Carlos Sainz’s impressive start to the season has made the Spaniard’s future one of the most talked about topics in the paddock, with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc under pressure to respond.

Which drivers have shown promise in the first five Formula 1 rounds of the season? Watch all 24 races of the 2024 Formula One season live on Sky Sports as they analyze the performances of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and the rest of the grid.After the first five rounds of the 2024 Formula 1, Sky Sports F1 evaluates the drivers’ performances to date. Max Verstappen and Red Bull have continued their excellent start to the season, but with more than half of the drivers’ contracts expiring, competition is fierce up and down the field.With Mercedes underperforming once more, Lewis Hamilton has had his worst ever start to an F1 season and will struggle to salvage any success from his final season with the Silver Arrows. After analysing performances in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, and China, the Sky Sports Digital crew rates the drivers as follows:1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 9.5/10 The Dutchman’s pursuit of a fourth consecutive drivers’ title has started off on a near-perfect note. He has claimed all five pole positions, and the only race he has not won is the Australian Grand Prix, where he retired due to a brake issue. Despite speculation about his future with Red Bull, Verstappen appears to be on track to extend his historically dominant record. His sole mistake thus far came in Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, when he was caught out in the rain.2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (9/10) The Spaniard has provided the best conceivable answer to Ferrari’s plan to replace him with Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season. He started the season with a podium in Bahrain before appendicitis and subsequent surgery kept him out of Saudi Arabia. Despite not being fully fit, he capitalized on Verstappen’s retirement to lead a Ferrari one-two in Australia. He would finish on the podium – and ahead of his teammate – again in Japan, establishing himself as the undisputed top free agent for 2025.3. Lando Norris, McLaren (8/10) After a rather disappointing first two races, Norris appears to have found his form from the second half of last season, with two podium finishes in the previous three races, including a second to Verstappen in China. While he continues to seek for an elusive victory, with a chance from pole in the Shanghai Sprint slipping away due to a first-corner error, the Brit has established an early lead in his battle for supremacy with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

4. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 8/10

Fresh off signing a contract that will keep him in F1 until the end of 2026, by which point he will be 45, Alonso is showing no signs of slowing down. The Spaniard appears to have dragged every bit of performance out of his Aston Martin so far this season, often defying a race-pace deficit to the other front-runners to score consistent points on Sundays.

While he has driven excellently, Alonso received penalty points on his licence for controversial infringements in Australia and China.

5. George Russell, Mercedes – 7.5/10

While his results in another underperforming Mercedes haven’t been hugely eye-catching, Russell is comprehensively outperforming Lewis Hamilton, which is an achievement in itself.

The 26-year-old appears to have rediscovered the solid form of his first season with the Silver Arrows and would have finished in the top seven at all five races if it weren’t for being caught out by Alonso’s antics late in the Australian Grand Prix.