Britain has often been referred to as the home of F1, which is why it’s no surprise that many of the sport’s winners and champions have come from this country. From the days of Sir Stirling Moss to present-day legend Lewis Hamilton, the UK has truly produced top-quality drivers over the years. However, today, F1 is more globalized than ever, which is great for fans of drivers from other nations, especially with the emergence of new multi-time winners in 2024, more so than in any other year.
2024 has witnessed drivers from five countries winning more than one race for the first time in almost four decades.
Max Verstappen of The Netherlands has eight. Charles Leclerc—the only Monegasque driver to win in F1—has three. Britain’s Lando Norris and Hamilton have three and two respectively. Carlos Sainz of Spain and Oscar Piastri of Australia have two each.
The last time F1 witnessed drivers from five countries winning multiple races was back in 1985.
With more and more drivers from countries other than Britain achieving success, it shows how much F1 has expanded recently. While wins truly reflect how far F1 has come, taking a look at the grid overall, also serves as a reminder for the same.
In 2025, Gabriel Bortoleto will be the first Brazilian driver to be part of the grid since Felipe Massa in 2017. Plus, with Kimi Antonelli set to be a part of F1 too, an Italian will feature in the sport again after four years (Antonio Giovinazzi, 2021).
Here’s a cool stat I found: This is the first season since 1985 – almost 40 years ago – that FIVE nations have MULTIPLE wins
– 8 (Verstappen)
– 6 (Norris, Hamilton, Russell)
– 3 (Leclerc)
– 2 (Piastri)
– 2 (Sainz) pic.twitter.com/XCVEf14e0j— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) November 10, 2024
Considering how the 2023 season panned out with Verstappen winning 19 of the 22 races, it comes as a positive surprise for fans to see so many different winners this year. One of the key reasons why F1 has witnessed this is because Red Bull’s rivals have closed down the performance gap to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Verstappen had started 2024 on a strong note, winning seven out of the opening ten races. However, what came next, was a huge surprise.
Since the Spanish GP in June, Verstappen has managed just one victory (the most recent race in Sao Paulo), while the likes of Leclerc, Norris, and Piastri have managed multiple victories in this duration.
F1 fans will now hope that even the upcoming 2025 season is as competitive as this year’s.
