Half-season Report: 2023 VS. 2024

Formula 1 will be back this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix, as the second half of the season begins. Local hero Max Verstappen’s dominance has not remained unchallenged: six other drivers claimed wins on their own (it hasn’t happened since 2012!). After some early-season domination from Red Bull, race wins have recently come down to the finest of margins: Mercedes, Mclaren and Ferrari are not far behind. An unexpected rundown, considering last year’s standings after the first 11 races. Let’s go back a year to see how different the drivers and constructors’ championships were. 

Drivers' standings: 2023 (left) and 2024 (right). Source: f1.com

Just think that, numbers in hand, Max Verstappen was 110 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez! The Mexican driver, despite the gap, was in a very good position, being second in the championship. The same cannot be said of the first half of the current season: Perez, despite a rather positive start, is 7th, just behind Lewis Hamilton. 

Verstappen keeps his first position, but we can already say that, unlike last year, the epilogue of his season is not so clear: will Max be able to win his fourth-consecutive world championship? He surely knows he has a very good competition. 

Three drivers have claimed their first victory ever in Formula 1 this season: Lando Norris, George Russell and Oscar Piastri. 

We can safely say that Mclaren seems to be the dominant car: compared to last year’s performances, the difference is huge. Norris is currently second in the championship with 199 points, while in 2023 he only had 60; Oscar Piastri had already shown his talent in his rookie season, but nothing compared to this year’s fourth place in the standings. 

Looking at the rankings, we can see that Ferrari is just behind Mclaren: both Sainz and Leclerc won, the latter gaining his first home race win. However, despite a very good start, Ferrari seems to confirm its inconstancy: excellent performances share the stage with mediocre, if not disastrous results (for example, both Leclerc and Sainz had to retire from the race in Montreal).

Regarding Mercedes, we can observe quite an opposite trend: the excellent results of the last races have given justice to a rather average start. Between the two English drivers, George Russell is certainly the one that surprised us the most: if it had not been for the last disqualification, he would have won his second race of the season, gifting Mercedes a wonderful 1-2.

The biggest difference from last year’s mid-season standing is Fernando Alonso’s 9th position. In 2023, no one could ever have expected that he would sit in third place in the championship at the mid stage of his first season with Aston Martin. However, as Aston Martin have lost pace relative to their rivals, it’s become more difficult for Alonso to let his talent make the difference. 

10 races are left to settle the drivers’ and constructors’ titles for this year: who will be 2024 World Champion?  

Written by Emma