One motive to root for each F1 driver on the 2024 grid

Preseason testing? It is over. The all-too-brief offseason? A distant reminiscence. The 2023 season? Historical historical past.

The 2024 Components One marketing campaign is upon us, with the opening spherical of the season starting with Follow 1 on Thursday (6:30 a.m. ET, watch reside on ESPNU). Earlier than the vehicles roll out of pit lane, although, why not familiarise your self with the sphere?

Whereas three-time defending champion Max Verstappen could appear like an amazing favorite, there may be loads of intrigue up and down the paddock. Nate Saunders goes from storage to storage, providing you with one motive to root for each driver on the grid this season.

Age: 26
Nationality: Netherlands
Grand prix begins: 185
Grand prix wins: 54
2023 championship place: 1st
Finest championship place: 1st (2021, 2022, 2023)

Motive to root for them: Verstappen is redefining F1 greatness each time he steps right into a race automotive. The Dutchman comes into 2024 on the again of a threepeat — together with essentially the most dominant particular person season in F1 historical past, besides — and there is no motive to assume he will cease successful any time quickly.

His relentless tempo and his aggressive type on observe have gained him a legion of followers worldwide, and he makes no excuses — to anybody — for the way he races. All of the extra exceptional is how unfazed he appears by his achievements and the adulation that comes with them.

Age: 23
Nationality: United States
Grand prix begins: 22
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: twenty first
Finest championship place: twenty first (2023)

Motive to root for them: Possibly we’re biased, however we wish Sargeant’s profession to be a hit. Earlier than him, there had not been an American on the grid since Alexander Rossi in 2015.

The jury would possibly nonetheless be out on the Floridian, however he has been given a second probability to show he actually belongs. People have had restricted success in F1 since Mario Andretti gained the 1978 world championship; if Sargeant can set up himself this yr, it’d assist break some lingering preconceptions throughout the F1 paddock that racing drivers from the U.S. are higher off staying in collection like IndyCar.

Age: 34
Nationality: Australia
Grand prix begins: 239
Grand prix wins: 8
2023 championship place: seventeenth
Finest championship place: third (2014, 2016)

Motive to root for them: With a boisterous chuckle and beaming smile as large as his persona, Ricciardo has ridden the “Drive to Survive” growth to world fame. A legion of latest F1 followers may have by no means seen his finest days at Crimson Bull (2014-2018), although, when he felt like a world champion in ready.

It has been a troublesome street since, however the Ricciardo who returned final yr seemed like a unique particular person to the one who flamed out at McLaren. A robust 2024 will make a return to Crimson Bull really feel tantalisingly shut. Who would not wish to see it?

Age: 24
Nationality: Nice Britain
Grand prix begins: 104
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: sixth
Finest championship place: sixth (2021, 2023)

Motive to root for them: Drivers wish to win, and you’ll’t assist however really feel that Norris wants to win one this yr. The Brit has established himself as a famous person, and for a big chunk of 2023 he was comfortably second finest behind Verstappen, however that breakthrough first F1 win has eluded him.

The longer that scenario goes on, the larger the strain will get, particularly with McLaren eyeing a championship problem quickly. Luckily, Norris has expertise in abundance, he simply must seize the second when it presents itself.

Age: 27
Nationality: France
Grand prix begins: 130
Grand prix wins: 1
2023 championship place: eleventh
Finest championship place: seventh (2019)

Motive to root for them: When Ricciardo’s hiatus from F1 seemed extra everlasting than six months, Netflix earmarked Gasly as the following poster boy of “Drive to Survive.” It is apparent why: The immensely likeable Frenchman has an unimaginable story, peaking with a fairytale win at Monza in 2020 virtually precisely one yr after the demise of his good friend Anthoine Hubert in an F2 race.

Missed by Crimson Bull, Gasly has discovered a brand new lease on life with Alpine and may be capable of forge a protracted and profitable profession in F1 with the suitable alternatives.

Age: 34
Nationality: Mexico
Grand prix begins: 257
Grand prix wins: 6
2023 championship place: 2nd
Finest championship place: 2nd (2023)

Motive to root for them: Pérez spent most of 2023 answering questions on whether or not he was going to lose his Crimson Bull seat. Most have written him off as a title contender, however are you able to think about if he turns round his type this yr?

A hero again dwelling in Mexico, Pérez has the unenviable job of being measured in equal equipment to Verstappen each week. On his day, although, Pérez continues to be a expertise worthy of a front-running automotive, able to delivering an excellent redemption story this yr if he will get his type — and his head — in the suitable place.

