F1 2024 Predictions - Standings, Lineups and more!
An exciting season awaits 20 of the world's finest drivers to tackle the world's 24 best grand prix circuits.
Many drivers will go into the season confident, hoping to either build upon, improve or keep the level of performance they were on during the 2023 season.
However, F1 is only a good place for some as we may see some drivers be greeted with a harsh reality while some will be in cloud 9.
Here are my predictions for the upcoming F1 season:
KEY TALKING POINT PREDICTIONS:
1. Perez will be fired from Red Bull, maybe before the end of the season
Unlike 2022 and 2023, I don't think Checo Perez will have the same hot streak that he has at the start of every season where he finishes where Red Bull needs him to be.
Instead, the pressure of Ricciardo, and maybe Tsunoda, will be too much for him before the season starts and he will underdeliver for the first half of the season and be dropped to Visa CashApp RB.
Now for the boldest part of this prediction, is that Yuki Tsunoda will be the one to step up into the Red Bull seat. But more on that later in the article..
2. Lando Norris will finally win a Grand Prix
This prediction shouldn't be bold, seeing how McLaren have developed their car last year. Sadly, a certain Dutchman has made it impossible to look like anybody can take the top step of the podium other than him.
However, I think this season will have a few high attrition races, and in those high attrition races we'll see the 26 year-old dutch driver suffer bad luck and none other than Lando Norris will capitalize on it to seal a first Grand Prix win that he has dreamed of for so long since the rainy afternoon at the Sochi Autodrome.
3. Oscar Piastri will grab a few podiums
Young Oscar Piastri in his sophomore season in Formula 1 will once again impress, and I feel that McLaren will indeed have the second best car behind Red Bull's monster machine, maybe tied with Ferrari.
With that, Oscar should be capable of having an improved season over last season and grab a couple of podiums as we have seen he can handle pressure in races like Japan and Qatar. With the latter giving him a Sprint win.
4. Haas will score zero points
As Will Buxton famously said in Season 6 of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, "Haas aren't bringing a knife to a gun fight, they're bringing a spoon."
Sadly, I think that will be the case for 2024. With the American team showing no promise during pre-season testing other than having the most laps, they stated that they want to focus on learning how tyres work instead of overall performance.
As other teams are already further developing their cars' performances, Haas are still stuck at learning the basics which will set them way back this season and I won't be surprise if we see a 2021 esque season from them again, where they scored a big donut for points.
5. A retirement will happen
With many drivers' contracts expiring at the end of the season, some of the old foxes of the Formula 1 grid may have to say goodbye to their careers as many young drivers such as Bearman, Lawson, Pourchaire and Antonelli lurk around to try and secure a spot on the F1 grid.
Because of that, we might see old drivers who've spent the last few years in nowhere such as Bottas or Magnussen call it a career and hang their gloves to say goodbye to the sport.
Or even some who've shown that they are way past their prime such as Perez, who I predicted to be given a sack by Red Bull. He would want to end his career at the top if that happens and not spend any more years struggling in the midfield.
DRIVERS STANDINGS PREDICTIONS:
20. Kevin Magnussen
As stated above, Haas don't look like they will really get anywhere near the midfield, and with the clock ticking for Kevin, this season may even be his last.
Last season, Kevin was consistently beaten by team-mate Hulkenberg, and with the German now having a full year under his belt after years out of the sport, it's safe to say that it's about to get worse for the Dane.
19. Nico Hulkenberg
A literally pointless season will see Hulkenberg with also zero points, unless he gets a lucky point in a high attrition race. I think he will beat Magnussen in the head-to-head and get a better best finishing result than the Dane.
It'll be a season for the Hulk to write off, but I feel that he still has more to offer in him.
18. Valtteri Bottas
Much like the last few years, I think Valtteri will be written off very quickly.
With a team that people don't know how to refer them as, I think that they will drown in the lower midfield and Valtteri, for the first time in his career, will be beaten by his young team-mate Zhou Guanyu.
