From hero to zero and vice versa!

The Monaco Grand Prix brought the curtain down on the first third of the 2024 Formula 1 season, which is due to be the longest in the history of the sport. Time to assess the results so far, compared with those from the first eight races of last year. When doing this, one has to consider the calendars are different, with no Imola in 2023 and Shanghai making a comeback this year. Let's see who has gone from zero to hero or the other way round.

The teams that have taken the biggest step forward compared to last year are without a doubt Ferrari and McLaren. The former has more than doubled its points tally from 52 to 122, is two places higher up the order (from fourth to second) in the Constructors' classification and the latter has over ten times more points, going from 17 to 184, moving up from sixth to third in the standings. The team that has moved up the most is Racing Bulls, who have gone from last in 2023 with two points, to sixth on 24, proving it wasn't just the team name that changed significantly! Lando Norris is the most improved driver: a year ago he was 11th on 12 points, today he is third on 113. Other drivers who have improved significantly are Charles Leclerc, from seventh with 54 points to second on 138, Oscar Piastri, 14th on 5 to sixth on 71 and Yuki Tsunoda from 17th with 2 points to tenth on 19.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are still operating at a stellar level, even if it's slightly tarnished, because although they lead both championships, they are not showing the totally dominant form witnessed last year. At around this time in 2023, they had won all eight races, before going on to win 21 of the 22 Grands Prix by the end of the season. At the moment they are on a score of 5-3, with fewer points; Verstappen dropping from 195 to 169, the team from 321 to 276, but one cannot deny they are still out in front.

Of those that have lost some sparkle, Aston Martin, Alpine and Sauber spring to mind: the first of these has dropped just two places, although it has collapsed in terms of points scored, going from 154 to 44, while the other two are four places lower. Alpine's decline has been sudden, going from fifth in 2023 on 44 points to ninth today with just 2. Last year, Sauber was floating around in seventh place with nine points, but today, not only has the team, now totally owned by Audi, lost its Alfa Romeo name, it has zero points and is plum last, the only squad to have failed to score. There's not much to smile about at Mercedes either, partly as it has dropped from second to fourth, but mainly because its points tally has gone from 167 to 96.

Naturally, the drivers from the aforementioned teams are also having a hard time of it. Last year at this point, Fernando Alonso looked to be the Red Bull pair's main rival, third on 117 points, just nine behind Sergio Perez, but today he is a dismal ninth. Over at the three pointed star, George Russell has not changed that much, dropping just one place from sixth to seventh, with 11 fewer points. But the same cannot be said of the departing Lewis Hamilton, who isn't even in three figures, going from 102 points to 42 and from fourth to eighth place.

Haas and Williams, now seventh and eighth, are habitues of the lower order, but they each moved up one spot, mainly down to the poor showing from others and their points tally compared to 2023 has dropped by one for Haas and five for Williams.