Jenson Button surprisingly includes 15-podium star in his top three F1 drivers of 2024

Max Verstappen has unquestionably been Formula 1’s top driver this season. It may seem reductive to pick the world champion, but this is the firm consensus within the paddock.

Verstappen carries an 80-point over Lando Norris into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He wrapped up the title in Las Vegas with two races to spare.

In the first five races of the season, Verstappen had a dominant car. While he retired with a brake issue in Australia, he won the other four with ease.

The strength of the RB20 was also reflected by Sergio Perez’s results, with the Mexican notching three runner-up finishes. But from Miami, when McLaren introduced a major upgrade, Red Bull started to slip back.

By July, it looked like the third or even the fourth-fastest car in the field at times. But even though he endured a 10-race drought, Verstappen was still able to ruthlessly grind out results.

Some believe that his 2024 triumph is his best yet, because he spent around three-quarters of the season in inferior machinery to his rivals. If he extends the lead beyond 88, it will be the sixth-biggest winning margin in F1 history (beating Lewis Hamilton over Sebastian Vettel in 2018).

Jenson Button names George Russell in his top three F1 drivers of 2024

Speaking before the lights went out at the Qatar Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1 pundit Jenson Button revealed his top three of the drivers year. Unsurprisingly, Verstappen took top spot.

But intriguingly, Button ranked George Russell level with Lando Norris in second. Russell is sixth in the championship, 194 points off top spot, and while he’s won two races, he’s only scored four podiums to take his overall tally to 15.

Russell has, however, comprehensively outperformed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He’s beaten him in 18 of the first 23 Grand Prix qualifying sessions and 13 of the 19 races both drivers have finished.

“And those top three [on the Qatar GP grid] for me also are the best drivers we’ve had this year,” Button said. “I would say Max, and then the other two on a par.”

What exactly did Max Verstappen say to George Russell before Qatar Grand Prix?

Russell will back himself to be the driver who ends Max Verstappen’s four-year reign. Whether he can do that next year depends on Mercedes’ winter development.

Russell will face a ‘very different’ challenge at Mercedes next year alongside Kimi Antonelli. He should comfortably outscore his teammate, unlike Norris (against Oscar Piastri) and Charles Leclerc (against Hamilton).

While Norris has maintained his friendship with Verstappen, Russell enraged the Dutchman in Qatar. He was furious to lose pole position after a stewards’ meeting with the Mercedes driver.

Verstappen taunted Russell over his ‘FIA mates’, according to Ted Kravitz, before Sunday’s drivers’ parade. After he regained the lead at the start and won the race, he said he’d lost all respect for the Englishman, potentially setting up a new rivalry in 2025.