VOTE: Who was the unsung hero in 2024?

lewis hamilton, oliver bearman, charles leclerc, jeddah — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 AWARDS - VOTE: Who was the unsung hero in 2024?

Here's your chance to vote for your unsung 2024 hero

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 1 January 2025 22:56

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Max Verstappen was the hero of the 2024 season, once again cruising to championship success having claimed nine victories in a declining RB20 car.

However, there were plenty of other unsung heroes up and down the grid that produced phenomenal service for their respective teams, helping them in dire circumstances.

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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri displayed great team work in 2024

F1's unsung hero of 2024

Ollie Bearman stood in for drivers on three occasions during 2024. He made his debut with Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis, before stepping in for Kevin Magnussen when he received a one-race ban with Haas, and when he was ill for the Brazilian GP.

Sainz himself managed to win a grand prix in spectacular fashion at the Australian GP, just two months after having surgery on his appendix. The Spaniard could also be regarded an unsung hero for continuing to produce brilliant performances for Ferrari, despite knowing he would be replaced at the team by Lewis Hamilton for 2025.

Sainz will soon be joining Williams, a team whose mechanics deserve a lot of praise for the way they handled a very difficult season. Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto all suffered several heavy crashes in 2024, leading to some hefty repair jobs for the mechanics.

Will Joseph earned his corn as Lando Norris' race engineer in 2024. The Brit pleaded with Norris to give up the lead of the Hungarian GP to his team-mate Oscar Piastri, producing several emotional radio messages to Norris that eventually caused him to do the right thing, maintaining the harmony at the team.

Like Joseph, Gianpiero Lambiase deserves a pay rise for the way he dealt with an at times very frustrated Verstappen throughout 2024. Lambiase managed to calm Verstappen down over team radio a number of times, even calling him 'childish' at one point. One man who is not afraid to stand up to the Dutchman.

Piastri was also an unsung hero for McLaren, consistently scoring points to help McLaren overcome Ferrari and Red Bull in their championship fight. Piastri also showed great team work in giving up sprint race victory in Brazil to help Norris' fading championship chances.