Top 3 potentially volatile driver pairings on the 2024 F1 grid

George and Lewis at the F1 Grand Prix of Spain

The 2024 F1 starting grid would be the same that ended the 2023 season. This is something that has happened for the first time in the sport's 70-plus years of history.

Arguably when one looks at the fact that the driver lineups have remained the same, there are a few key takeaways. One of them is that the lineups are optimum for every team. The other is that there seems to be harmony amongst different teams when it comes to their driver lineups.

Having said that, often there are a few driver lineups that buck the trend. The 2024 F1 grid certainly has a few that are potentially volatile as well. In F1, the first driver that anybody wants to beat is their teammate. More often than not, this is the root of any potential rivalry that could get built between the drivers.

Keeping that in mind there are quite a few driver lineups in F1 at the moment that could prove to be volatile during the season. Which ones are we talking about? Let's take a look.

#1 Lewis Hamilton-George Russell (Mercedes F1)

The two Brit drivers have already come together last season in Qatar and there were a few moments that could be considered flashpoints in Japan. Mercedes should be a better car this season and that should raise the stakes.

Add to it the fact that George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were more or less on an even keel in terms of performance and you have two drivers fighting for the same turf week in and week out.

Overall, there's certainly potential for the two to have a rather volatile partnership this season as Russell decides to finally step out of his teammate's shadow.

#2 Esteban Ocon-Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Esteban Ocon and teammates have never been a great combination. The driver stepped into F1 with Sergio Perez as his teammate in his first full season. As we can recall now, there were fireworks between Ocon and Perez.

Something similar was seen between Ocon and Fernando Alonso as well when the two were teamed up. In 2023, Ocon and Pierre Gasly had two race-ending collisions but neither driver was held culpable in either of them.

Having said that, the history between the two is somewhat frosty. The two drivers do not get along with each other off the track and Gasly has been quite vocal about the fact that Ocon is not a friend off the track.

With the two drivers being very close to each other in terms of performance and hence more or less fighting for the same positions, we could see a few potentially volatile situations over the season.

#3 Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

For Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the 2024 F1 season is crucial in different ways. For Norris, he needs to see improvement from McLaren to a point where the car could potentially challenge Red Bull. For Piastri, it's all about making improvements. The Australian is a strong driver and has made a good start to his career but he cannot rest on his laurels.

There was a clear deficit when it came to race pace and that is what could expose him again if he doesn't improve. Having said that, the 2023 F1 also showed that the two drivers tend to have similar peaks.

With a year of learning under him, one could expect Piastri to take the next step and be more consistent. If that is the case and if the stakes are high, we could be looking at a scenario where the two are battling each other more often than they did last F1 season.

If that is the case, we're looking at a potential flashpoint at some stage in the season between these two young drivers.