Max Verstappen’s mesmeric drive in Brazil, defiant Geri and a yapping little terrier… Mail Sport’s end-of-season Formula One awards
A dramatic 2024 Formula One season came to an end on Sunday as Lando Norris ended the season on a high, winning the race and helping his McLaren team to the constructors’ title.
Despite missing out on the drivers’ world championship himself, the 25-year-old sealed McLaren’s first team title since 1998, a fortnight after Max Verstappen claimed his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship.
But it was a season of ups and downs, lefts and rights, spins, accusations, and bickers. And we’ll do it all over again in three months.
Here, MailSport’s JONATHAN McEVOY looks back at some of the outstanding moments from the season as he hands out his awards for the last nine months.
Driver of the Year
Max Verstappen. By a mile, everyone else lapped.
Max Verstappen was the driver of the year, winning the title in what was mostly the third-best car
Any other complaints about his strong-armed driving were sour grapes – this was his best championship win so far
He took the title in what was mostly the third-best car through a mixture of magnificent race craft and sheer willpower, maximising his scoring when his early- season Red Bull was dominant and then hanging on defiantly when it wasn’t.
Flawless but for one extravagant move at turn eight in Mexico. Any other complaints about his strong-armed driving were sour grapes. His best championship of four in succession and one of the finest by anyone in the sport’s history.
Missed Opportunity of Year
A shame for Lando Norris because he drove superbly in so many ways — think of all those unconverted poles. But he and McLaren realised too late that he was in the mix for the drivers’ crown. He needed backing earlier. Chances to win championships come along rarely and, when they do, you must seize them as if your life depends on it.
You cannot give an inch on track or make over-ambitious moves, such as turn four in Mexico, when he wasn’t far enough ahead on the outside at a short corner, and expect to beat a phenomenon like Verstappen.
Lando Norris drove superbly in so many ways but it was too late by the time he realised he was in the championship hunt
Survivor of the Year
Who would have laid a fiver on Christian Horner surviving as Red Bull team principal that evening in Bahrain when an anonymous email dropped purportedly revealing dozens of lewd messages to a female member of staff? He never admitted sending them. Red Bull said the texts were doctored.
Two independent appeals cleared him of wrongdoing, and he is still going. The woman in question is suspended from work on full pay.
Performance of the Year I
Geri Halliwell’s defiant walk down the paddock in Bahrain. Stoical and studied, she went hand in hand with her besieged husband, cameras clicking every step. No wonder he saluted the support of his ‘wonderful wife’.
Performance of the Year II
Verstappen’s mesmeric drive in the wet in Brazil from 17th on the grid to win. The rest slithered. He travelled like a bullet train.
‘Faultless,’ opined Red Bull guru Helmut Marko. Max owned up to one tiny, unseen slip. Marko didn’t believe him.
Christian Horner survived as Red Bull chief after an email purportedly revealing dozens of lewd messages – he was flanked by wife Geri Halliwell
Verstappen’s mesmeric drive in Brazil from 17th on the grid to win is the Performance of the Year
Bombshell of the Year
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, announced pre-season. It stunned Mercedes, who never thought their star man would walk away.
But joining the Scuderia had been a dream from a young age. A £60million deal no doubt helped. Rejuvenation there after a bleak three years is his last and best chance.
Quote of the Year
Horner in response to nemesis Toto Wolff’s accusation that he is a ‘yapping little terrier’.
With a smile, Horner said: ‘They’re great dogs and I’ve had four of them. I’ve had a couple of West Highland Terriers called Bernie and Flavio.
‘The thing about terriers is that they’re tremendously loyal. They are not afraid of having a go with the bigger dogs. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf…’
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, announced in pre-season, is the Bombshell of the Year
Horner delivered a brutal response to Toto Wolff’s (left) slam that he is a ‘yapping little terrier’
Race of the Year
Montreal. Yes, the British Grand Prix was a fairytale win for Hamilton after a dark 945 days since his previous triumph, back in 2021. But the Canadian race in even more capricious conditions than at Silverstone served up a classic.
Norris should have won but stayed out a lap too many on wets as the safety car came out. George Russell might also have prevailed, but he made a couple of mistakes. And, as certain as night follows day, Verstappen won a race he never should have done.
Ruck of the Year
Verstappen and Russell’s row over qualifying in Qatar. Verstappen called Russell a backstabber and two-faced.
Russell retaliated, dismissing the Dutchman as a bully who threatened to drive him into the wall. Strong words. There will always be an undercurrent between them, however many times they shake hands and move on.
The Canadian race in even more capricious conditions than at Silverstone served up a classic
Verstappen and George Russell (right), meanwhile, clashed heavily during the Qatar weekend
Cameo of the Year
Take a bow Ollie Bearman, who was pitched straight into the Ferrari hotseat after Carlos Sainz went down with appendicitis in Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah’s treacherous track is not a training ground for the faint-hearted, but the Essex teenager acquitted himself wonderfully well to finish seventh on his debut. A place at Haas next season is fully deserved.
