2024 F1 Intra-team rivalry predictions: Who comes out on top?

In F1, the first driver that one has to beat is your teammate. He's the only one with the same tools as you, and in terms of fair battles, it does not get better than this. If you are able to beat your teammate, or even better, dominate him, it puts you in a rarefied air.

Several teams often try to field two drivers that are on similar levels of performance to help extract the best results from the package. While there are chances it could lead to friction in case the two drivers aren't willing to work together, it could also lead to the two pushing the team forward.

Having two competitive teammates is one of the most enticing battles in F1 and there are quite a few on the 2024 grid as well. In this feature, we will take a look at all of them and predict who comes out on top.

2024 F1 season: Teammate rivalry predictions!

Red Bull (Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez)

Not much of a battle in this one. The two drivers have been together for three years now and it would be a major surprise if the status quo changes now.

Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell)

This one is going to keep everyone interested for sure. George Russell beat Lewis Hamilton in 2022 while the senior driver returned the favor last season. Hamilton is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season and what that means is a transitional period.

Who comes out on top? Well, we're going with George Russell. He's trying to assert his authority within the team and at the same time, Hamilton might lose motivation as the season continues since this will be his last year with the team.

Ferrari (Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz)

Ferrari has started to gyrate more and more towards Charles Leclerc in the last few months. With Carlos Sainz not getting a contract renewal, we could see more of Leclerc getting the upper hand on his Spanish teammate and establishing an authority within the team.

McLaren (Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri)

Another enticing battle, as Oscar Piastri in his second F1 year is far more prepared than his first. The Australian should pose a few challenges to Lando Norris but one can expect the McLaren veteran to hold the edge overall within the team in 2024.

We're picking Norris to edge Piastri in the 2024 F1 season.

Aston Martin (Fernando Alonso vs Lance Stroll)

Not much of a battle here as once again, we can expect Fernando Alonso to do what he does best — dominate his teammate. Expect another season of Lance Stroll being under intense pressure to perform at Aston Martin.

Alpine (Esteban Ocon vs Pierre Gasly)

In fairness, Pierre Gasly was the more impressive driver at Alpine last season, primarily because it was his first season with the team. In terms of performance, the two were quite neck and neck.

With the contract of both drivers coming to an end, we back Esteban Ocon's survival instincts to kick in this season. The driver has built an entire F1 career based on just surviving in some of the most dire moments of the sport. We're backing him to do the same in 2024 as he narrowly edges out Gasly at Alpine.

Williams (Alex Albon vs Logan Sargeant)

Expect Logan Sargeant to take a step forward compared to last season but would that help him take on the challenge of Alex Albon? We might see a few races where he gets the better of Albon but overall, expect Sargeant to be the second best.

RB (Daniel Ricciardo vs Yuki Tsunoda)

A duel that would decide the future of these two drivers for 2024! Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were both unable to establish themselves over the other in 2023. The 2024 F1 season could give them the ticket to Red Bull if everything goes well. We're predicting Ricciardo getting the jump on Tsunoda, even though the Japanese driver will have his moments here and there.

Kick Sauber (Valtteri Bottas vs Zhou Guanyu)

Not much of a battle here as well. Unless Valtteri Bottas has fallen off significantly, Zhou Guanyu should struggle to keep up, just like he has in the last two seasons.

Haas (Nico Hulkenberg vs Kevin Magnussen)

Another one where Nico Hulkenberg's qualifying prowess could make it hard for Kevin Magnussen to keep up. We're backing the German to gain and keep the upper hand at Haas.