Age: 42
Nationality: Spain
Grand prix begins: 379
Grand prix wins: 32
2023 championship place: 4th
Finest championship place: 1st (2005, 2006)

Motive to root for them: It is me! Hello! I am the issue! It is me!

Alonso has likened himself to Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” and the comparability is ideal. At instances a Bond villain, at instances comically dangerous like Dr. Evil, at others only a straight-up heel like “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Alonso performs the dangerous man so nicely he has made it cool.

His again catalogue consists of two world titles and burned bridges at a handful of groups, which is partly why he has not gained a race since 2013. Nonetheless, he stays in a membership of three with Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as F1’s perfect.

Age: 26
Nationality: Monaco
Grand prix begins: 123
Grand prix wins: 5
2023 championship place: fifth
Finest championship place: 2nd (2022)

Motive to root for them: We at ESPN love grading trades, however the one Leclerc will need to have made with the next energy is difficult to guage. He acquired film star attractiveness, unimaginable racing expertise and a long-term contract with motorsport’s most well-known crew. The fee? Remarkably dangerous luck — generally of his personal making.

Leclerc has shouldered the worst of Ferrari’s irritating and heartbreaking seasons, however there is no query he can win a world title in the suitable automotive. Supporting Leclerc (and Ferrari) generally is a rollercoaster, however he has supreme expertise and absolutely someday the celebrities will all align for him.

Age: 25
Nationality: Canada
Grand prix begins: 143
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: tenth
Finest championship place: tenth (2023)

Motive to root for them: Because the son of the billionaire who owns his crew, Stroll has all the time are available in for criticism and mockery. Final yr, his frustration on the narrative was evident in quite a few interviews.

Is the hate he will get right down to jealousy, although? Stroll did not select the circumstances he was born into, and he has had flashes of promise all through his F1 profession. Like Pérez with Verstappen, he carries the burden of sharing equal equipment with an all-time nice.

For anybody doubting his motivation, he confirmed nice resilience in coming again for the 2023 season opener after breaking his wrist in a preseason coaching accident. It might’ve been far simpler for him to take a seat it out.

Age: 31
Nationality: Denmark
Grand prix begins: 163
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: nineteenth
Finest championship place: ninth (2018)

Motive to root for them: After being the comeback story of 2022, we did not actually see or hear a lot from Magnussen in 2023 given Haas’ disappointing yr. The possibility of a transfer to a giant crew appears to have handed for the Dane, who scored a podium on his debut with McLaren in 2014, however he stays an F1-worthy expertise able to nice outcomes.

When blessed with aggressive equipment, Magnussen fights for each level prefer it’ll be his final, with an aggressive and totally entertaining racing type. Whether or not he will get the possibility to do this with Haas’ 2024 automotive stays to be seen.

Age: 23
Nationality: Japan
Grand prix begins: 63
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: 14th
Finest championship place: 14th (2021, 2023)

Motive to root for them: Tsunoda could be one of the quirky and endearing F1 characters ever. It is not his first language, however his grasp of English profanity is spectacular, making his radio messages and soundbites downright hilarious.

He is additionally refreshingly trustworthy about virtually every part, even as soon as admitting his love of takeaway meals was hampering his coaching regime — a behavior he has since kicked. As a bonus, he is coming into 2024 off the strongest season of his profession.

Put merely, it is laborious to discover a motive not to root for him.

Age: 27
Nationality: Thailand
Grand prix begins: 81
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: thirteenth
Finest championship place: seventh (2020)

Motive to root for them: It is laborious to discover a higher story — or a nicer man — in Components One. On the finish of 2020, jettisoned from Crimson Bull, Albon’s F1 profession seemed useless and buried. With Williams, although, there was a resurrection.

A prodigy on the karting stage, Albon has rekindled the thrill in his expertise since returning in 2022. All this Hollywood-esque story wants is the fairytale return to a high crew. Williams is not that proper now, however it’s a crew continuously enhancing, that means Albon ought to be capable of proceed showcasing his apparent promise for one more season.

Age: 24
Nationality: China
Grand prix begins: 44
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: 18th
Finest championship place: 18th (2022, 2023)

Motive to root for them: Hamilton might need a rival for the grid’s most fashion-conscious driver in Zhou. The son of a designer, he has admitted he could nicely go into that trade every time he finishes racing.

If style is not your factor, then this seems like a make-or-break yr for Zhou’s profession, having been outscored by teammate Valtteri Bottas in every of his two seasons in F1.

