

WB: Not only can Red Bull be beaten, but on current form they will be beaten to the constructors’ title. Handsomely. McLaren have a car for all circuits and all conditions and two drivers punching to exploit every opportunity. If Norris gets himself together and irons out the creases, McLaren will wrap up their first team title this millennium. The drivers' will be a tougher challenge, and if anyone is to stop Verstappen then McLaren will need to recognise they have a shot, back one driver and start being ruthless.

LB: Yes. It'll be tough to beat Max Verstappen, given his lead is so substantial, but it's certainly possible if Lando Norris finds a way to cut out the mistakes and iron out the little details that have blunted his challenge in recent races. The constructors' championship is wide open for the first time in years. On current form, McLaren are actually favourites in my opinion. If Ferrari find some form, they could threaten, too. Red Bull have their work cut out to defend the title and will be desperate for Sergio Perez to find some form.

READ MORE: ‘We have work to do’ – Verstappen acknowledges dominant days are 'behind' Red Bull despite 'positive' Belgian GP

AJ: McLaren will have a huge chance in the constructors’ at their current operating level; they would need to take another step forward and be perfect with both cars to claim the drivers’ championship. No one has ever overturned the margin Max Verstappen currently has in any era of F1 point system and I think it comes just too early in Norris's career.

DT: I’d say it’s unlikely that Max will be beaten to a fourth World Championship for drivers, though stranger things have happened over the years. He is currently on 277 points to Lando Norris’s 199, a margin of 78 points with 10 races left. Since Miami, Max has scored 170 points, Lando 141, or respective averages of 18.8 and 15.6. And Max has won seven races to Lando’s one. The World Championship for constructors, however, could well be a different matter (see below).

What news story from 2024 has shocked you the most?

WB: The Sergio Perez saga. It was certainly a surprise to see Red Bull lock him in so early and for so long, not only given his lacklustre results but also the breadth of talent waiting in Red Bull’s junior roster. The team’s reluctance to promote the impressive Tsunoda raises questions as to why they persevere with him at all, as RB, despite public protestations, remains a preparatory junior team. Daniel Ricciardo has failed to set the world alight. But Liam Lawson has huge potential. Isack Hadjar is having a brilliant F2 season. And Arvid Lindblad is a hot prospect who will now be F1-eligible at 17 in 2025. So the long-term signing of Perez essentially killed the Red Bull junior ladder. That in itself was a shock. But the public denouncement of the Mexican in the weeks that followed by both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, leading to the team having to take an unprecedented call on his services at the start of the summer break, was an even bigger surprise for a driver under long-term contract. But perhaps the biggest shock was that they chose to do nothing about a situation which has clearly become unsustainable.

LB: Audi’s decision to part ways with Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann was unexpected. Clearly, they didn’t feel progress was being made quick enough so they took the bold decision to remove them both. They’ve recruited well by taking on the hugely experienced former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto and Red Bull’s Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley, who has long had Team Principal aspirations – but they will know they have a huge job on their hands to get Audi ready for an F1 debut in 2026.

READ MORE: Jonathan Wheatley to leave Red Bull and become Audi’s new F1 Team Principal

AJ: Nothing was more shocking than Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari. It set the tone for a season where no story seemed implausible. It will still be a complete double take to see him in Ferrari colours at the team launch next season.

DT: Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley heading to roles at Audi, and Oliver Oakes coming in to replace Bruno Famin chez Alpine are good, left-field stories in recent weeks. But still by far the biggest shock of the season remains Lewis moving from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025. If Toto Wolff didn’t see it coming, I don’t see why anyone else should have, so when the news broke in February it was a complete surprise. Ferrari’s persistence, Mercedes’ ongoing disappointing performance since 2022 and Wolff’s desire to offer a shorter-term contract in order to accommodate signing Andrea Kimi Antonelli still stack up as the most compelling reasons for the severance of a relationship hitherto believed to be unbreakable.

Which team and driver will be under the most scrutiny in the second half of the season?

WB: Red Bull is not the perfect, slick operation that demolished the field in 2023. The eyes of the world will be on the world champions to see just how deep the cracks run, and whether anything or anyone can fill them in and mend the broken pieces or if they’re simply papering them over as they continue to grow. Verstappen will be under the microscope, but it’s his team mate Perez who needs to show up. He has a stay of execution, but on current form I’d be surprised if the team live up to their promise and give him to season’s end.

LB: Red Bull and Sergio Perez. It’s very respectful of Red Bull to give Perez more time to prove he can turn his form around, given how he’s played a role in their recent World Championship success. But not only does Perez now have to deliver, especially on the first three tracks after the summer break, where he has had decent results in the past, but Red Bull need to up their game as their superiority is genuinely under threat from McLaren.

READ MORE: Red Bull make decision on Perez's future and RB driver line-up

AJ: Sergio Perez and Red Bull will be under big pressure if the constructors’ battle continues to narrow at the same rate as it did before the summer break. Perez hasn't seemed confident for months and Red Bull will be desperate to stop any more key personnel leaving like Newey and Wheatley.

DT: Red Bull. The news broke only recently that long-term sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will be leaving his post at the end of the season, to take up the job of Team Principal at Audi “some time in 2025” (when his garden has been whipped into shape). Already, the team have revealed they are in the process of losing Adrian Newey, one of the architects of their glittering success. And making it a bit of a perfect storm, they have been struggling since Imola and Spain to get the best out of the once apparently dominant RB20. As these words are written they are just 44 points ahead of McLaren in the World Championship for constructors, and a solution to the car’s recently revealed shortcomings is urgently needed at the same time, as they could do with a period of calm.

One bold prediction for the second half of the season…

WB: Red Bull change their line-up for the final three races of the season but the constructors’ championship has already been lost to McLaren. Verstappen clings onto the drivers’ title by single points.

LB: We’ve had some unusual results this year, so I expect that trend to continue with Haas scoring their first-ever F1 podium.

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AJ: An eighth different winner.

DT: McLaren will run Red Bull very close for the constructors’ honours, even if the latter replace Sergio Perez. There are 10 races left, and 44 points available per team per race, not counting Sprints. Since Miami, Red Bull have scored 216 points, McLaren 270. That means respective averages per race of 24 and 30. If that rate of outscoring continues, McLaren could draw level within seven races, so by Brazil…