Whether or not he continues into the Audi project is up for debate as the last year has shown that his head is elsewhere other than F1, and more into modelling.
Hence, it's not a stretch to say that Valtteri may want to call it quits on the sport and give his seat up to a promising young driver such as Theo Pourchaire to carry the hopes of the future of Kick F1 Stake Sauber with.
17. Zhou Guanyu
Now in his third season in Formula 1, Zhou Guanyu will have a lot to prove to his bosses to retain him for the upcoming Audi project in 2026.
I think that he will improve and beat his team-mate Valtteri Bottas and score a few points, with his car holding him back.
However, I don't think it will help him keep his seat as Sauber have much better options looming in the shadows, unless Zhou truly puts on a standout generational season which is highly unlikely.
16. Logan Sargeant
In his follow-up year in F1, Logan Sargeant will definitely show signs of improvement and even grab a handful of points. Though with Williams looking like a solid midfield car, it won't be enough.
He definitely won't get annihilated by Albon as he did last year in qualifying, failing to outqualify the Thai driver even once, but it still won't be close in the slightest.
His careless mistakes from his rookie year could follow through and eventually lead to him getting booted out of the seat and make way for a promising young driver like Kimi Antonelli.
15. Pierre Gasly
With many deeming the Alpine as one of the worst cars on the grid, I expect them to have a tricky first half of the season before eventually developing it back to where they were last season by the time the summer break ends.
This wouldn't mean an easy season for the Frenchman Gasly as I think he may suffer typical Alpine unreliability which could cause him ground to Ocon in the standings.
A standout result somewhere could get him higher in the standings but at the moment, it's looking grim for the all French outfit and Gasly will suffer the consequence of a lack of development or any real fighting spirit shown by Alpine in the last three seasons.
14. Esteban Ocon
Esteban will definitely have a better season than last season as I think his reliability will most certainly improve as that is what cost him a place to Gasly in the standings last season.
Constantly showing he's the better driver on pace, with good performances such as Monaco and Las Vegas, he will edge his teammate Gasly and bring Alpine some positive energy in what I think will be a dark season.
A crash between his team-mate, whom he has high tensions with, is also bound to happen and further dent their relationship.
13. Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo is now officially back in the game for his first full season. With the Aussie aiming to get back into the top Red Bull team again, I predict that he won't.
In fact, I think Daniel Ricciardo will have a tight battle with his young team-mate Tsunoda this season and will come second best.
This does not mean it will be a bad season however, with the Visa CashApp RB looking like it is very well the sixth best car behind Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin, it will mean that points finishes will be a regular occurrence with even a surprise podium being a potential to show to the world that the Honey Badger is still hungry for more.
12. Yuki Tsunoda
In his fourth season in Formula 1, it is fair to say young Yuki Tsunoda still has something to show with improvements being made in his previous two seasons, showing that he has the pace to compete for where the car needs him to be.
His biggest issue has always been consistency, and I predict he will finally find that and it will be vital if he wants to show to Red Bull that he is an option to replace Sergio Perez especially when Daniel Ricciardo is currently the favourite for that seat.
A true dark horse story for Yuki in this battle for the top team seat, and I think he will succeed. This year promises to be his best season yet due to the RB having a solid midfield car, getting parts from it's parent team.
Moreover, Helmut Marko has stated that the faster driver between Tsunoda and team-mate Ricciardo will get the Red Bull seat should Perez fail to come in second in the championship, and I think Yuki will take the step forward and finally get a spot at a top team after four long years in AlphaTauri colours.
I also predict Tsunoda to get a surprise top 5 finish this season in a race.
11. Alex Albon
If there is anything pre-season testing has shown us, is that Williams are well in the midfield this season and are in for regular points.
There is no more capable than Alex Albon to deliver those results for the Williams team. The Thai driver endured an amazing 2023 season and 2024 will only be better for him now that the Williams looks to be faster than many other midfield teams after testing.