Age: 36
Nationality: Germany
Grand prix begins: 203
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: sixteenth
Finest championship place: seventh (2018)

Motive to root for them: One other good instance of a driver who by no means give up on his F1 profession, Hülkenberg performed super-sub for Racing Level and Aston Martin throughout the COVID-19 pandemic after which made a full return to racing with Haas final season. He did not look misplaced, both, outperforming Magnussen throughout the yr.

The most important query for Hülkenberg is whether or not he’ll ever rating that elusive podium. For now a minimum of, he simply appears joyful to be again within the recreation — a sense anybody can relate to.

Age: 27
Nationality: France
Grand prix begins: 133
Grand prix wins: 1
2023 championship place: twelfth
Finest championship place: eighth (2017, 2022)

Motive to root for them: Probably the greatest origin tales on the grid, Ocon didn’t have both of the benefits most drivers want to succeed in F1 at the moment — a racing father and/or a bucketload of cash. His expertise and the combating spirit he needed to undertake to outdrive better-equipped rivals are nonetheless seen when he races in F1 at the moment.

Having missed a career-altering shot with Mercedes, he has established himself with Alpine, claiming a win in 2021. He now heads right into a contract yr, and a probably defining one for his profession. Ocon has all the time felt like a driver who deserves a minimum of one shot with a championship-calibre automotive. Will he lastly get it?

Age: 39
Nationality: Nice Britain
Grand prix begins: 332
Grand prix wins: 103
2023 championship place: third
Finest championship place: 1st (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Motive to root for them: There is a motive Ferrari went all-in on getting the seven-time world champion for 2025: Hamilton is the GOAT, a person who transcends the game like no different, and is F1’s winningest driver. Regardless of a two-year winless streak, he nonetheless has loads of victories left within the tank.

Ferrari will hope to see loads of these as soon as he is racing in pink, however for the right here and now, seeing a minimum of another in his ultimate season with Mercedes could be a becoming approach to finish the best driver-team partnership Components One has ever seen.

Age: 29
Nationality: Spain
Grand prix begins: 183
Grand prix wins: 2
2023 championship place: seventh
Finest championship place: fifth (2021, 2022)

Motive to root for them: It is laborious to not really feel sorry for Sainz proper now. He had a standout 2023, claiming the one non-Crimson Bull win of the yr, however he’ll make method for Hamilton in 2025.

The scenario is on-brand for a person who has all the time carried a chip on his shoulder, having been ignored by Crimson Bull and by no means getting lengthy contracts with Renault or McLaren. We do not but know the place he’ll drive in 2025, however we do know Sainz is at his finest when driving like he has some extent to show, and we’ve a complete season of that to stay up for.

Age: 26
Nationality: Nice Britain
Grand prix begins: 104
Grand prix wins: 1
2023 championship place: eighth
Finest championship place: 4th (2022)

Motive to root for them: The well-spoken, meme-friendly Russell is one in all F1’s subsequent large issues. He already has a profession win to his title and has matched up nicely in two seasons as Hamilton’s teammate, justifying the lofty expectations round him.

Russell has been earmarked as the way forward for Mercedes’ F1 programme, and Hamilton’s impending departure has fast-tracked that state of affairs. Russell is not going to wish to be the second-best Mercedes driver come the top of 2024. Whoever his future teammate is, that is his final probability to comprehensively outperform an all-time nice in equal equipment.

Age: 34
Nationality: Finland
Grand prix begins: 222
Grand prix wins: 10
2023 championship place: fifteenth
Finest championship place: 2nd (2019, 2020)

Motive to root for them: You might need seen Bottas baring his bottom in a calendar for charity and already determined he is the motive force for you. And you already know what? That is greater than sufficient. If there was a “Driver you’d most wish to go for a beer with” award, the laid-back Finn would win it yearly — and he’d most likely make you keep for a couple of.

The most important feel-good issue about Bottas is that he is again to his regular self after a disappointing and, by his personal admission, mentally difficult time at Mercedes from 2017 to 2021.

Age: 22
Nationality: Australia
Grand prix begins: 22
Grand prix wins: 0
2023 championship place: ninth
Finest championship place: ninth (2023)

Motive to root for them: Sports activities groups are all the time on the lookout for a can’t-miss child, and McLaren might need simply discovered one in Piastri. The Aussie was a rookie in title solely final yr, delivering a Dash win in Qatar, two podiums and a handful of standout drives.

He is not fairly as polished as teammate Norris but, however Piastri’s ceiling appears to be as excessive as you’ll be able to think about. Better of all, if you do not have a favorite driver but, you will get in on the bottom ground. Buckle up and benefit from the trip.