After each grand prix in 2024, we’ll now be ranking each team based on its race and qualifying performances, plus how it fared in the differently complex political world away from the racing.
It’s a subjective exercise, but one we hope will tell the story of each season in a different way, by charting the campaign for each squad factoring in everything that happens.
Here’s the F1 teams’ ranking for the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP:
Red Bull
Dominated qualifying and the race for the second week in a row in the Middle East, with Max Verstappen easily having the measure of Sergio Perez once again. The RB20 critically had the legs on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in straight-line prowess, with its DRS gains also important to Red Bull’s latest triumph.
Off the track, however, the Christian Horner saga continued – taking a new twist with the focus shifting in a different way to Helmut Marko’s future. That appears set in the short term, based on his pre-race comments. Had that stability not been forthcoming given Verstappen’s insistence Marko’s future rested on his, it might’ve knocked Red Bull down a place here.
Ferrari
Ultimately disappointing given Ferrari had hoped to again edge Red Bull in qualifying, with a sudden oversteer tendency on new tyres hurting Leclerc in the Friday night session. He still edged Perez, but wasn’t a factor in the race as Verstappen aced the start and Perez soon battled by having initially been rebuffed.
But the bigger achievement was Oliver Bearman taking seventh in Carlos Sainz’s SF-24. Giving his team a double points finish was a huge achievement, especially with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton bearing down late on. Sainz’s surgery went well, but the red team seems to have an ace back-up if he can’t return for Australia.
McLaren
Boosted here because of how balanced and excellent overall its drivers were – Oscar Piastri edging Norris in qualifying and taking a fine fourth in the race. Norris nearly blotted the team’s combined copybook with his start eagerness, but he stopped just in time in his box and avoided a penalty.
Piastri might’ve passed Hamilton faster, but ultimately it cost the team little given Ferrari was gone with Leclerc ahead. Norris was naughty in weaving ahead of Hamilton late up, having been unable to stop under the safety car as Piastri did due to McLaren not wanting him to lose position in a slow double-stack.
Mercedes
The team felt its race pace was similar to McLaren and Aston, but that it was undone by its relatively poor qualifying showing for both George Russell and Hamilton. Russell starting ahead meant he stayed on the conventional strategy by pitting under the safety car, with Hamilton mirroring Norris in staying out for the same reasons.
Russell chased Alonso all race but never got close enough to make a move, which might’ve dropped Mercedes down a spot had trouble not occurred at the green team. Hamilton showed strong pace on the mediums, but couldn’t find a way past Norris when they were finally on the softs.
Haas
This one is all about the end result, because after qualifying where Nico Hulkenberg stopped with a fuel system issue and Kevin Magnussen missed out on setting a final timed lap in Q2 due to a “timing procedure error”, per a Haas statement, things looked bleak. But the race ended positively with the team scoring its first point of the year.
This was down to playing the circumstances well – Hulkenberg gaining not stopping under the safety car too, but then keeping clear of the pack because Magnussen held up rivals from Williams, RB and Alpine. Both showed good race pace too, suggesting Haas has made real progress on its 2023 tyre shocker.
Magnussen did pick up 20s worth of penalties for poor driving in the race, but he did well to help his team-mate afterwards and this ranking looks at team outcome only.
Aston Martin
Aston is perplexed that it seems to have swapped its potential around from 2023 – that it shines in qualifying (with Alonso) and is weaker in the race. His qualifying was superb to start fourth and that led to a tense but successful race in holding off Russell’s Mercedes.
But Aston can’t go any higher because of what happened to its other car – Lance Stroll’s AMR24 buried in the Turn 23 barriers after his early race crash. The Canadian driver clipped the wall at the preceding Turn 22 and broke his left-front steering arm, sending him to the scene of his crash. Stroll’s chippy radio messages afterwards surely can’t be great for team morale, although with the understanding that smashing an F1 cannot be fun.
Williams
Ended up near the points with Alex Albon and ahead of its typical rivals, bar Haas – with others having worse weekends overall and so dropping down. He was fortunate to finish the race after Magnussen moved over and edged him towards the Turn 4 wall in the early exchanges.
Worryingly for the blue team, Logan Sargeant ended up last of those that took part in qualifying and was four places behind his team-mate in the race. Here the pair were both caught in Magnussen’s tactics to back up the pack, but it overall wasn’t a strong showing from the American whom Williams want to see more progress from in his second year.
RB
Another team with a more neutral weekend overall than some others, all of course taking place in the shadows of its senior team’s scandal.
On track, the early narrative of the team’s season was cemented with Daniel Ricciardo lacking a chunk to Yuki Tsuoda in qualifying and therefore missing making it a double Q3 appearance. Tsunoda was outbattled in the race – illegally by Magnussen – while Ricciardo spun late on solo.
Fortunately, this didn’t cost RB anything because, again, others had bigger dramas that meant his error went unpunished.
Alpine
Compared to Bahrain, this was a more positive showing for Alpine. But it again had both cars out in Q1, which is not where a works operation should be ending up on pure pace. Renault CEO Luca de Meo was in town to see what was happening in person, which reflects just how much pressure this team is under.
Esteban Ocon was in the thick of the battling pack during Magnussen’s go-slow period and ended up finishing 13th. But the other A524 never really got going, with Pierre Gasly stopping on lap four, having reported a gearbox problem on the way to the start. He therefore became the first mechanical malady (and overall too) retirement of F1 2024.
Sauber
Rewind to a week ago and Sauber looked in fine form – long Valtteri Bottas pitstop aside – given its snappy Bahrain race strategy calls for the impressive Zhou Guanyu. But in Jeddah, Zhou let Sauber down by crashing hard in FP3 and ultimately missing qualifying, despite his mechanics' excellent showing to repair the car and get it out as Q1 ended.
In the race, another long pitstop when Zhou was the last to change tyres made it two bad services in two 2024 events for Sauber, with Bottas being the only driver to stop twice. At least it was boosted by the news Audi has accelerated its full takeover of the team ahead of its 2026 F1 entry.