I predict that Albon will outperform his machinery and even get close to breaking into the top 10 in the championship.
10. Lance Stroll
The Aston Martin definitely has a lot of pace that they are holding back in pre-season testing, but Lance Stroll won't show that.
A season of mediocrity that'll be salvaged by a lucky podium or two will see Lance Stroll keep his seat anyways, but his struggle for consistency will persevere from previous seasons as he looks to show the world what the point of him in F1 even is.
9. Sergio Perez
2023's woes look to follow Perez as after he shines in his usual first six races of the season, he will struggle once more. Struggle so much that Red Bull may even want to drop him mid-season in order to not lose out on the constructors.
I predict that Max's greatness may not be enough to save Red Bull from losing out in the Constructors' as if Perez keeps up last season's struggles up, his seat looks to be in great danger.
If the firing route were to happen, I'd tip young Tsunoda to fill in his boots at Red Bull. A good long-term option and he is hungry to race in a fast car and will drive to the machinery he is given.
As for Perez, he may find some joy and fighting spirit back in the RB, but will hang up his gloves, seeing that his years at a top team is up and will want to end of his career at the top of the pecking order.
8. Carlos Sainz
One thing about Carlos Sainz is that he is a solid driver, but not outstanding.
In 2024, I see that he will consistently finish in the top 6 or 7, but will not reach the podium regularly which will cost him a handful of places in the championship standings. He will have good qualifyings here and there but all in all, will show a lack of race pace as compared to team-mate Leclerc.
One last dance with the prancing horses before he ultimately jumps ship to Sauber next season, preparing himself for a big 2026.
7. George Russell
Now, George Russell definitely isn't a bad driver. But I couldn't get myself to see him ahead of the other 6 drivers in the top teams this season.
A season where Russell will once again come second best to his 7-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton before he jumps ship to Ferrari is likely to follow.
A podium or two here and there could also be possible but it'll be an underwhelming season for George as he has to step up to show Mercedes that he can lead the team forward in the long-term.
6. Oscar Piastri
Though it may not seem like it at this moment in time, but for most of the season McLaren will definitely be the second best car on the grid behind Red Bull.
And with two talented and capable drivers behind the wheel of the MCL38, with Oscar being one of them, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the young Aussie in his second year of Formula 1 will bag himself a few podiums and even come close to a win at some point in the season.
He has already proven himself capable of performing under high pressure in the top positions as shown in the Belgian and Qatar GP sprints last year, and this year he will definitely make strides forward and spend a lot more time in the top positions.
5. Fernando Alonso
In 2023, Aston Martin developed their car from second fastest to all of a sudden being in the midfield again. I think the same will happen in 2024, but not without Fernando Alonso racking up good points in the early part of the season to make it a year to remember.
Even if the car were to develop backwards, Fernando Alonso is definitely the driver you need to outperform it and bring it into a high points paying position.
A handful of podiums for the Spaniard is what's in store for him before he makes another career changing move and decides to switch teams to Mercedes. It's Fernando Alonso, why wouldn't he?
4. Lewis Hamilton
The final chapter of an illustrious history-making book, Lewis Hamilton will tie his Mercedes career with a decent year. Though not the eighth that he would hope for, it will still be a good year for the Brit before he departs from Brackley to Maranello.
I predict that Lewis will even have one final victory to add to his over 82 first place trophies that he already has, and no one is ready for that day to happen with a few boxes of tissues required for fans around the world to get through that day.
3. Lando Norris
With a career that seems to only be going upwards, McLaren will finally put everything together to give their starboy Lando Norris a competitive car, 2nd or 3rd fastest.
I predict the team from Woking will have a close fight with Ferrari for 2nd in the championship as the latter had with Mercedes in 2023.
As Lando now has a competitive car, it will only take him a race of high attrition and keeping everything in check for him to finally cross the line and secure the long awaited first F1 Grand Prix victory, and it'll be the first of many for the Brit.
2. Charles Leclerc
In a tight battle for 2nd place in the championship, Charles Leclerc will come out on top over Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
Arguably the driver closest to Max Verstappen at the moment, and if Ferrari can give him even the third best car, Charles will be there to grab consistent podiums and maybe a few victories should luck allow him to.
The thing that Leclerc has over the two drivers in the fight for 2nd is speed and experience at the front of the grid in these regulations and with that, I think that he will definitely come in 2nd in the standings as he waits to give Lewis Hamilton a headache for the next few years after.
1. Max Verstappen
No surprises here, Max Verstappen will win his fourth world championship title in a row and I'll bet everything I have on that. If I do end up homeless, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Contrary to a popular belief amongst fans, I don't think Max will win every race this season, but he'll definitely be on the podium for all of it.
More records will follow for Max as he aims to truly establish himself as an all-time great of the sport and there's no better way to do that than winning four world championship titles on the bounce.
Moreover, I predict that he will be the sole reason Red Bull still end up with a constructors' title as in spite of Perez's woes, Max is simply an immovable object at the front and will bring glory to himself and the team alone.
2025 line-up changes predictions:
Yuki Tsunoda to Red Bull
As I mentioned multiple shameless times throughout this article, I do think that Yuki Tsunoda will make the step up to the Red Bull senior team next season.
With Helmut Marko already saying that the faster driver between him and Ricciardo will get the highly targeted for Red Bull seat, Tsunoda will find his feet and gain consistency that he has long lacked and beat Ricciardo over the course of the season as he already has the better pace over the 35 year-old Aussie.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Williams
Many expected Mercedes to rush him into the senior team, but I just don't see it happening as it is too big of a risk to take.
A good year for young Antonelli in F2 will see him finish in the top 3 in the standings, but not win the title as the lack of experience in F3 and F2 cars will cost him over his rivals but will still be good enough to secure him an F1 seat.
As for why he isn't going to Mercedes, with Russell already in the seat, they would want a driver with handful of experience in a team that has achieved loads of success in their past and even has experience winning. And there is no better candidate for that job than...
Alonso to Mercedes
Only Fernando Alonso can pull this type of unexpectedness out of him. A seat at one of Formula 1's top and most dominant teams will definitely tempt Fernando and realistically, there is a high chance he'll give the green light and move away from the british racing green of Aston Martin.
Albon to Aston Martin
It's called silly season for a reason, and with Williams, Aston Martin and Mercedes having close links, it's a huge stretch to say this as Albon looks comfortable in the Williams, but Aston Martin looks like a team that will stay at the top for years to come and Alex Albon will definitely want a second chance at a top seat after the underwhelming stint at Red Bull from 2019 to 2020.
Bearman to Haas
With two old drivers at the wheel, how long do you really think Haas will keep that before looking for fresh energy in their team? Not for long it seems as Oliver Bearman will have a good 2024 season and win the F2 world championship.
Ferrari Driver Academy's hottest product will not have to wait in the shadows for long as one of Haas' drivers will definitely depart at the end of what I think will be a miserable season for America's only F1 team (which arguably should be 1 of 2).
Sainz to Audi/Sauber
His dad races for Audi. He's coming off a top team. Other top teams look to have their options set. Is there really anywhere else Carlos Sainz can go?
Pourchaire to Audi/Sauber
Lawson to RB
No, I don't mean Red Bull.
But Lawson has already more than proven himself to be F1 worthy last year, with good results and a standout performances in Singapore making Christian Horner guarantee him a chance at F1 again. It won't be a surprise as it looks like one of RB's current drivers will step up to Red Bull and Perez may wave goodbye to the sport. All that does is leave a seat open for Lawson and there are no better Red Bull juniors out there who can take it.
These predictions will definitely be some fun to look at once the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi but until then, let's hope this season is a competitive and fun one to follow and watch before a big 2025 awaits.
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