After a spectacular Formula 1 season, BBC Sport and Getty Images have picked out a selection of the best images from 2024

Red Bull and Verstappen dominate

Having crushed the opposition in 2023, Red Bull's Max Verstappen won four of the first five races in 2024 and we seemed set for more of the same.

The only race in that sequence he didn't win was in Australia, where he retired after four laps. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who had missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix because of appendicitis, was victorious in Melbourne.

After failing to score in Australia, Verstappen was back on top at the Japanese Grand Prix, which was moved from autumn to April and was thus painted with the country's famous cherry blossom for the first time.

Teenage dreams

On the Friday in Saudi Arabia, there was a shock when 18-year-old Briton Oliver Bearman was called up to replace Sainz and immediately had to drive in final practice.

Chelmsford-born Bearman was in Jeddah competing in the Formula 2 championship but suddenly found himself driving for the most famous team in F1 - and became the youngest Briton to do so.

After qualifying 11th, he finished seventh - in the points. He said he had "great fun" but was "physically destroyed", adding: "I think I put on a good show for myself, which is the main thing, right?"

C

Norris' breakthrough

The complexion of the season changed from Miami in May, when Lando Norris secured his first F1 win in his 110th grand prix.

"About time, huh?" said the Briton, who took advantage of a mid-race safety car to make a pit stop and stay ahead of Verstappen.

From that point, the upgraded McLaren was more than a match for the Red Bull and Norris established himself as the only serious challenger to Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

Leclerc's Monaco joy

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took one of the most popular victories of the season as he won his home race in Monaco for the first time

Leclerc had twice qualified on pole position on the streets of Monte Carlo but could not convert either into a win. It was third time lucky in 2024.

Hamilton wins British GP for ninth time

After two and a half years without a race victory, Lewis Hamilton ended that drought by winning the British Grand Prix for the ninth time.

It was an emotional victory in a wet-dry race as Hamilton held off Verstappen and Norris in front of a thrilled Silverstone crowd.

Hamilton, who was driving in his last British Grand Prix for Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next year, appeared to be in tears in the car as he told his team over the radio: "This means so much to me."

"This one means a lot to us all," his engineer Pete Bonnington said. "I love you, Bono," Hamilton replied.

Charles Leclerc enjoyed another 'home' victory at the Italian Grand Prix - to the delight of Ferrari's 'tifosi', as well as his girlfriend, Alexandra, and dog, Leo

Controversy in the US and Mexico

Norris' dominant victory in Singapore in September appeared to have set up a title battle for the remaining six races, as he narrowed the gap to Verstappen to 52 points with 180 still available.

At the US Grand Prix, Norris was given a five-second penalty for passing Verstappen off the track and subsequently finished behind the Dutchman.

A week later in Mexico, Norris called Verstappen "dangerous" for the defensive tactics he employed when the Briton tried to pass him. On this occasion, Verstappen was given two 10-second penalties for two incidents in the same lap.

With four races left, the gap was down to 47 points.

However, a supreme drive by Verstappen at a very wet Sao Paulo, from 17th on the grid, all but ensured he would win a fourth consecutive drivers' championship. The Alpine team of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly celebrated an unlikely double podium by finishing second and third in the same race. Norris could only manage sixth

Verstappen world champion in Las Vegas

Approaching midnight on a Saturday night under the Las Vegas lights, a fifth-place finish was enough to confirm Verstappen as champion again.

The race was won by George Russell - leading home a Mercedes one-two with team-mate and fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton in second.

The Final Lap

It was the end of an era at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as Hamilton signed off after 12 years with Mercedes.

After 84 race wins and six drivers' titles together, it was the longest and most successful team-driver partnership in F1 history.

The biggest celebrations were in the McLaren garage as Norris' fourth win of the season confirmed the team's first constructors' title in 26 years - and whetted the appetite for what 2025 may bring...

Credits

Written by Alan Jewell
Subbed by Melissa Coombs
Design by Scott McCall
Images by Getty