VOTE: Who was the unluckiest driver in 2024?

valtteri bottas, zhou guanyu, daniel ricciardo, yuki tsunoda, sauber, rb, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 31 December 2024 10:56 Updated: 17:22

The 2024 Formula 1 season saw several drivers lose their seats for next year, with some even receiving the axe midway through the year.

Half of the grid will change in 2025, triggered by Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari which displaced Carlos Sainz and prompted a wave of driver switches.

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Four rookies will enter F1 next season, forcing old faces to depart from the grid, including the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen.

Whether a driver lost their seat or were replaced, GPFans have introduced a poll for you to decide who you consider to be the unluckiest driver in 2024.

Who was the unluckiest driver in 2024?

Carlos Sainz lost his seat to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, despite producing impressive results and matching team-mate Charles Leclerc during his tenure at the team.

The Spaniard will move to Williams in 2025, where he will race alongside Alex Albon, who had a poor end to the year.

Towards the end of the season, the team were plagued with performance issues with Albon enduring consecutive pointless finishes from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix until Abu Dhabi.

Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas found himself without a seat for next year after Sauber decided to drop their current lineup for Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, in a season where the Finn failed to score a single point.

However, the likes of Daniel Ricciardo did not make it until the end of the season, after he was axed by VCARB following the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo was often bested by his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda throughout 2024, but the Japanese star lost out on the Red Bull seat and Liam Lawson was promoted instead.