Max Verstappen is the 2024 Formula 1 world champion!

Max Verstappen started the Formula 1 season, where he left off in 2023. After a year in which he won 19 out of 22 Grands Prix, Verstappen won the first two races in dominant fashion before also winning in Japan and China. A technical problem in Australia caused a retirement in between, but the speed was there.

Four-time F1 world champion

However, the season was turned upside down from the Miami Grand Prix onwards. McLaren had found tremendous pace with updates, and although Lando Norris managed to win with the help of a timely safety car, Verstappen felt the pinch. The wins did not come easily for Verstappen, who won in Imola, Canada, and Spain but certainly did not have the best car there.

In Monaco, Red Bull had an off-weekend with a sixth-place finish, but things went completely downhill after Spain. The once-dominant Verstappen failed to win eight Grands Prix in a row. Norris did not win every race either, but was slowly but surely closing in on the world championship.

After a sixth-place finish in Mexico and a dramatic qualifying session in Brazil, Norris seemed set to take a big chunk out of Verstappen's lead. However, Verstappen provided a masterclass in the rain by driving from P17 to P1, while Norris dropped from P1 to P6. A mental blow, but above all, a blow that ensured Verstappen could secure the world title in Las Vegas.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton