We’ve been treated to plenty of thrilling action over the first 14 Grands Prix of the season, with no fewer than seven drivers and four teams taking race victories. But how do the scores from our Power Rankings judges stack up at the halfway mark? Here’s the top-10 list at the summer break...
How it works
Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)
READ MORE: Best moments, biggest shocks and star drivers – Our writers reflect on 2024 at the midway point of the season
Max Verstappen made another lightning start to the 2024 season, winning five of the opening seven races with aplomb. It has not been such a smooth run over the last seven rounds, with the Dutchman limited to two victories as Red Bull’s rivals close in and pile on the pressure. But, looking at the entire first half, Verstappen still has the measure over the competition.
READ MORE: ‘We have work to do’ – Verstappen acknowledges dominant days are ‘behind’ Red Bull despite ‘positive’ Belgian GP
Lando Norris has emerged as Verstappen’s nearest challenger this year, taking a brilliant maiden win in Miami and racking up five second-placed finishes to date. He was extremely self-critical heading into the break, believing that plenty of points have been thrown away with mistakes such as his first-lap trip through the gravel in Belgium, but the Briton has still consistently impressed our judges.
READ MORE: Stella pledges to help Norris after McLaren driver claims he needs a ‘reset’ over the summer break
Oscar Piastri is making clear progress in his sophom*ore F1 season, building on a solid opening seven races to become a regular podium challenger alongside team mate Norris. He scored his own maiden win with a cool, calm and collected drive in Hungary, after some McLaren team orders controversy, and has bagged a trio of runner-up finishes around that.
READ MORE: Piastri admits he thought he could catch Mercedes in Belgium as he praises McLaren for making ‘inroads’ on Red Bull
George Russell has impressed in the Mercedes intra-team battle so far this season, out-qualifying Lewis Hamilton 10-4 and finishing ahead in races more often than not. He earned plenty of plaudits for memorable moments such as his pole positions in Canada and Britain, and victory in Austria, and had his car not been disqualified in Belgium the Silver Arrows pair would be pretty much level on points.
EXPLAINED: Why Russell was stripped of Belgian GP victory, the rule that was broken and how it could have happened
It was Charles Leclerc, rather than Norris, who initially acted as Verstappen’s biggest threat in 2024, sitting just 31 points back in the drivers’ standings when a well-deserved home win in Monaco added to his four podium finishes earlier in the season. It’s been a more challenging phase since then, with Ferrari facing some development headaches, but Leclerc still keeps his spot in the Power Rankings top five.
READ MORE: Leclerc offers honest assessment of where Ferrari stand midway through 2024 as he urges team to bring upgrades ‘as soon as possible’
Alongside Verstappen, Carlos Sainz was one of the star drivers at the start of the campaign, finishing on the podium in the first three races he contested and winning one of them after spectacularly returning from surgery for appendicitis to take the cheequered flag in Australia. He has not quite made the same impact since then, but consistent points scoring and occasional podiums have kept him in the mix.
READ MORE: Williams explain how ‘demanding’ and ‘daunting’ Sainz will help ‘shake us up’ as a team
Hamilton often found himself trailing team mate Russell in the early stages of the season as Mercedes worked their way through more car problems. However, as the team’s car has come alive, so has the seven-time world champion, with an emotional home victory at Silverstone proving that the speed is still very much there and four podiums in the last five races – including that inherited Spa win – showing he is one of F1’s in-form drivers.
PALMER: Russell got the headlines but make no mistake – Hamilton’s drive at Spa was masterful
Nico Hulkenberg has caught the eye by reaching Q3 and scoring points on several occasions this year, making him the championship’s highest-placed driver outside of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin. Highlights include P6 finishes in Austria and Britain, with his tally driving Haas up to seventh position in the constructors’ standings.
READ MORE: Magnussen reflects on ‘worst race we’ve had in a while’ in Belgium as Hulkenberg urges Haas to ‘forget this weekend’
Yuki Tsunoda is another midfield runner our judges have taken note of, with the Japanese racer continuing to develop and mature across his fourth season in the sport. He has plenty of Q3 appearances to his name and has scored 22 of RB’s 34 points, earning an early contract extension for the 2025 season in the process.
READ MORE: Red Bull make decision on Perez’s future and RB driver line-up
Alex Albon is the final driver to make our top-10 list in what has been a more challenging season for Williams so far. With few upgrades arriving over the opening 14 races, he has often punched above the team’s weight in qualifying and made the most of opportunities to score (take Monaco and Britain as prime examples). While he sits 18th in the standings, our judges believe his efforts are worth much more than that.
READ MORE: Albon pins hopes on upgrades for second half of season with Williams ‘digging deep’ to improve
