Voting has closed to decide the winners of three major categories at the SJA British Sports Awards 2024; winners will be announced live on Sky Sports News on Wednesday 20 November; Stuart Broad, Mary Earps and Manchester City’s men’s team claimed the 2023 honours; who will take the top prizes this year?
By Hannah Newman
If you’d told anybody at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season that there would be a championship battle in 2024, you’d probably have received a pretty confused look.
Following the dominance of Max Verstappen and the RB19 last year, it’s come as quite a surprise (and a pleasant one) that there’s now a dramatic championship fight unfolding between defending champion Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
A target that seemed unreachable at the start of the season has now become very tangible for Norris as the Brit chases down Verstappen for the 2024 drivers’ championship with just a handful of races to go.
Heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, the 24-year-old sits on 315 points, only 47 points behind Verstappen, who is in the lead on 362.
After claiming his maiden F1 victory in Miami this year, the championship battle has been on, with the McLaren team also seeing drastic improvements in their car’s performance – Norris has claimed two further race victories, in The Netherlands and Singapore.
We all know that a championship skirmish will come with its fair share of drama, but few expected this year to be quite as exciting and feisty.
Following a race-ruining collision between the pair at the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen and Norris, who are otherwise good friends off-track, have come head-to-head on a number of occasions.
Take this week’s Mexican Grand Prix as an example. A dramatic battle between the pair ensued, going wheel-to-wheel at the start of the race.
Norris has to keep it safe to ensure he doesn’t get a DNF, but he’s fought an abrasive Verstappen courageously and proven he’s gutsy.
As usual in Formula 1, excellence on the race track cannot all be put down to the car. While Verstappen did have the dominant RB19 last year, his racecraft and skill was incredible, and more than worthy of credit.
The same applies to Norris – while McLaren should be credited for producing a very speedy car, Norris’ battling and pace has been fantastic this year and he’s shown the type of talent that should excite all motorsport fans
Once Norris is in the lead, there’s just no stopping him. In Miami, he finished 7s ahead of Verstappen, a comfortable 22s in Zandvoort, and 20s in Singapore.
With four race weekends left this year and a good handful of points still up for grabs, there’s a chance that Norris could take this year’s championship from Verstappen.
Norris could take the drivers’ championship in the same year as taking his first F1 victory, and this would be an astounding achievement.
But even if he doesn’t, Norris’ performance this year has been hugely impressive, and we’re all excited to see how the 2024 championship showdown will pan out.
Sports journalist Hannah Newman is a member of the SJA Academy – find out more about membership here.
Visit our SJA British Sports Awards 2024 hub article for more information, and for the link for SJA members to vote.
The SJA is interested in your sports media industry news and views. Keen to reach an engaged audience, including over 70,000 followers across social media? We welcome your enquiries – contact us here. We also offer advertising and sponsorship opportunities.
For information on how to apply as a Full or Associate Member of the SJA, plus details of our free-to-enter SJA Academy, click here.