Ranked: 2024 F1 driver lineups from worst to best

When we talk about F1, we term it first and foremost as a team sport. It's not a sport where one individual can tower above everyone else and not hurt the rest of the output.

In the same way, when we talk about the teams one of the biggest things that stand out is the ability of a team to work as a unit and contribute the best it can.

When we talk about contributing the best it can, we talk about driver lineups as well. If the team has a well-balanced driver lineup where two key elements are getting the job done then there is no worry about whether the utmost performance is being extracted from the car.

This is why driver lineups are important and this is why we have a constructors championship in F1.

#10 Stake F1 team

At the bottom of the pile, we have the newly branded Stake F1 team. To be fair, the driver lineup is now two years old and if anything it is arguably the most uninspiring lineup on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas has seemingly lost a step and Zhou has not set the world on fire either. As a result, we have the Zhou-Bottas line up right at the bottom.

#9 Williams

On one hand, Alex Albon shined brighter than he has ever done in his F1 career, it's hard to not see that his teammate Logan Sargeant was underwhelming at best.

The American needs to kick things up a notch this season but for now, the lineup finds itself at ninth.

#8 Haas F1

In eighth, we have the driver lineup of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. While Hulkenberg did impress everyone with a significant turn of pace last season, Magnussen was surprisingly average.

The deficit to Hulkenberg in qualifying was just too big and not acceptable in which way for the Danish driver. As a result, overall the lineup is decent but it's hard to call it anything but that.

#7 Aston Martin

Aston Martin finds itself this low primarily because of the limiting factor in Lance Stroll who just cannot match his teammate and overall had quite a poor season.

#6 AlphaTauri

For AlphaTauri the 2024 F1 line-up is a major step up and one of the major reasons behind that has been the inclusion of Daniel Ricciardo.

In Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, the lineup is strong and one can't help but feel that the results are going to be better this season for the team.

#5 Red Bull

The reason why we find the reigning champion's driver lineup this low is because of Sergio Perez. You cannot have such a drastic difference in performance metrics and not assume that one driver is just not performing up to the level of the car.

Until that is the case, it's hard to put the Red Bull duo any higher.

#4 Alpine F1

In fourth, we have the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. While the duo is arguably not the drivers that belong to the elite group, they're just one step behind that and very reliable performers as well.

The two closely matched drivers extract whatever is on the table with the car that Alpine provides.

#3 McLaren

The lineup was arguably ranked a bit lower last season because Oscar Piastri was a rookie. This season however the Piastri-Lando Norris duo are a more mature line-up and could do some serious damage at the front of the grid.

#2 Ferrari

At number two we have Ferrari. In Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the team has two drivers that can win a race in the right car.

In Leclerc, the team has one of the biggest talents on the grid as well. In a competitive grid with plenty of variables, these two more often than not get the job done.

#1 Mercedes

It's arguably not a surprise that the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell find themselves at the top of the tree. Two elite drivers are a rarity and more often than not it doesn't work out.

In the case of these two, however, it seems to be working out just fine for now as they try to extract the best from the car every weekend.