Five drivers who must improve in 2024

Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe has been working with the official Formula 1 website since last year. In a recent column he named the five drivers who must perform strongly next season to guarantee a contract extension with Formula 1 teams.

Sergio Perez

Sergio’s appearance on this list is not a surprise to anyone, including Perez himself. Incredibly, the Mexican veteran faces a tough year in 2024 after taking two wins last season, finishing second in the Drivers’ Championship and helping the team win its sixth Constructors’ Championship. But when you consider that Max Verstappen achieved 19 victories in the same car, a bleaker picture emerges for Perez.

There were rumors that he would be released from the team before the end of 2023, not to mention the only chance to keep his place for 2024, but a ‘reset’ before the Austin round helped him go some way regain his early season form and strengthen his positions. next to Verstappen.

Perez’s contract expires at the end of this year and he knows he has to perform much stronger this season if he wants to extend his contract. No one expects Sergio, and frankly doesn’t need him, to perform at Verstappen’s level, but he must close the gap to Max and not allow his rivals to take a seat between him and his teammate, as will be the case in 2023 used to be. This will be crucial if Perez wants to stay with Red Bull Racing for a fifth season.

Logan Sargent

The American rookie did his best to secure a 2024 contract with Williams. Last season he sometimes showed speed comparable to teammate Alex Albon, but a lack of consistency and several costly crashes prevented Logan from achieving excellent results.

The task of a newcomer to Formula 1 is difficult to overestimate, given the limited testing time. However, given that Sargent already has racing experience, the coming season will be decisive for his future career in Formula 1.

Finding speed is the hardest part of a racer’s job, but Logan seems to have speed. He needs to deliver consistent results in 2024 to justify team boss James Vowles’ confidence in him.

Lance walk

For most of the season, Stroll was unable to match Fernando Alonso’s pace on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, the two-time world champion is one of the toughest contenders, but with Lawrence Stroll investing millions in equipment and personnel, the team needs two fast riders.

Alonso achieved the most podium finishes outside of Red Bull Racing drivers last season, while Stroll never finished in the top three.

During the season the car seemed difficult to drive at times, but the driver must adapt to the technique to achieve the best results. In this regard, Lance had a harder time than his partner.

However, Stroll had some strong races at the end of the season. Hopefully this shows that things are going in the right direction for him. Otherwise, his place in the team in 2025 could be in jeopardy.

Oscar Piastri

Oscar’s appearance on this list may seem strange given his stellar debut season, but the problem with early success is that driver expectations change accordingly. Piastri performed so well last year that everyone now expects him to compete alongside teammate Lando Norris from the first round in Bahrain.

There is no doubt that Norris will add something, which will also complicate Piastri’s task. And while I don’t believe Oscar is one of those racers who reads odes to himself in the press and feels overly relaxed as a result, in any sport there is a real threat of a drop in results in the second season.

In 2024, Piastri must build on last season’s impressive success and show results similar to those of Norris. Then he will establish himself as one of the best racers. Let’s hope this happens and McLaren can fight for victories.

Daniel Ricciardo

There is a good chance that Ricciardo will receive more attention than any other driver in the first half of 2024. Red Bull has made no effort to debunk rumors that Ricciardo and Perez are actually competing for a spot in the team.

Daniel’s return to AlphaTauri last year was impressive considering the time he spent out of the cockpit, but missing races due to a hand injury put him behind. As a result, Ricciardo could not always comfortably lead teammate Yuki Tsunoda in all respects.

Ricciardo will have to prove that he deserves the seat at Red Bull Racing, which he left in 2018. The first ten races of 2024 will play a big role in determining whether Ricciardo has gone from never thinking about racing again to having one of the most coveted seats in Formula 1 in 18 months.