Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (50th to 41st)

41. Sebastien Loeb

3rd in the Dakar, Winner of the Rally Mont Blanc-Morzine

Caramba, another miss for the Alsatian idol! Sébastien Loeb, partnered with Belgian Fabian Lurquin, once again came very close to winning the Dakar in January. The most famous rally-raid still eludes the nine-time world rally champion, but Loeb is getting closer to the prize every year. In 2024, he suffered from a Prodrive operations team that was a little too light on details (the case of the discharged fart that made them lose precious time in the special caused a stir on social networks), but also from one or two drops in speed at the start of the course, seemingly insignificant. However, faced with a more rigorous Audi team, more numerous in the desert, these shortcomings were unforgiving. Inevitably, forced to attack to the limit to catch up Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb pushed his 4x4 to the point of breaking down, one day before the finish. But there was no other solution. We add a bonus point to the French star for his great victory in the Rallye Mont Blanc-Morzine, as part of the French Rally Championship. A success all the more resounding as he won with his partner Laurène Godey, aboard the new Alpine A110 Rallye GT+, right under the nose of the Rally2 which is supposed to be more efficient

42. Rafael Camara

FRECA Champion

A year after having watched helplessly as his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli dominated, the Brazilian reacted perfectly. A season that was a boss's cup of tea from start to finish and during which no one was able to stop him. His record speaks for itself: 12 podiums in 20 races including 7 victories and 7 pole positions. With Gabriel Bortoleto, he is the other Brazilian to carry the hopes of an entire nation after a generational lull. Expected at Trident in Formula 3 Next year he could follow in his compatriot's footsteps to get a little closer to his dreams of Formula 1In any case, he has built up a lot of confidence before tackling this new challenge for which he is already one of the big favourites.

43. Arvid Lindblad 

4th in Formula 3, best rookie

In terms of pure talent, the Englishman is undoubtedly the one who has impressed the most in this 2024 vintage. A transfer from F4 Italy, the protégé of Red Bull gradually warmed up, learning in particular to manage his tires. When he got his hands on the right setting, he was unstoppable. The first driver to win two races in this highly competitive season, Arvid Lindblad then achieved an unprecedented feat at Silverstone since Antonio Felix da Costa in 2012 (the championship was then GP3), by winning both races in the same weekend. His latest feat in this campaign, which he would end without a single point in the last three rounds with very messy races. However, this did not cool the Austrian team, which still sent him to F2 at Campos despite his 17 years.

44. Laurin Heinrich

Champion Drivers IMSA in GTD Pro

The 23-year-old German has taken on a new dimension in this year 2024. Former Junior Porsche, the Bavarian has devoured the competition in the IMSA GTD Pro category at the wheel of the iconic Porsche 911 GT3 R with the dinosaur livery nicknamed Rexy. If the latter can now sport three gold teeth in its predatory smile, it is because the native of Kürnach (Germany) brought home three successes during the past year, in addition to a second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Partnered with Sebastian Priaulx during the first half of the year, the champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany in 2022 had to deal with different teammates during the second half of the season, since his partner decided to focus on his activities with Multimatic. This did not prevent Heinrich from winning the title in his category at the end of the season, despite a scare during the final of Petit Le Mans.

45. Franco Colapinto

19th in the F1 world championship, interim at Williams

The Argentinian has marked the F1 season and it was unthinkable not to see him appear in our top 50. Replacing at short notice a Logan sargeant Overwhelmed by events at Williams, Franco Colapinto immediately stood out by scoring points in Baku (8th) and Austin (10th). The young man, who had until then delivered a promising first season in F2 (he was 6th when he was called up to F1), would undoubtedly have been higher in this ranking without his repeated crashes at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and then in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for him, his rating has fallen as quickly as it had risen. Colapinto nevertheless took advantage of his nine races in the premier class to become a national icon and reconcile Argentina with F1.

46. Oliver Rowland

4th in the world championship Formula E, two victories

Is it strange to find the 4th in the last Formula E championship in this Top 50, but not the vice-champion and the 3rd in the Drivers' standings? For us, no. Without taking away credit from Jaguar drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, the two New Zealanders had the car to play for the title in 2024, unlike Oliver Rowland. However, the Nissan driver was in the running for the world crown until the last meeting of the season, having missed the double header in Portland due to a health problem! The Briton, who made his return to the Japanese house last year, was the pleasant surprise of Season 10: with two victories and four other podiums with a mid-table team, the Englishman surprised in 2024... and could well make sparks for Season 11.

47. Connor Zilisch 

Winner in LMP2 of the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 hours from Sebring

At 18 years old, young Connor Zilisch has impressed observers in every paddock he has ridden in this season, and there have been quite a few! The American has in fact ridden in no fewer than eight championships, winning races in seven of them. Only the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series did not fall under his spell, with a fourth place as his best result in six races. Zilisch did however impose himself in Mazda MX-5 Cup, where he contested half of the championship, in CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour, in ARCA Menards Series West (in his only start of the year), in Series East where he finished second in the championship. In the national ARCA series, he won five of the eight races in which he took part. But it is especially in IMSA and NASCAR Xfinity Series (second division) that he made a name for himself, with simply victories in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring (at 17 years old!), as well as in his first start in Xfinity, at Watkins Glen. Zilisch is a name to follow very closely, whether in Endurance or in a stock car…

48. Ugo Ugochukwu

11th in FRECA, winner of the Macau Grand Prix

Absent against his Prema teammates in FRECA Rafael Câmara and James Wharton, the American made up for it with a final successful outing. Not enough to erase his difficult season in the European Regional Formula, but still to make an impression. The protégé of McLaren led the Macau Grand Prix weekend from start to finish and allowed the French R-ace GP team to win for its first participation in the World Cup. A performance that can also be explained by a lower level than in previous years due in part to a less experienced field. All the credit goes to Ugo Ugochukwu however who managed to stay clean throughout the meeting to bring his team to the finish car in one piece and above all as a winner. In 2025, he is expected in F3 with Prema where he will especially have to show the face he had at the end of the year between his victory at Monza at FRECA and that in Macao.

49. Elfyn Evans

Vice champion WRC, 1 victory

The Welshman cannot be said to have spared his efforts in 2024. The 35-year-old driver was the only one of the clan Toyota Gazoo Racing to contest all the WRC rounds, with Takamoto Katsuta. Also, we placed him joint favourite with Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) to win a title that has eluded him for a very long time.
It started well in Monte Carlo (2nd) but Evans never found the user manual for his Toyota Yaris Rally1 hybrid. When luxury freelancers Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier were present, he was constantly dominated in pure rhythm. Capable of scoring big points on Sunday to get things back on track, he gave better results this fall, via a series of 3 podiums and a victory in the final in Japan. He must continue on this path to become a serious contender for the crown in 2025.

50. Abbi Pulling 

F1 Academy Champion

For her second campaign in the all-women's championship, the Englishwoman didn't mess around. Pushed by Dorian Pin at the launch in Saudi Arabia, the protégé ofAlpine reversed the trend at the next round in Miami with a double pole position and as many victories. From then on, she was unstoppable with 8 more poles and 6 new successes. She flew towards the title which she won… twice in the space of a few days after the cancellation of Race 2 in Qatar finally rescheduled in Abu Dhabi the following weekend. Abbi Pulling will now prove herself in a mixed championship within the framework of British F3 with Rodin Motorsport.