Jolyon Palmer says one ‘superb’ F1 driver produced an even better comeback than Max Verstappen in Brazil this year

Max Verstappen may have won his fourth consecutive world championship in 2024, but this season was arguably his toughest challenge.

The Dutchman looked to continue from his dominant 2023 season by winning seven of the first 10 races of the year. But during the European leg of the season, Red Bull were caught by their rivals in development and struggled to compete at the front.

After the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen went 10 races without a win as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes took advantage and closed the gap to the 27-year-old and Red Bull.

But despite the RB20 no longer being the strongest package, the Dutchman still proved a fierce competitor on track as he produced the very best result possible to keep himself ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, ultimately winning by 63 points over Lando Norris.

The race that practically secured Verstappen the title was his stunning drive at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he glided through the field in the torrential rain to win the race from P17 on the grid. Eddie Jordan compared Verstappen to Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna after his ‘off the scale’ performance.

But despite producing one of the greatest drives in modern F1 history, Jolyon Palmer had another performance in mind for his best comeback drive of the season.

Jolyon Palmer says Carlos Sainz’s win in Australia was the best comeback drive of the season

At just the second race of the season in Jeddah, Carlos Sainz was forced onto the sidelines after he came down with appendicitis on Friday. Subsequently, F2 and Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman was drafted in to replace him, having never driven the SF-24 before.

The Brit qualified 11th and finished seventh ahead of Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Jock Clear said Bearman’s debut was better than Jacques Villeneuve’s, but before getting the chance to follow up that performance, Sainz found himself back in the car for the Australian Grand Prix having made a full recovery.

The Spaniard qualified on the front row next to Verstappen for the race and on lap two, he produced an outstanding overtake for the lead around the outside at turn 11 before the Red Bull driver reported a brake issue and retired from the race.

READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Sainz led the race from there and grabbed his third career win ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. Writing in his column on the F1 website, Palmer named the Spaniard’s ‘superb’ performance as the best comeback driver of the 2024 season.

“Of course Max could have a claim to best comeback as well, 17th to first isn’t bad,” Palmer wrote. “But I’ll give it to a driver that went from DNS to first instead. It’s been a long season and it’s easy to forget that Carlos Sainz missed race two in Jeddah with appendicitis.

“His return in Melbourne was brilliant though as he interloped once again into the latest run of Verstappen victories to drive through the discomfort and seal victory for Ferrari. It was a superb season for Sainz who must have found it tough, knowing he was out of a drive in 2025. This drive encapsulated his battling 2024.”

How will Carlos Sainz fare at Williams in 2025?

Another impressive thing about Sainz’s performance in Australia after recovering from appendicitis was that he did it knowing he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old will join Williams in 2025 to partner Alex Albon. Guenther Steiner thinks Williams have won the lottery with Sainz’s arrival as the team now boast an experienced race winner in their driver line-up who can help move the the team up the field.

The Grove-based outfit have high ambitions for the future with their driver pairing, but they have a long way to go on and off the track if they want to improve on their ninth place finish in 2024.

Ted Kravitz says Williams must step up when Sainz arrives as he has more pedigree than the likes of Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto.

As it stands, the Spaniard faces the daunting prospect of going from fighting regularly at the front with Ferrari to struggling at the back with Williams. But Sainz says Williams is ‘100%’ not a step down as he looks forward to his next challenge in F1.