I analysed EVERY F1 driving style in 2024... UPDATED

20. Lando Norris

Lando Norris can be classified as a Smooth Oversteer driver. Despite this, he is quite neutral in preferring oversteer or understeer. He is adaptable and quick in the wet, having an innate feel for the grip limit. His steering inputs are smooth, while he modulates the pedals to keep the car on the edge.

19. Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri is also a Smooth Oversteer driver, but relatively neutral in terms of car setup. He likes to have a high minimum speed in the corners and take a U-shaped racing line. His steering inputs are smooth, and telemetry shows that he aggressively modulates the pedals more than Norris.

18. Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc is an Aggressive Oversteer driver. He likes to brake hard and late into corners and carry a high minimum speed. He is inclined towards a slightly U-shaped racing line, but is adaptable. Leclerc micro-corrects and dances the car around, indicative of his innate feel for the limit.

17. Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz is a Smooth Understeer driver, the opposite of his teammate. Sainz likes to be smooth on turn-in and trailbrake deep into the corner. He carries less speed in the mid-corner but makes up for it on exit. He needs a strong rear end to extract the most out of his style, being aggressive when inducing rotation.

16. Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen is a Smooth Oversteer driver. He is smooth on the steering and extremely sensitive to the limit of grip. He carries lots of speed during the entry and mid-corner stages, extracting the most out of the oversteery Red Bull. Further, with an extreme preference towards oversteer but a tendency to be smooth, it is clear he has an innate feeling for the limit.

15. Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez is a Smooth Understeer driver, with a reliance on a strong rear. He is smooth and gradual on the steering and sensitive to the limit of the front tyres. He prefers to induce rotation himself, rather than having an easily rotating, oversteery car. He is kind on the tyres and can be quick when the conditions are right.

14. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is a Smooth Understeer driver, but is known to be quite neutral in terms of a car setup. He likes a strong rear end on entry, needing stability for his aggressive entries. Hamilton is often the latest braker on track, going hard and late on the brakes, deep into the apex. He carries a high entry speed, but compromises his mid-corner speed to set up a good exit. Hamilton has an especially innate feeling for the limit of the brakes.

13. George Russell

George Russell is a Smooth Oversteer driver. He is particularly known to be a ‘slow in fast out’ driver, who tends to slow down more on entry to set up a faster exit. He takes a V-shaped racing line, braking in a straight line and rotating the car early for a better exit line. Russell can be both fast and kind on the tyres with his versatile driving style.

12. Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso is an Aggressive Understeer driver. He has an incredible feel for the limit of the front tyres and is more inclined towards the aggressive side. He typically micro-corrects the steering in the corners and drives the car on the limit of the fronts. 

11. Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll is known for being an Aggressive Oversteer driver. He is more reactive to the car and likes to micro-correct the steering to get as close as possible to the limit. In comparison to Alonso, he is more inclined towards oversteer than understeer.

10. Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly is an Aggressive Oversteer driver. He likes to brake hard and late into corners and rotate the car aggressively. He takes a more V-shaped racing line, which allows him to extract the most out of the rear tyres. Gasly is known for being an aggressive downshifter as well, liking to have the rear end move around on entry. His steering inputs typically show aggression, with micro-corrections common in his driving style.

9. Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon is a Smooth Understeer driver. He is one of the smoothest drivers on the grid, also being fast in the wet and good at managing tyre wear. Similarly to Russell, he slightly underdrives the car on entry and mid-corner but gets a nicer exit as a result. He brakes earlier than Gasly and settles the car into the corner smoothly.

8. Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg is known as being a Smooth Understeer/Oversteer driver. He is quite neutral in terms of car setup and can adapt well. He is actually the earlier braker compared to Magnussen, carrying less speed into the corner but making up for it in the mid-corner and exit. Hulkenberg creates a more stable platform mid-corner and can carry more momentum.

7. Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen is known as being an Aggressive Understeer driver. Much like Hamilton, he needs a strong rear on entry to brake hard and late, deep into the corner. He gains time on entry and mid-corner, carrying a lot of speed until the apex, but loses it on exit.

6. Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda is an Aggressive Oversteer driver. He likes to brake hard and late into corners, get the car rotated at the apex and straight-line the exit. He follows a more aggressive V-shaped line to carry lots of speed into corners, while having a slower mid-corner. Tsunoda tends to micro-correct in the mid-corner and get the rotation done as soon as possible.

5. Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson is known for having an Aggressive Oversteer driving style. In comparison to Tsunoda, however,  he brakes early and likes to carry a high mid-corner speed. He gains time at the apex but loses it under braking, as Tsunoda is later and better on the brakes. Lawson likes to prioritise his exit speed, often having the faster exit than Tsunoda.

4. Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto is relatively new on the grid and has displayed an Aggressive Understeer driving style. He likes to brake early and turn in early, really working the front tyres. He rolls speed into the corners, having a higher minimum speed than Albon, however, he ends up wider on exit from taking a more U-shaped line. 

3. Alex Albon

Alex Albon is a Smooth Oversteer driver. He is smooth and gradual with the steering, winding on a consistent lock for the mid-corner. He stays on the limit primarily through pedal modulation, preferring to induce rotation himself rather than having an extremely oversteery car setup. Albon is kind on the tyres and takes a V-shaped line as well.

2. Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas is a Smooth Oversteer driver, known for his proficiency in this driving style. He is smooth with the steering, barely making corrections. Bottas likes to take a U-shaped line, holding the steering consistent in the mid-corner and carrying a high minimum speed. He modulates the pedals to stay on the limit with a smooth input with his hands.

1. Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu is known to be an Aggressive Oversteer/Understeer driver. He said himself, that he likes to be aggressive with the car. On corner entry, he likes to brake hard and late into the corners, often being slower at the apex than Bottas. He compromises his mid-corner speed, trying to set up his exit line gaining speed on exit as a result.