Interim review of F1 teams: Who is at the top and who has underperformed?

10. Alpine

No doubt about it: Alpine's season has been dramatic. The (for now) factory team picked up only 11 points, a total underperformance for a team whose objective is to challenge the top teams in Formula 1. It was also relentless off track: people in management were put on hold, team boss Bruno Famin is about to step down and drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly fell out multiple times. Parent company Renault decided to end their engine project after '25 and - most likely - switch to Mercedes' powerunit. It feels like the ultimate humiliation for the hard-working French at the Viry factory.

9. Stake F1

Nobody says it out loud, but everyone at Stake F1 (Sauber) thinks so: 2024 is a transition year, as 2025 is likely to be. Only in 2026 - when Audi makes its debut under the entry of now Sauber - will the team play a significant role again. But there is a difference between a transitional year and a dramatic one, as is the case now. Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou haven't scored points, and given the car, it could be some time before that changes. Meanwhile, pesonal changes, as necessary as they are hopeful, have been made in the background. The fact Audi has now secured Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley means Stake F1 are not tenth on our list.

8. Williams

Around 250 people have been recruited by Williams in recent months, but on track there has been little noticeable improvement. Whereas the team was expected to take a further step forward from 2023, it has instead taken a significant leap backwards. The car is far too heavy, the concept does not work on every track and there are too few spare parts. The latter made Williams have a publicity blunder of sorts in Melbourne. Alex Albon crashed in Australia, saw his chassis destroyed and Logan Sargeant had to relinquish his car to the Thai as a result. Since then, the American's already fragile self-confidence has been badly damaged.

7. Aston Martin

It costs a bit, but then you get something. At least, that is what you would expect. Billionaire Lawrence Stroll pulled out his large wallet several times in recent years so that Aston Martin could invest in the factory and workforce. But the green team's season has by no means been exceptional. Fernando Alonso, a frequent guest on the podium in 2023, is happy if he picks up points these days. It is colourless and boring. If no miracle happens, Aston Martin will quietly hobble to the end of the year - probably without many appealing results.

6. Red Bull Racing

First in the drivers' standings, first in the constructors' standings. Great year, you would think. The fact Red Bull Racing holds the lead in both championships is purely down to Max Verstappen. Were he participating in the Grand Prix with a go-kart, he would probably still win regularly. That's how good the Dutchman is this year, too. But the Red Bull team can take credit for the fact that the RB20 is not as strong as its predecessor, RB19, as the updates hardly manage to bring any extra pace either. And the tactics? Well, that also regularly leaves much to be desired.

Yet mainly it is the internal turmoil that mean Red Bull are not higher on the list. Bigwigs like Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley have already announced their departures, while team boss Christian Horner suffered serious image damage after the affair with a former personal assistant. Red Bull Racing would have liked to have celebrated 20 years in Formula 1 in a different way.

5. Visa Cash App RB

New team boss Laurent Mekies has managed to get Red Bull Racing's Italian sister team back on track. The difficult year of 2023 is in the rear-view mirror and VCARB has nestled itself in the middle of the pack. They might just catch up with Aston Martin. Moreover, VCARB has managed, first of all, to get Yuki Tsunoda to take the next step in his development and Daniel Ricciardo, too, is looking more and more like an F1 driver.

4. Ferrari

Things have been a lot harder for Ferrari in recent weeks, but with two GP wins, the Scuderia's overall picture is still positive. True, the car is not equally fast on every track, but on tracks that suit Ferrari the team could prove unbeatable. Team boss Fred Vasseur is playing it smartly: There is calm in what has traditionally been a hectic team. Even the Italian media are keeping quiet at the moment. They and many Tifosi are probably eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lewis Hamilton. After all, that was the coup of the year.

3. Haas F1

Guenther Steiner is not gone from the F1 paddock. Almost every weekend, the former Haas F1 team boss walks around as an analyst. With new team boss Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 has clearly taken a step forward, with a neat seventh place in the championship. Place six is even within reach. Given its very modest resources, a truly fine performance. Who would have thought that before the start of this season? Chapeau to Haas!

2. Mercedes

Not even a disqualification for George Russell could hurt Mercedes in the end. After the Briton had lost his win in Belgium due to a technical foul, there was Lewis Hamilton who had finished second on the track and moved on to first place as a result. It is Mercedes' new reality: the team is all the way back at the top of Formula 1. Hard work, confidence in each other and maintaining the path they have taken, and two fine drivers have ensured that Mercedes seems to have even caught up with Red Bull. Moreover, it is admirable how Toto Wolff has managed to get Hamilton back into the right mental state. A reborn Hamilton is so important for Formula 1 as a sport. Now they just need a successor to the Brit for 2025. Maybe something for Verstappen?

1. McLaren

That McLaren 'only' managed to win two Grands Prix in '24 is the only downside. Given the power of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's car, there could - if not should - have been more. Yet no one can deny that McLaren is the team of the first half of the season: two world-class young drivers, an amiable team boss in the person of Andrea Stella and a technical management that has managed to turn a car that was still lousy in early '23 into the benchmark for the competition. McLaren currently has the wind in its sails, and much more can be expected from the papaya team in the second half of the season.