THE PALMERS: Jolyon Palmer picks his stand-out performers, best race and biggest surprise from the 2024 season

The 2024 Formula 1 season will go down as one of the most thrilling and entertaining in the sport’s long and rich history. Former Renault F1 driver Jolyon Palmer was there every step of the way to call the action for F1 TV, and now the dust has settled, he’s picked out his best performers and performances from the season.

Best Driver – Max Verstappen

It has to be the world champion, Max Verstappen. We saw a lot of different attributes from Max this year; whether it was impeccable qualifying efforts, elbows out defensive driving, or calling the shots from inside the cockpit to execute a complex race perfectly, he stood out above the rest. That’s why his championship wasn’t a limp over the line, but a celebration with a couple of weekends to go. He punched well above his Red Bull car this year, as highlighted by the struggles of his team mate.

Best team – Ferrari

I’ve plumped for Ferrari here, despite McLaren winning their first constructors’ championship since 1998. McLaren should get credit for designing and upgrading the fastest car on average, but I can’t help but feel that if Ferrari had the raw pace of the McLaren they would have wrapped up the championship earlier.

Fred Vasseur has taken the team on to a new level where they aren’t making significant errors. They generally have great strategies now, can take care of their tyres mostly and aren’t fluffing pit stops. The drivers also did a great job.

Monza epitomised the difference in the teams this year, Ferrari won a race that they had no right to, thanks to a perfect race execution and a misstep or two from McLaren.

I’m sure next year McLaren will have more confidence to be at the sharp end, but for me, the best car in 2024 was the McLaren, but the best team was Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc scored a brilliant home victory for Ferrari at Monza

Best individual performance – Max Verstappen

Max’s Brazil drive has to win here as well. With the championship on the line, this was undoubtedly the drive of the season. To be aggressive and yet clean, to be on the attack yet make no mistakes along the way – this was his champions drive, just as it looked as though the season was turning. For me, it was Max’s best ever win.

Best comeback drive – Carlos Sainz

Of course Max could have a claim to best comeback as well, 17th to first isn’t bad. But I’ll give it to a driver that went from DNS to first instead. It’s been a long season and it’s easy to forget that Carlos Sainz missed race two in Jeddah with appendicitis.

His return in Melbourne was brilliant though as he interloped once again into the latest run of Verstappen victories to drive through the discomfort and seal victory for Ferrari. It was a superb season for Sainz who must have found it tough, knowing he was out of a drive in 2025. This drive encapsulated his battling 2024.

Feel-good moment – Lewis Hamilton

Now this is a tricky category for 2024. Charles Leclerc had two home win contenders, particularly his Monaco victory, which in any other year would have claimed it. I’ve had to go for Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone instead though. Being at both of these races this year was a privilege, to witness what it meant for the victorious driver, but there’s just something different for Hamilton at Silverstone.

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It was poetic. In his last year with Mercedes, having not won a race for nearly three years – to win it in style in a dramatic Grand Prix was just epic. The emotion from him after the race was a clear sign that this was more than just another win for Formula 1’s most successful ever driver.

Best race – The Azerbaijan Grand Prix

In Formula 1’s longest ever season there are many contenders here. Canada, Silverstone, Brazil and Austria were all dramatic, but I’ve gone for a more old school battle which I personally enjoyed from the commentary box.

I’ve chosen Baku because this was a race that went on for the lead, lap after lap after lap with a beautiful bit of race craft from Oscar Piastri pinching it from under the nose of Charles Leclerc.

On top of this you had a battle for the podium going down to the last, and you had Lando Norris trying to claw his way back through the field and save his championship chances, as well as some exciting drives further back in the points. Maybe it didn’t have the headline drama, but this was a race that had everything else.

Well done Baku! Oscar Piastri won a thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Biggest surprise – Lando Norris and McLaren

Nobody expected a title tilt from Lando and you’d have got crazy odds at a McLaren constructors’ championship when Formula 1 hit the track in Bahrain at the start of the year.

But McLaren developed their car better than anyone else in the front group. Every time they brought upgrades they seemed to make strides forward, and have down for two years now.

Norris meanwhile had a chance to truly show his championship credentials and while he ultimately missed out on the driver’s title, I think he’s shown he’s got what it takes in the future.

This is a driver who has comfortably led his team and delivered some consummate drives from the front. Hitting back from an 80 point deficit to Max is a tough ask mentally, but with everybody starting from zero next March, I wouldn’t rule Lando out in 2025.

Few people would have predicted McLaren would romp to the constructors' title in 2024

Most improved – Alpine

Another tough category in 2024 with plenty of claims. Personally I think there’s been so much talk of Lewis Hamilton’s difficult season, that it overlooks the step forward George Russell has made individually this year. He looks more composed and complete than ever heading into 2025. It was comfortably his best season to date.

But really the most improved has to be reserved for Alpine this year. Technically they were sixth last year and sixth this year, so year-on-year there hasn’t been an improvement, in fact they scored barely half the points this year, but that doesn’t tell the story.

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Last, slow and heavy in Bahrain there were major shake-ups behind the scenes at the season opener and they weren’t far from a laughing stock. Fast forward to the end of the year and they’ve had the incredible double podium of Brazil and consistently looked like a Q3 threat and points contender.

Gasly’s performances late on were remarkable, qualifying third in Vegas and running third in Abu Dhabi. This was a dramatic improvement from March to December and they look like they might have found the right path again.

Gasly and Ocon sealed a shock double podium for Alpine in Brazil

Best rookie / stand-in performer – Oliver Bearman

There were no rookies on the grid at the start of the year, but that feels a long time ago now, as plenty got their chance through the year. It’s another hotly contested category with great drives from Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto, but I’ve chosen Oliver Bearman as my top stand in performer, even though he only did three Grands Prix this year.

Jumping into a Ferrari in a circuit as tough as Jeddah was a massive task, especially with no Friday practice under his belt, but he ended it with a haul of points and Driver of the Day award for holding off a charging Norris and Hamilton.

Then his Baku performance for Haas I think was even better, out-qualifying and out-racing Nico Hulkenberg on his debut with the team and nabbing another point.

Even in Brazil Bearman out paced Hulk in both qualifying sessions and had an advantage over his more experienced team mate, someone I rate highly. Watch out in 2025 as he begins a full season with Haas.

Oliver Bearman impressed on his F1 debut with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia

Biggest off-track news – Lewis Hamilton/Ferrari

It’s been a vintage year off the track too. We’ve had a press day for the ages as George Russell and Max Verstappen went at each other in Abu Dhabi, whetting the appetite for a future title rivalry.

We’ve had Mercedes announcing the young prodigy Kimi Antonelli as their race driver next year, as well as the seismic news of Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull and heading to Aston Martin – who desperately need his genius right now after a whimper of a season.

But there’s one obvious winner: Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. It’s the move that’s been mooted for so many years and finally Hamilton will make the switch this winter – and it feels well timed for him as well now. It’s rare to get a major contender switching teams these days, so for Ferrari to go sniffing around the seven-time champ and Lewis to take the plunge, is the greatest of all the ingredients cooking for a spicy 2025 season.

I can’t remember a season as hotly anticipated as 2025 is – let’s hope it can live up to expectation!