Three Drivers That Have To Show What They've Got In 2024

Many drivers have their contracts expiring at the end of the upcoming season. Here is a summary of three drivers that really need to show what they've got in 2024.

It is exactly 14 seats that are set to be up for grabs after the 2024 season. Big moves are expected even before the season starts, but some teams might want to wait to see what their current driver has to offer.

Logan Sargeant joined Williams at the beginning of the season 2024. He came to F1 straight from F2, and as he described it, he found out the difference between the two categories is even bigger than it should be.

The American driver had a challenging time getting used to the speed and the technicalities of F1 cars and significantly lagged behind his more experienced teammate, Alex Albon.

Looking purely at his results, it wasn't clear whether he would get his contract prolonged for the 2024 season, but James Vowles decided to give him another chance.

The 23-year-old driver got a one-year contract extension that lasts until the end of 2024. The upcoming season will most likely determine his future in the sport, and therefore, he needs to show improvement in comparison to his teammate.

Sergio Perez is another driver that really needs to show improvement in comparison to his teammate. In 2023, the Mexican driver was outperformed by Max Verstappen by a record-breaking 290 points.

His team principal claimed that driving alongside the triple World Champion is the hardest job in the pit lane. On the other hand, the 33-year-old driver made too many unnecessary mistakes.

Christian Horner suggested Red Bull might still be interested in offering a seat to Checo even beyond the season 2024, but he needs to show an improvement. Otherwise, he will be replaced.

Daniel Ricciardo has been marked as the most likely driver to replace Perez in Red Bull in case there is a need. However, he, too, still needs to prove himself.

While the Honey Badger joined AlphaTauri mid-season in 2023 and suffered an injury, which complicated his comeback, he still came back and showed a really strong performance in Mexico City, recording the team's best result of the season.

However, the Australian was expected to come to AlphaTauri and clearly outperform Yuki Tsunoda, which didn't really happen. Over the course of seven races, Ricciardo lost the head-to-head battle against his teammate 3:4.

Consequently, Ricciardo will also need to show improvement and beat his teammate in order to persuade Red Bull management he deserves the second place alongside Verstappen.