F1: 5 Driver battles to watch in 2019

The 2019 Formula One Championship is still over two months away but pre-season is just around the corner for new drivers and new teammates to get ready and do battle.

2018 is certainly well behind us now and the question comes up again: of who will knock Mercedes off their perch?

The Silver Arrows have now won both the drivers' and constructors' championship for the last five years starting their dominance in 2014 with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Five years later and no Rosberg have hardly damaged their control of both championships.

The last couple of seasons have seen Scuderia Ferrari have a crack at Mercedes but no luck so far.

2019 is a new era with old faces and new faces forming one of the most exciting drivers' line-ups F1 has ever seen.

There is especially a handful of young drivers that could one day be the next world champion alongside the likes of Hamilton and Vettel.

Here are five possible driver battles ahead of the new season.

#5 Ricciardo vs Hulkenberg

New teammates could become enemies on the track

Midway through the 2018 season, many fans were stunned by the news of Daniel Ricciardo saying goodbye to Red Bull after four years in order to join Renault for 2019.

The Aussie certainly showed reasons why he was departing the four-time constructors' champions with the number of problems he had with his RB14 while teammate Max Verstappen was enjoying a run of podium success.

But now Ricciardo will team up with Nico Hulkenberg at Renault.

Both the Aussie and the German are known to be good friends off the track but their relationship will be tested come March when the season begins.

Ricciardo has proven to be a strong character when working alongside Verstappen in the past especially after their crash in Baku during the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

So it may take a lot for Hulkenberg to get under Ricciardo's skin.

#4 Max Verstappen vs Pierre Gasly

The Dutchman and the Frenchman will battle it out at Red Bull

It's a new era for F1 with the team yet again recruiting from their sister team, Toro Rosso, by promoting Pierre Gasly to the Red Bull seat - taking over from the departed Ricciardo.

Gasly will be entering his second full season after joining Toro Rosso at the back end of the 2017 championship.

Since then the Frenchman has shown a promising future with his race performances including last season's Bahrain Grand Prix where he finished just outside the podium in 4th place.

2019 gives Gasly the opportunity to compete at the top alongside Hamilton, Vettel and his teammate Max Verstappen.

There is two different approaches for Gasly to choose from, the first one is accepting the number two role at Red Bull which will be difficult for the Frenchman to take or the other option is to fight from the start.

Verstappen is no doubt Red Bull's priority as they certainly showed that in the last few races of last season.

But can Gasly spoil Verstappen's plans of becoming a world champion?

#3 Carlos Sainz Jr vs Lando Norris

Who will be number one at McLaren?

Just when we thought Red Bull were going through a new era try and compare that to the new generation at McLaren.

Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris are McLaren's hopefuls for 2019 with hardly any outsiders showing any knowledge of how the Woking team will do in the new season.

Sainz comes in for his close friend and fellow Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, while Norris will make his debut season in F1 after competing in Formula 2.

The new partnership could be seen similar to Alonso and Hamilton's partnership that hit thunder and lightning in 2007.

It ended up with Alonso leaving the team after just one season and Hamilton staying on at McLaren to go and win the drivers' championship 12 months later.

Will that be something for Sainz to keep an eye on? With Norris being a driver promoted from the McLaren programme, many will expect Norris to receive a better treatment out of the two.

But who knows how the team will approach 2019.

#2 Lewis Hamilton vs Sebastian Vettel

Another championship rivalry between these two?

It will come as no surprise that many expect another driver's championship to be between Hamilton and Vettel for the third season in a row.

Hamilton currently leads Vettel 2-0 in championship battles and it all started since Nico Rosberg announced a surprise retirement from the sport in December 2016.

Since then Hamilton has battled against another German in the form of the four-time champion, Vettel.

There's nothing new for Hamilton back at the Mercedes garage with teammate Valtteri Bottas working alongside the Briton for a third straight season.

Meanwhile, Vettel has the arrival of Charles Leclerc to worry about as the young man from Monaco has shown great potential in his debut season in F1 at Sauber.

Hamilton is the clear favourite to win a sixth world championship in 2019 and he really is showing that he is the man to beat.

For Vettel, the time is now to try and bring home Ferrari's first drivers' title in 12 years.

#1 Sebastian Vettel vs Charles Leclerc

Can Leclerc stun Vettel?

The 2019 drivers' line-up has us excited in so many ways but does anything beat the signature of Charles Leclerc to Scuderia Ferrari after just one season in F1?

Vettel has now been at the Italian team for four years and has so far failed to achieve any championship success as the German is hoping to follow the footsteps of his hero Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton has certainly not helped Vettel fight for a 5th championship by getting in the way and getting there before him.

Now Vettel has a new face to keep an eye on in the Ferrari garage.

The German has already come out and told the press that he expects his new teammate to challenge him for the race wins and championship bids.

But one thing is for sure, Ferrari have one hell of a team on paper.

Which driver's battle are you looking forward to the most? Comment below...

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