41. Sebastien Loeb
3rd in the Dakar, Winner of the Mont Blanc-Morzine Rally
Caramba, another failure for the Alsatian idol! Sébastien Loeb, associated with Belgian Fabian Lurquin, once again came very close to winning the Dakar in January. The most famous rally-raid still refuses the nine-time world rally champion, but Loeb gets closer to the reward year by year. In 2024, it suffered from a Prodrive operating team that was a little too light on details (the affair of the unloaded fart which caused them to lose precious time in the special caused a lot of noise on social networks), but also one or two drops in speed at the start of the journey, seemingly innocuous. However, faced with a more rigorous Audi team, more numerous in the desert, these failings were not forgiven. Obviously, forced to attack excessively to catch up with Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb pushed his 4×4 to the point of breaking, one day from the finish. But there was no other solution. We add a bonus point to the French star for his great victory at the Rallye Mont Blanc-Morzine, as part of the French Rally Championship. A success all the more resounding as it was achieved with his partner Laurène Godey, aboard the new Alpine A110 Rallye GT+, right under the nose of the Rally2s supposed to be more efficient
42. Rafael Camara
FRECA champion
A year after helplessly witnessing the domination of his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Brazilian reacted perfectly. A boss-size season led from start to finish and during which no one was able to stop it. 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 gap. Expected at Trident in Formula 3 next year, he could follow in the footsteps of his compatriot in order to get a little closer to his Formula 1 dreams. In any case, he was full of confidence before tackling this new challenge for which he is already arriving in the shoes of one of the big favorites.
43. Arvid Lindblad
4th in Formula 3, best rookie
In terms of pure talent, the Englishman is undoubtedly the one who impressed the most in this 2024 vintage. A defector from F4 Italy, the Red Bull protégé gradually warmed up, learning in particular how to manage his tires. When he got his hands on the right setting, he was relentless. The first driver to win two races in this highly contested 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 last feat of arms in this campaign which he will complete without the slightest point during the last three rounds with very messy races. However, this did not cool down the Austrian team which still sent him to F2 with Campos despite his 17 springs.
44. Laurin Heinrich
Champion Pilotes IMSA en GTD Pro
The 23-year-old German has taken on a new dimension in the year 2024. Former Porsche Junior, the Bavarian took on 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 display three gold teeth in his predatory smile, it is because the native of Kürnach (Germany) reported three successes during the past financial year, in addition to a second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Associated with Sebastian Priaulx during the first half of the year, the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion had to deal with different teammates during the second part of the season, since his friend decided to focus on his activities with Multimatic. This did not prevent Heinrich from winning the category title at the end of the season, despite a scare during the Petit Le Mans final.
45. Franco Colapinto
19th in the F1 world championship, interim at Williams
The Argentinian 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 got involved. obviously by entering the points in Baku (8th) and Austin (10th). The young man, who had until then delivered a promising first season in F2 (he was 6th at the time of being called up to F1), would undoubtedly have been higher in this ranking without his repeated crashes at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix then in Las Vegas. His rating unfortunately for him went down as quickly as it had gone up. Colapinto nevertheless took advantage of his nine races in the premier category to become a national icon and reconcile Argentina with F1.
46. Oliver Rowland
4th in the Formula E world championship, 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 3rd in the Drivers' standings? For us, no. Without taking away from Jaguar drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, the two New Zealanders had the car to challenge 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 spark for Season 11.
47. Connor Zilisch
Winner in LMP2 of the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring
At 18 years old, young Connor Zilisch has impressed observers in all the paddocks he has ridden in this season, and there have been quite a few! The American has in fact ridden in no less than eight championships, winning races in seven of them. Only the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series did not fall under its spell, with a fourth place as its best result in six races. Zilisch, on the other hand, won in the Mazda MX-5 Cup, where he competed in half of the championship, in CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour, in ARCA Menards Series West (on his only start of the year), in Series East where he finished second in the championship. In the ARCA National Series, he won five of the eight races he entered. But it is above all in IMSA and the NASCAR as well as during his first Xfinity start, at Watkins Glen. Zilisch is a name to follow very closely, whether in endurance or stock car…
48. Eagle Ugochukwu
11th in FRECA, winner of the Macau Grand Prix
Absent against his Prema and FRECA teammates 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 all the same to make an impression. The McLaren protégé led the Macau Grand Prix weekend from start to finish and allowed the French R-ace GP team to win for their first participation in the World Cup. A performance which 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 car to the finish line in one piece and above all as 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 at Macau.
49. Elfyn Evans
WRC vice-champion, 1 victory
We cannot say of the Welshman that he spared his efforts in 2024. The 35-year-old driver was the only one from the Toyota Gazoo Racing clan to compete in all the rounds of the WRC, with Takamoto Katsuta. Also, we placed him as joint favorite with Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) to win a title that has been denied him for a very long time.
It started well in Monte-Carlo (2nd) but Evans never found the instructions for his Toyota Yaris Rally1 hybrid. When luxury freelancers Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier were present, he was constantly dominated in pure pace. 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 this momentum to once again become a serious contender for the crown in 2025.
50. Abbi Pulling
F1 Academy Champion
For her second campaign in the 100% women's championship, the Englishwoman did not go into detail. Jostled by Doriane Pin during the launch in Saudi Arabia, the Alpine protégé reversed the trend in the following round in Miami with a double pole position and as many victories. From then on, she was unstoppable with 8 other poles and 6 new successes. She flew to the title which she won… twice in the space of a few days after the cancellation of Qatar Race 2, which was finally rescheduled in Abu Dhabi the following weekend. Abbi Pulling will now prove himself in a mixed championship in British F3 with Rodin Motorsport.
