Hamilton’s 2024 season brought resilience through struggles, marked by key victories and a bold move to Ferrari for 2025.
Lewis Hamilton’s 2024 Formula 1 season was one of the most challenging for the seven-time world champion. Struggling with performance, enduring Mercedes F1’s mistakes, and deciding to move to Ferrari in 2025 marked a turning point in his illustrious career.
The 2024 season began on a disappointing note for Hamilton. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, he finished seventh, and it quickly became evident that the W15 could not aim for the podiums and front-row starts its predecessor had managed early in 2023.
Although he fought for one or two points in the season’s opening races, Hamilton managed a streak of 15 consecutive points finishes. As the season progressed and Mercedes unlocked performance and solutions for their car, his results steadily improved.
It wasn’t until Canada and Spain that Hamilton battled for top-five finishes and podiums. From that point, Mercedes found renewed form, culminating in George Russell’s victory in Austria.
For Hamilton, Silverstone was the turning point and undoubtedly the highlight of his season. He claimed victory in front of his home crowd, confirming Mercedes’ resurgence and ending his winless streak that had stretched back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion was visibly moved, breaking down in tears of emotion not seen in him for many months, perhaps even years.
Third in Hungary behind the untouchable McLarens, Hamilton finished second behind Russell at Spa. However, his teammate’s disqualification handed him a second victory of the season, albeit awarded off-track.
The season’s conclusion was far more challenging, with three Q1 eliminations in the final six races. Before this, it had taken him over 170 Grands Prix to suffer three such early exits in qualifying.
A fourth-place finish in Mexico and a second position in Las Vegas salvaged an otherwise lackluster end to the year, during which Russell firmly established himself as Mercedes’ lead driver. Overall, Hamilton’s season review was equally underwhelming.
Indeed, he was outperformed by Russell in nearly every category, except for the number of podiums. Seemingly demotivated within a Mercedes team where he was no longer the clear leader, and perhaps already focused on his upcoming move to Ferrari, Hamilton delivered largely uninspired performances in the closing stages of the campaign.
This left some observers questioning whether the Ferrari challenge might be one step too far for Hamilton. Yet Scuderia team principal Frédéric Vasseur remains confident in the Briton, expecting him to return to his best next season—a necessity when facing an increasingly ambitious Charles Leclerc.
Statistics
| Category | Lewis Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Championship Position | 7th (223 points) |
| Victories | 2 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Podiums | 5 |
| Fastest Laps | 2 |
| Hat Tricks | 0 |
| Grand Slams | 0 |
| Laps Led | 31 |
| Laps Completed (% of Total) | 1346 (93.21%) |
| Average Qualifying Position | 8.54 |
| Average Race Position | 5.86 |
Comparison with George Russell
| Category | Stat |
|---|---|
| Average Qualifying Position | 8.54 |
| Qualifying Head-to-Head | 19–5 in favor of Russell |
| Average Race Position | 5.86 |
| Race Head-to-Head | 15–9 in favor of Russell |
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F1 2024 Season Review – Lewis Hamilton F1 2024 Season Review – Lewis Hamilton
