The F1 season is halfway through: Who are the losers of 2024 for now?

Sergio Perez

With a bit of cynicism, Sergio Perez can actually be called a winner. Finally, the Mexican has secured a new, multi-year contract from Red Bull Racing, even though he is having a dramatic season. While his teammate Max Verstappen leads the drivers' championship proudly, Perez regularly fails - also due to his own mistakes - to get out of Q1. After every lost weekend, there is some new excuse, followed by the announcement that he is going to work really hard. Well. Sixth place in the title race is not where Perez should be with the material available to him, and that could have consequences for the Mexican in the second half of the season. Contract or not.

Alpine

Two drivers who don't give each other the light in the eyes, a car that can hardly move forward and an unclear direction from the boardroom. That, in a nutshell, is Alpine's season so far. Everything is currently against them at the team that proves why the saying is 'doing something with the French stroke'. Flavio Briatore has been brought in to bring order to the chaos and perhaps that will be Alpine's luck. If anyone can get this team on track, it is the flamboyant Italian. But there are certainly no guarantees, such is the level of disarray at Alpine at the moment.

Christian Horner

For Christian Horner, it was a six months to quickly forget. The year started with the controversy with a female colleague, who accused Horner of inappropriate behaviour. The Red Bull Racing team principal was initially cleared of that, but the case simmered on in the background because of the appeal lodged. The hassle on a personal level caused unrest on the shop floor and partly led to the departure of Adrian Newey as chief technical officer. Moreover, Red Bull are slowly losing the competitive battle with McLaren and perhaps even Mercedes, and Horner is responsible for that. No, Christian Horner has had better periods in his life.

Williams

After such a successful 2023 season, Williams were expected to take the next step in their development this year. But for now, it is a season in which the British team cannot repeat what it did a year earlier: competing for points in every race. The counter currently stands at 'only' four points, all collected by Alex Albon. His teammate Logan Sargeant, alongside him, does not impress at all and is about to be replaced. The American's excuse is that he did not always have the car that Albon had - and it was not great.

Daniel Ricciardo

With Visa Cash App RB, Daniel Ricciardo had hoped for honour after several disappointing seasons at Renault and McLaren. But alas, the Ricciardo from his Red Bull days is no more and, for now, there are no signs of it returning. True, Ricciardo has now outclassed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda several times, but the general assumption is still that the Australian is no longer sure of his place at VCARB and, as a result, Formula 1. It will be exciting months for Ricciardo: Is he entering his last stint in the king class of motorsport?

Stake F1

Twice Valtteri Bottas became vice-world champion, just as often the Finn finished third in the championship. So how tough must it be for you when you fail to collect a single point in 12 Grands Prix and find yourself and your team disconsolately at the bottom of the championship? Stake F1 are clearly in a transition phase to the Audi era (which starts in 2026) and that is evident in everything at the team; no achievements, no ambitions and therefore no points. The bad news for Bottas and colleague Guanyu Zhou: Things really aren't going to get any better than this in the second part of the season.