Internal duels | Verstappen distances himself from Perez, De Vries under pressure

After the Australian Grand Prix, drivers and teams have three weeks to unwind, a good time to take stock of the first three races. Which F1 drivers are in good shape within their teams, and for whom is there work to be done during the break?

In Formula 1, no one is more important to beat than your teammate. After all, the driver on the other side of the garage has the same machinery at his disposal. If you beat him, you have a chance to get a better seat in F1. But if you lose, the F1 journey could also be over just like that.

Internal duels in Formula 1

At the top, the qualifying ratio is clear. At Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen won two qualifying sessions from Sergio Perez. The Mexican won one, but that is on a technicality, as Verstappen had to retire in Saudi Arabia with a driveshaft issue. Perez's retirement in Australia could be seen differently, as his retirement from qualifying came by way of driver error, sliding off into the gravel.

Because of the retirements for both drivers, an average difference can still be taken, but there is little data to use. Only in Bahrain did both drivers qualify, with Verstappen 0.138s faster than his teammate. On Sunday, the contrast is small for now. Verstappen has finished ahead of Perez twice so far this season; the Mexican has beaten the Duchman once after his victory in Saudi Arabia. As a result, the difference in drivers' championship points is 15 in Verstappen's favour.

At Ferrari, things are also close. Charles Leclerc is 2-1 ahead in the qualifying duel, with an average lead of 0.189s. However, his car had to be retired at the Bahrain GP, he finished behind Sainz in Jeddah, and at the Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc himself ended his race, clipping Lance Stroll and spinning into the gravel trap. As a result, the race duel is 3-0 in favour of Carlos Sainz, who, with 20 points, has more points than Leclerc's six.

Those proportions are also interesting at Mercedes. George Russell is dominating on Saturday, with the qualifying battle between him and Lewis Hamilton currently standing at 3-0 in favour of the young Briton, with an average difference of 0.182s. However, the Sunday battle is tied 1-1 after Russell had to retire in Australia through a power unit failure. That bad luck does put Hamilton ahead in points: 38 to Russell's 18.

At this season's other top team, Aston Martin, the ratio is very clear. Fernando Alonso is well ahead of Lance Stroll in qualifying (3-0) and racing (2-0). The Spaniard needed little time to get used to the AMR23. In qualifying, for instance, he has driven an average of 0.295s faster than his teammate and has already scored more than double the number of points, 45 to Stroll's 20.

De Vries has to step up

As expected, Alpine has attracted two drivers who are very close to each other. Esteban Ocon does have a slight advantage, however. The driver who has been with the team for some time is 2-1 ahead in the qualifying duel, with an average difference of 0.253s compared to new Alpine driver Pierre Gasly. On Sunday, however, it is 1-1, and both drivers have scored four points. That could have been very different if the race in Melbourne had gone just a little differently, with a huge points finish for Gasly taken away from him after he and Ocon collided.

Oscar Piastri also started his time at McLaren well. Lando Norris has qualified quicker than the rookie Australian on two occasions, but due to the huge difference in Jeddah (0.741s in Piastri's favour), Piastri has an average lead of 0.006s per qualifying session. It is 1-1 in the Sunday duel between the two drivers, with Norris having more points than his new teammate, standing at eight points to four after Australia.

Guanyu Zhou has provided a remarkable turnaround at Alfa Romeo, with the Chinese driver 2-1 ahead in the qualifying and racing duels. The difference with Valtteri Bottas was that Zhou was 0.117s quicker on Saturday. The experienced Finn has scored more points, however. His eighth place in Bahrain has earned more than the two times Zhou finished ahead of his teammate.

At Haas, Kevin Magnussen was rocked by the arrival of his new teammate. Where the Dane had Mick Schumacher under his thumb, he is now losing the duel to Nico Hulkenberg. The difference on Saturday was huge. Hulkenberg finished every qualifying session ahead of Kevin with an average difference of 0.529s, the biggest difference between all drivers. However, Magnussen does lead the race standings (2-1), but Hulkenberg's good result in Australia means that he has also earned more points.

At AlphaTauri, it has been a very one-sided duel in the first three Grands Prix. Yuki Tsunoda finished every qualifying and race ahead of his teammate. With two P11s and one P10, it has not resulted in a big difference in points yet, but the average difference on Saturday is big: 0.421s. Nyck de Vries, therefore, needs to get down to business.

The same can be said for Logan Sargeant, losing the qualifying and race duel to his teammate Alexander Albon every race weekend. On Saturday, the difference between the two is just slightly smaller than at AlphaTauri, at 0.393s.

Who has to compete

The duels at Mercedes, Alpine and McLaren will be interesting to keep an eye on after the break. That's where it is closest so far. Which driver will come out on top? At Mercedes, that already seems to be causing some friction. Everyone is almost counting on friction between the Alpine drivers. And at McLaren, Piastri may be a bit closer to Norris than people expected.

There are also a number of drivers who sit too far away from their teammates. This mainly applies to De Vries and Sargeant, where the difference on Saturdays and Sundays is huge, with their positions under immediate pressure already. Magnussen will also have to step up to the plate. Despite a point, his teammate has stolen the show in the first three races. Stroll's performance has not been very strong either, but he did suffer an injury before the start of the season. Besides, there is no chance he will be sacked by his own father.