Jolyon Palmer in awe of ‘remarkable’ midfield driver who matched Lewis Hamilton’s points in last four races

McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull and Mercedes held a comfortable margin over the rest of the field in 2024. In truth, it was Formula 1, and Formula 1.5

Sergio Perez, who has lost his Red Bull seat, often slipped back into the midfield. That meant P8 was up for grabs, rather than just the last two spots in the points.

But even, then, the performance advantage of the top four often made it extremely difficult for the ‘bottom six’ to score headline results. Indeed, until Alpine bagged a remarkable double podium at the Sao Paulo GP, the leading quartet had monopolised every podium finish.

That was the 21st round of a 24-race season, and even then it required the biggest downpour of the year. Alpine had scored two podiums in 2023, while Aston Martin racked up eight after starting the year as best of the rest behind Red Bull (though they later slipped back).

While Perez produced one of the poorest seasons in a frontrunning car in recent memory, he still scored more than double the points of Fernando Alonso, who finished ninth in the standings. Alonso threatened to keep pace with the leaders in the early rounds but Aston once again lost their way with development.

The final spot in the top 10 went to Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman prevailed in a close battle with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, who ultimately finished just a point adrift.

Jolyon Palmer hails Pierre Gasly’s role in Alpine’s late surge

Writing for the sport’s official website, former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer handed out his end-of-season awards. Alpine were his most improved team.

Gasly and Esteban Ocon qualified on the back row of the grid at the season opener in Bahrain. It then took them until the sixth round of the season to even score a point.

But a late-season surge, powered by that extraordinary 33-point haul at Interlagos, saw them snatch sixth in the standings. Haas and RB had been in a prolonged battle for that position, while Williams were also ahead of Alpine.

As Ocon claimed his car was inferior, it was Gasly who capitalised on the team’s transformative result in Brazil. He finished an outstanding fifth at the Qatar GP and also ended the year with P7 in Abu Dhabi.

The former Red Bull driver produced two of the best qualifying performances from midfield drivers in 2024 too, taking third in Las Vegas and fifth at Yas Marina. Overall, he matched Lewis Hamilton’s 30-point return from the last four events – a mighty feat considering the gap between Alpine and Mercedes.

“Last, slow and heavy in Bahrain there were major shake-ups behind the scenes at the season opener and they weren’t far from a laughing stock,” Palmer wrote. “Fast forward to the end of the year and they’ve had the incredible double podium of Brazil and consistently looked like a Q3 threat and points contender.

“Gasly’s performances late on were remarkable, qualifying third in Vegas and running third in Abu Dhabi.”

Where Pierre Gasly ranked in Karun Chandhok’s top 10 of 2024

Pound-for-pound, Gasly was one of the best drivers in F1 this year. But despite that, his advancement prospects seem limited.

Red Bull will ‘never’ take Gasly back after Max Verstappen demolished him at the start of the 2019 season, leading to a swift demotion. That spell may have caused lasting damage to his reputation among the sport’s big-name teams.

Having signed a new multi-year deal, Gasly is relying on his current team to make a breakthrough, likely in 2026 following the regulation changes. Flavio Briatore thinks Alpine can win the 2027 title, but that will generate plenty of scepticism.

Still, they’ve found a driver good enough to lead the team, even with proven performer Ocon leaving for Haas. Karun Chandhok ranked Gasly ninth among the 2024 drivers, ahead of Alonso.