F1 European champion crowned in SHOCK result as Hamilton lands big win

Formula 1 has existed on the basis of running a world championship but drivers including Lewis Hamilton would benefit from the addition of a more continental approach.

Now this doesn’t mean going back to the 20th century and running an F1 world championship at almost exclusive European venues, but one interesting area to explore could be by adding continental championships – and it doesn’t just mean stat padding for the likes of Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

F1 HEADLINES: Newey faces WOBBLE before future announcement as Horner caught in feisty exchange

WATCH: Former world champion warns Russell of potential replacement

Simply put, this would be crowning champions based on the points totals of grands prix to have taken place in a certain geographical region (and have your say in our GPFans poll at the bottom of this page).

Europe is the home of F1

With F1 there is no better place to start than Europe. It’s been the spiritual home of the series since its 1950s inception, and a sensible reason to have not had a similar idea in place before was because there wasn't enough races elsewhere to justify multi regional championships. It is an idea that could only gain credibility if there were others too – but we will get to that down the line.

Another reason we start with Europe is because the European season is now over for 2024, even if we do have eight races left and still plenty to play for. In theory the top eight down to George Russell could still be crowned world champion.

Even as recently as the 2000s the chances were that after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, you’d be down to three or four races and the championship would be nearly over.

Now, we are not even at the business end, and it seemed to take Hamilton by surprise when he realised recently that his time on the road with Mercedes after 11 years was over as we enter what are called ‘fly-away’ races.

But let’s get back to this European championship for 2024. Shouldn’t Baku be on this list, given it has hosted a European Grand Prix in the past? Fair point but it is not treated as a motorhome venue the teams typically use to get around Europe, neither is it a part of the legacy F1 venues that most European tracks or at least grands prix are, so Asia it is.

This European championship has taken place across nine venues including Imola, Monaco, Spain, Austria, Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands and Italy. Points for sprint races and fastest laps have also been included. The results were quite eye raising, however.

READ MORE: Axed McLaren star blasts ‘UNFAIR’ F1

Oscar Piastri lands shock victory

So who is F1’s European champion? The world champion Verstappen, his chief title rival Lando Norris, the double race winner in Europe, Hamilton? The answer is no. Instead the winner is Oscar Piastri!

The Australian’s consistent scoring throughout Europe (including his first grand prix win in Hungary) has helped him come out on top with 146 points, narrowly beating Verstappen on 142 points and Norris on 140 points (that Hungary McLaren swap-around looks even more costly to Norris now!)

Another big winner is Hamilton who, ahead of his move to Maranello next season, leaps above both Ferrari drivers from sixth into fourth in the European championship, albeit trailing the top three a little more sat on 124 points.

Sergio Perez has perhaps lost out most, with his European haul being just 40 points – perhaps highlighting just how much Verstappen is squeezing pace wise out of the struggling Red Bull since Miami.

F1 European championship 2024 results

Now Asia, the Americas... and F1 back in Africa?

Of course the fun doesn’t stop there for 2024. With F1 so popular now, the concept could apply to other continents. For instance, there could be an Asian champion based on the races in the region including the Australian Grand Prix, while there could also be an Americas champion featuring the six races that take place in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Too few races? Don’t forget even the first world championship was decided over the same amount of grands prix (and don’t even think about including the Indy 500 into that!)

This isn’t just a gimmick idea stolen from something like WWE, although drivers walking around with championship belts and standing in the paddock giving verbal lashings to rivals isn’t the worst idea I’ve heard (Abu Dhabi 2014 double points bonanza anyone?). In fact Liberty Media may even lean towards the sports entertainment side of things to add more US influence into the sport.

But back to the serious stuff, such is the expansion of F1 now it has credible merits. World championship effectively over by the end of the northern hemisphere summer? Then maybe the title winner had a slow start to the season, leaving the Asian title up for grabs. Maybe one driver has a brilliant record at US tracks. It simply opens up more to win during a campaign. Win them all, and that’s a season grand slam.

What it also does is highlight the need for F1 to return to to Africa. A lack of venues and resources make that difficult but what’s a world championship if you don’t go all around the world? A debate for another day that one. For now congratulations to our new European champion, Oscar Piastri!

READ MORE: Red Bull F1 chief drops Norris 'contract' BOMBSHELL

Related

Latest F1 News

Hamilton gets HEATED in Mercedes seat complaint

• September 14, 2024 19:42

Latest F1 News

Hamilton playing 'SECOND FIDDLE' in damning Mercedes assessment

• September 14, 2024 17:57