Karun Chandhok ranks top 10 drivers of 2024 F1 season including a surprise runner-up to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s status as the best F1 driver in 2024 is surely beyond dispute. Even beyond winning the world championship, many of Verstappen’s peers would recognise that he performed at the highest level.

Verstappen sealed his fourth straight title with two rounds to spare. While he was able to build a commanding lead after four wins in the first five races, when Red Bull were untouchable, he had to defend his advantage for three-quarters of the season as the team fell behind their rivals.

The Dutchman endured a 10-race winless run between the chequered flag in Spain and the start of the Sao Paulo GP. But Lando Norris never got closer than 44 points in that stretch.

That’s a testament to Verstappen’s peerless consistency. He finished in the top six in every single one of those winless races, scoring four podiums and a Sprint victory.

In the same machinery, Sergio Perez finished eighth in the standings. Ironically, Perez matched Jos Verstappen’s unwanted record by dropping so far below a world-champion teammate.

It’s well-known by now that Red Bull build their car to suit Verstappen. But even though he found it difficult to handle for large parts of 2024, he rarely looked under serious threat, when some of his rivals may have seen their cushion whittled away.

Karun Chandhok ranks Charles Leclerc behind Max Verstappen in 2024 F1 top 10

Speaking on Sky Sports F1’s season review podcast, pundit Karun Chandhok listed his top 10 drivers of the 2024 season. Midfield trio Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso occupied eighth to 10th after extracting the maximum from their packages.

The sport’s most successful driver Lewis Hamilton was only seventh, which was fitting given that he finished outside the top six for the first time in his career. Chandhok only placed Oscar Piastri sixth after a season that rather petered out.

By contrast, George Russell finished strong with one victory and two poles in the last three rounds, which was enough for fifth. Carlos Sainz, who lost his Ferrari seat to Hamilton in one of the most brutal driver calls ever, was fourth.

Verstappen inevitably topped the table, but Chandhok surprisingly went for Charles Leclerc over Norris as his runner-up. While the McLaren driver was the nearest challenger in the standings, edging Leclerc for wins (four vs three) and podiums (eight vs three), the Sky pundit made allowances for his stronger package.

The winless Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc denied a Ferrari seat

Leclerc will head into 2025 full of belief that he can win his first world championship. Ferrari finished just 14 points adrift of McLaren in the constructors’, so only need to make marginal gains over the winter to compete.

Peter Windsor says Leclerc made an ‘unbelievable’ mistake in Abu Dhabi GP qualifying by breaching track limits. That’s exactly the kind of error he needs to cut out of his driving as a huge opportunity looms.

The 27-year-old is already set to go down as one of the fastest drivers of the modern era. He ranks just outside the top 10 all-time for pole positions (26).

He could take the next step and become a legend by winning a title. Ferrari nearly signed Kevin Magnussen in 2018, but they will be delighted that they put their faith in academy driver Leclerc instead.