Scott McLaughlin, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy have been recognised amongst the best drivers of the 2024 season.
Renowned publication AutoSport published their prestigious ‘Top 50 Drivers of 2024’ over the weekend, with Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen once again claiming the top spot.
He was followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris as Formula 1 locked out the top three positions.
IndyCar Champion Alex Palou was fourth, ahead of McLaughlin, the highest-ranked Kiwi or Australian, in fifth. On his way to third place in the IndyCar Series, McLaughlin, 31st on the 2023 list, took seven podiums, including three wins.
Had he not been excluded from the results in the season-opener following Penske’s ‘Push-to-pass’ scandal, he would have been level on points with Palou at the conclusion of the season and won the title by way of a tiebreaker for having more wins.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein, World Endurance Champion Kevin Estre, duel Super Formula and Super GT champion Sho Tsuboi, and WRC champion Thierry Neuville complete the top ten.
Evans is the second-best Kiwi in the standings, ranking in 17th, the same position he was in 2023. The 30-year-old from Auckland was the runner-up in the Formula E World Championship, taking six podiums, including two wins. His efforts, combined with Cassidy’s saw Jaguar TCS Racing win the Constructor’s Championship for the first time.
Evans also won the 2024/25 season-opener in Brazil earlier this month, becoming the first ever driver in Formula E to drive from last on the grid to win a race.
Cassidy follows his teammate in 18th on the 2024 list, dropping 10 places from his 2023 eighth-placed rank. He took eight podiums, including two wins, on his way to third in the Formula E World Championship.
Cassidy looked set to clinch the Driver’s Championship, only to spin out of the lead in Portland and face issues in both London E-Prix races to score just six points points across the final four races, paving the way for Wehrlein to win the title from Evans.
Oscar Piastri was the highest-ranked Australian in 13th, while Supercars champion Will Brown was 22nd, Will Power 25th, and Matt Campbell 35th.
The 2023 list featured eight Kiwis, five of whom do not feature in 2024. This includes Brendon Hartley (16th in 2023), Scott Dixon (18th in 2023), Shane van Gisbergen (20th in 2023), Liam Lawson (29th in 2023), and Tom Blomqvist (32nd in 2023).
AutoSport’s Top 50 Drivers of 2024
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |
| 3 | Lando Norris |
| 4 | Alex Palou |
| 5 | Scott McLaughlin |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz |
| 7 | Pascal Wehrlein |
| 8 | Kevin Estre |
| 9 | Sho Tsuboi |
| 10 | Thierry Neuville |
| 11 | George Russell |
| 12 | Nicklas Nielsen |
| 13 | Oscar Piastri |
| 14 | Laurens Vanthoor |
| 15 | Joey Logano |
| 16 | Kyle Larson |
| 17 | Mitch Evans |
| 18 | Nick Cassidy |
| 19 | Colton Herta |
| 20 | Kalle Rovanpera |
| 21 | Pierre Gasly |
| 22 | Will Brown |
| 23 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 24 | Renger Van der Zande |
| 25 | Will Power |
| 26 | Felipe Nasr |
| 27 | Lewis Hamilton |
| 28 | Sebastien Buemi |
| 29 | Mikkel Jensen |
| 30 | Dries Vanthoor |
| 31 | Sebastien Ogier |
| 32 | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| 33 | Mirko Bortolotti |
| 34 | Ryan Blaney |
| 35 | Matt Campbell |
| 36 | Maro Engel |
| 37 | Fernando Alonso |
| 38 | Kelvin van der Linde |
| 39 | Alex Albon |
| 40 | Tadasuke Makino |
| 41 | Ott Tanak |
| 42 | Oliver Rowland |
| 43 | Pato O’Ward |
| 44 | Jake Hill |
| 45 | Laurin Heinrich |
| 46 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| 47 | Tom Ingram |
| 48 | Isack Hadjar |
| 49 | Esteban Ocon |
| 50 | Antonio Felix da Costa |
Header Image: Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
