The penultimate round of the 2024 F1 season has officially wrapped, and boy, was it a doozy. The atmosphere surrounding the event was electric, with fans eagerly anticipating the outcomes that would shape the championship standings. Controversy filled the weekend, providing an extra bit of craziness to an already intense race. From the very start, it was clear that this race would not be just another routine event on the calendar; rather, it would be a thrilling Grand Prix characterized by fierce competition and dramatic moments.
Tensions were high in Qatar, both on and off the track, as multiple drivers found themselves engaged in heated battles for position, showcasing not only their driving skills, but also their strategic judgement. The paddock buzzed with speculation and intrigue, as fans and teams alike debated the implications of various incidents that unfolded during the race. As the cars roared along the hot track and navigated the challenging corners, the stakes grew ever higher, making this event one of the more entertaining races of the season.
Before we jump into the current standings for both Championships and take a look into what happened at the Qatar Grand Prix, a couple of things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 349 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 291 points, giving the McLaren team 640 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: This weekend's race was a sprint-style format. A sprint race is a race with fewer laps that gives the drivers an opportunity to score extra points. It is meant to not only help the drivers, but also give the fans more racing action. Instead of the normal weekend format (Three practice sessions, qualifying, and the race), a sprint weekend format is a little different. There will be only one practice session, and two qualifying sessions (one for the sprint race and one for the main race). The sprint race will occur between the sprint qualifying session (AKA sprint shootout) and the main race qualifying session.
Author's Note 3: 23 drivers will be listed on the Drivers' Championship. Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Kevin Magnussen for the São Paulo Grand Prix. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, and Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the season.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' standings after the race weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 429 points
Lando Norris 349 points
Charles Leclerc 341 points
Oscar Piastri 291 points
Carlos Sainz 272 points
George Russell 235 points
Lewis Hamilton 211 points
Sergio Perez 152 points
Fernando Alonso 68 points
Nico Hulkenberg 37 points
Pierre Gasly 36 points
Yuki Tsunoda 30 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Esteban Ocon 23 points
Kevin Magnussen 16 points
Alexander Albon 12 points
Daniel Ricciardo 12 points
Oliver Bearman 7 points
Franco Colapinto 5 points
Zhou Guanyu 4 points
Liam Lawson 4 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Constructor's Championship Standings:
McLaren 640 points
Ferrari 619 points
Red Bull 581 points
Mercedes 446 points
Aston Martin 92 points
Alpine 59 points
Haas 54 points
Racing Bulls 46 points
Williams 17 points
Kick Sauber 4 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine
Alpine was very solid all weekend long in Qatar. For the Sprint, Esteban Ocon qualified 18th and finished 14th, and Pierre Gasly qualified 8th and finished 9th. For the Grand Prix, Ocon started 20th and did not finish the race, while Gasly started 11th and finished 5th.
It was clear which driver Alpine was prioritizing this weekend. With Ocon set to leave for Haas at the end of the year, it seems as though they have given up trying to improve his car. Gasly on the other hand, has done brilliantly, providing top-ten finishes in both races. The car has improved tremendously since the start of the season, as Alpine are reaping the rewards of their hard work.
After the race, news came out that Ocon will be replaced by current Alpine reserve driver, and 2025 Alpine driver, Jach Doohan for the final race of the season. This was very surprising to me. Alpine is currently in a very close fight for 6th in the Constructors' Championship, which gives them 10 million extra dollars is they get it. Putting a driver as unexperienced as Doohan in the car at this point seems very disrespectful to Ocon, who has been a crucial part of any success Alpine has had since coming into the sport (he accounts for Alpine's only win in F1). Yes, Doohan will be replacing Ocon next year anyway and this will be a good experience for him, but Ocon deserves better, and the team is currently in a fight that could get them a ton of money.
Also, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to Alpine's Academy driver Abbi Pulling, who won the F1 Academy Drivers' Championship this weekend! For those unfamiliar, the F1 Academy is a racing league, created by F1, to give women the opportunity to gain valuable experience, improve their skills, and progress their careers. With the sport being nearly impossible for women to be a part of in the past due to the limited opportunities they were provided, F1 Academy gives women the chance to show off their immense talent, and hopefully create a vessel for themselves to progress their motorsport careers.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin did not perform as poorly as they have recently, but it was still disappointing nonetheless. For the Sprint, Lance Stroll qualified 14th and finished 13th, while Fernando Alonso qualified and finished in 11th. For the Grand Prix, Stroll started 15th and did not finish the race, while Alonso started 8th and finished 7th.
