During every F1 Grand Prix, fans have the chance to vote for the 'Driver of the Day'. While on paper, the fans have the choice to award the most impressive performance, on other occasions, there were sentimental reasons behind some votes. Here is the overview of the winners of the fan vote at each event.
It was not the 2024 champion, but the contender Lando Norris who earned the most 'Driver of the Day' awards in the 2024 season. He did so on seven occasions, for example, in Imola, in Austria and in the Netherlands as well. Max Verstappen on the other hand one the 'DOTD' vote once, in Brazil, where he all but mathematically secured his title.
P2 in these standings goes to Charles Leclerc, who was the top voted driver five times. He won every time he crossed the finish line in first place as well, in Monaco, Monza and at COTA. His now ex-teammate, Carlos Sainz finished third, winning the vote three times in 2024. Leclerc's next teammate, Lewis Hamilton, also won three times.
Together with Verstappen, there were three one-time 'DOTD' winners in 2024. Oliver Bearman topped the vote at his debut weekend in Saudi Arabia, Daniel Ricciardo got is a farewell from the fans in Singapore, and Guanyu Zhou won in Qatar after he could claim Sauber's only points last season.
This is the driver of the day overview of 2024
1. Lando Norris, 7 times (China, Miami, Imola, Canada, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands)
2. Charles Leclerc, 5 times (Japan, Monaco, Monza, Austin and Abu Dhabi)
3. Carlos Sainz, 3 times (Bahrain, Australia and Mexico)
4. Lewis Hamilton, 3 times (Great Britain, Belgium and Las Vegas)
5. Oscar Piastri, 2 times (Hungary and Azerbaijan)
6. Oliver Bearman, 1 time (Saudi Arabia)
7. Daniel Ricciardo, 1 time (Singapore)
8. Max Verstappen, 1 time (Brazil)
9. Zhou Guanyu, 1 time (Qatar)
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden
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F1 fans aren't dumb these rating are taken during and at the end of a race so it's a very accurate representation of what's happening on track. So it's nit shocking that Max features so low down and Norris and other driver feature higher up. I e joy F1 and agree completely with the driver of the day ratings .
Shows how much the average fan understands. As in life, many see, few understand. Well done Norris, the driver who lost upwards of 80 points of his own mistakes and, in the process, the championship while driving the best car for the most part of the season.
Getting good races in the best car is worthy to be getting the DOTT award for other drivers, but not for Max as that is 'expected' of him. He won 4 of the first 6 races, but never got the DOTT. Everyone says he won this years WDC in the first few races before the McLaren became dominant. However, looking at points. After the Miami GP, Max was on 136 points and Lando was on 82 points. A gap of 54 points. That was when it is acknowledged that the McLaren became the best car on the grid. For the next 18 races of the season, Max scored 301 points, while Lando scored 292 points. So, even if the season only started from Canada onwards, when the McLaren was the best package, Max would still have won the drivers championship for 2024.
"So, even if the season only started from Canada onwards, when the McLaren was the best package, Max would still have won the drivers championship for 2024." Not true. He would have been 3rd. Some flawed logic you used there. If you look at the average points Max scored in the last 14 races and then apply that average over the entire season, Max scores enough to be 3rd in the championship.
WTF are you talking about?? I am counting actual points scored from Canada till Abu Dhabi for both Max and Lando. Max scored 301 points while Lando scored 292 in 18 races when the McLaren was dominant, not even considering the first 6 where Max had the better car. https://au.motorsport.com/f1/standings/2024/
I know you are talking about actual points scored. And that is where you are going wrong. Lando was not the only person beating Max in 2024. 5 other drivers won races when Max didn't. The season wasn't just about Max vs Lando. And how you figure that McLaren was dominant in 18 races is just bewildering. I mean you just twist the numbers to suit. By using average points scored you get a more accurate representation of how Max was managing to score in races where his car was not the strongest when any of the 3 other teams could hold an advantage. So if we assume that the season begun in the manner the 2nd half of the season went, then all we have to do is take that avarage and apply it to the first 10 races. This will tell us that if Max's Red Bull had been where it was in the last 14 races of the year, he would have scored enough points to be 3rd in the championship. I'm aware that Max being 3rd isn't comfortable for you and you prefer to use a less accurate method to make Max 1st, but to react with 'what are you talking about' as if I have no clue is quite a stretch. A defence mechanism.
I think they understand more than you give them credit for. You see, just because Max doesn't get driver of the day in every race he competes in (which is, I'm sure, the only way you see that it should be), you believe it is down to the incompetence of the average fan (of which you are one of them). The sheer igdignance Max fans have for anyone for not praising or acknowledging Max every time he draws a breath, just underlines the cult mind that exists in that fanbase today. People are so brainwashed into believing that Max has achieved such a god-like status that he should be beyond criticism and beyond punishment. That every word he utters must be doted on as if they came from an actual deity. Average, is what I saw Max to be when he couldn't win in 11 races in a row because his car was no longer the best car. When it comes to racing for a championship, Norris is still on a learning curve. One he will be stronger at in 2025. At least Norris doesn't resort to the tactics that Max has to use to run people off the road or crash into them. And he won't need his team and corrupt race directors to illegaly hand him titles he can't earn on his own.
Oh look another Max Verstappen titled article, who'd have thought it
Oh look, another nasty Max Verstappen hater commenting first, who have thought it
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