There is not much to say about Aston Martin at this point other than the usual things that are said. Alonso is outperforming the car, somehow getting points in the Grand Prix, while Stroll continues to show why he may not deserve a seat in F1. The car has made no improvements since the summer break, with Qatar being no different.
With nothing much to fight for at this point of the season, Aston Martin does not seem to care where they finish, or if they finish. It is all about 2025 and 2026 for the team. Let's just hope, for their sake, their lack of effort this season pays off in the future.
Ferrari
Ferrari may not have dominated, but they did what they needed to do to bring the Constructors' title fight to Abu Dhabi. For the Sprint, Carlos Sainz started and finished 4th, and Charles Leclerc qualified and finished in 5th. For the Grand Prix, Sainz started 7th and finished 6th, while Leclerc started 5th and finished 2nd.
Ferrari was nothing flashy this weekend. The pace was just good enough to stay competitive at the top, but definitely off the pace they were hoping for. They had no chance of winning either race this weekend. However, in knowing that, they made the best out of their opportunities. Walking away with a P2 was definitely unexpected, but a result they will definitely take.
The biggest takeaway for Ferrari this weekend is that Ferrari put themselves in a position for a fight in both Championships with one race to go. The team is 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors, and Leclerc is only 7 points behind Lando Norris for 2nd in the Drivers' Championship. They did what they needed to do to keep their hopes alive in Qatar; now it is a matter of whether they can pull off a miracle in Abu Dhabi.
Haas
Haas' weekend started off great, but it ultimately ended with much left on the table. In the Sprint, Kevin Magnussen qualified 15th and finished 10th, while Nico Hulkenberg qualified 9th and finished 7th. In the Grand Prix, Magnussen started 10th and finished 9th, while Hulkenberg started 18th and did not finish the race.
Haas should have come away with more points than they did this weekend. Both drivers had the pace to finish within the top ten, but Hulkenberg botched the main race qualifying and was unfortunate in the Grand Prix. Magnussen had a fantastic weekend all around. Though only the top 8 score points in the Sprint, finishing in the top ten in the Sprint and the Grand Prix is very impressive.
Haas have themselves a huge fight for position in the Constructors' Championship. Alpine looks fast, but so do Haas. It'll come down to the wire, but Haas should be the favorites, as long as they don't crash.
Kick Sauber
Well that was unexpected...
Kick Sauber had their best weekend of the season by a country mile, securing their first points of the season. For the Sprint, Valtteri Bottas qualified 13th and finished 12th, while Zhou Guanyu qualified and finished in 19th. For the Grand Prix, Bottas started 13th and finished 11th, while Zhou started 12th and finished 8th.
What an incredible performance from Sauber! Where that pace came from, I have no idea, and I bet if you asked the team they wouldn't really know either, but that does not matter. What matters is after 22 races of horrible race after horrible race, Kick Sauber finally produced a competitive car that actually looked quick.
Now, I have been a harsh critic of Sauber all year long, but I'll give credit where credit is due. Zhou and Bottas deserved a weekend like this. After both drivers were not signed by a team in 2025, and had to drive the worst car on the grid all season long, they finally were able to provide a result they were aiming for. I mean, Bottas was so close to giving the team a double-points finish!
Yes, both drivers struggled mightily this season, and there is a reason no team decided to sign them, but Zhou and Bottas have done so much for the sport, so it was nice to see them succeed one last time. Hopefully, their pace will not fade, and they can compete again in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren
In what was a fantastic start to the weekend, Qatar ended in shambles for McLaren. For the Sprint, Oscar Piastri qualified 3rd and finished 1st, while Lando Norris qualified 1st and finished 2nd. For the Grand Prix, Piastri started 4th and finished 3rd, while Norris started 3rd and finished 10th.
The Sprint for McLaren was fantastic. McLaren controlled the pace all race long. Norris even paid Piastri back for giving him the Sprint win in Brazil by giving Piastri the Sprint win in Qatar.
Things were looking good once again in the Grand Prix, until Norris made a mistake that ruined his race. Norris received what is called a stop-and-go penalty for speeding during a yellow flag. (It was also a 10-second stop-and-go penalty). For a regular penalty, you are not required to serve it in the pit lane. Drivers who receive a normal penalty will oftentimes have it be ticked off their interval of the car behind them after the race. However, if you receive a stop-and-go penalty, you are required to serve the penalty in the pit lane within 3 laps of when the penalty was issued.
The penalty completely ruined Norris' race and McLaren's hope of closing out the Constructors' Championship. In addition, this opened the door for Charles Leclerc to significantly close the gap between him and Norris in the Drivers' Championship.
Was the penalty harsh? Maybe. However, Norris did not lift off the gas during a yellow flag, which means he exceeded the maximum pace a driver is allowed to drive when a yellow flag is issued. It was a costly mistake on Norris' part, a mistake that will cause him to lose his comfortable lead in the Drivers' Championship.
Mercedes
Mercedes' weekend went pretty much as expected. For the Sprint, George Russell qualified 2nd and finished 3rdth, while Lewis Hamilton qualified 7th and finished 6th. For the Grand Prix, Russell qualified 2nd but started 1st due to a Verstappen 1-place grid penalty and finished 4th, while Hamilton started 6th and finished 12th.
Mercedes' pace faded, which wasn't surprising, but was disappointing nonetheless. Russell outperformed Hamilton, as expected, and drove a very solid race on both occasions. However, what was shocking was the extent of Hamilton's struggles. It is hard to tell how much of it is on him or the car, but the one definite is that they aren't compatible.
Hamilton did not help himself, though. Throughout the Grand Prix, he received two different penalties: one for a false start at the beginning of the race and one for speeding in the pit lane. These ruined his chance at points and added to his already extreme frustration with himself and the team.
With only one race left to go between the legendary duo of Hamilton and Mercedes, the hope is that Lewis can somehow find pace in the car, and provide one last good result before his departure. Qatar was brutal to watch if you are a Mercedes fan, as seeing arguably the greatest driver of all time struggle so much is hard to watch. But there is still one more race, so one can only hope it ends on a high note.
Racing Bulls
RB had a disastrous weekend in Qatar. For the Sprint, Liam Lawson qualified 10th and finished 16th, while Yuki Tsunoda qualified and finished 17th. For the Grand Prix, Lawson qualified 17th and finished 14th, while Tsunoda started 14th and finished 13th.
Coming away with zero points in a Sprint weekend is inexcusable for RB. For a team fighting for 6th in the Constructors', this was a brutal blow to their chances. Lawson and Tsunoda were horrific all weekend long, making multiple mistakes and not getting the most out of the car.
RB has a lot of work to do if they want to move up the Constructors' Standings. With Alpine and Haas looking quick, their chances may be slim, but it is still possible. Also, with rumors heating up regarding a possible Red Bull seat opening, next week could influence which RB driver will get the Red Bull seat, if the rumors are true.
Red Bull
Red Bull struggled mightily to start the weekend, but found a way to finish strong. For the Sprint, Sergio Perez qualified 16th and finished 20th, while Max Verstappen qualified 6th and finished 8th. For the Grand Prix, Perez started 9th but did not finish the race, while Verstappen qualified 1st but started 2nd due to a 1-place grid penalty he received in qualifying, but won the race.
The Sprint result was one to forget for Red Bull. Verstappen's pace was non-existent, and if Max doesn't have pace, there is no way Perez would either. However, the team used Perez to gain more information for the Grand Prix, which seemed to have given Max the pace he needed to win in Qatar. Though Perez did not finish the race due to a mechanical failure, he did provide valuable insight for the team that allowed Verstappen to be in the fight, which cannot go unnoticed.
Red Bull may be out of the Constructors' race now, but with the Drivers' Championship locked up by Verstappen, Red Bull can focus on Perez and whether or not he will keep his seat in 2025.
Williams
Williams was pretty much anonymous this weekend. For the Sprint, Franco Colapinto qualified 20th and finished 18th, while Alex Albon qualified 12th and finished 15th. For the Grand Prix, Colapinto started 19th and did not finish the race, while Albon started 16th and finished 15th.
Williams is trying to keep their head above water at this point, and it showed in Qatar. The car's pace is completely gone due to the lack of spare parts they have. Both drivers have crashed repeatedly over the last few months, which not only is putting Williams over the cost cap, but also forcing them to use old car parts. This is making the car similar to what it was at the beginning of the year...slow.
With that being said, try not to criticize the performances of Albon and Colapinto too much after their results this weekend. Yes, they have made mistakes, and are the reason Williams is in this mess, but they are still both talented drivers who are in a difficult situation. Qatar will be added to the list of races Williams will want to forget in 2024.
Stay tuned for more F1 content, and be sure to check out fansonlysportz.com for more sports media content posted daily.
Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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