Internal duels | Verstappen, Albon and Hulkenberg dominate

Red Bull Racing

*In qualifying and race duels, results where one of the drivers has a technical problem are not included. Example: Perez does not get a point for his qualifying win in Saudi Arabia because Max was unable to finish his qualifying due to a technical problem. In the case of a crash due to his own fault, the result will be taken into account. Example: Leclerc crashes in Q3 at Miami. His defeat to Sainz will be counted as a 'win' for the Spaniard, though. In case of rain during qualifying, the time difference between them is not included in these results.

Max Verstappen will become world champion in 2023. With 10 races to go, that much is clear. Red Bull Racing's car is superior to all the other competing teams, and not even his own teammate comes close to the Dutchman. Sergio Perez is dominated by Verstappen in all areas. Only at two teams' is the difference in qualifying between two teammates greater than at Red Bull. Incidentally, Verstappen would single-handedly be second in the constructors' championship.

Ferrari

A year ago, Charles Leclerc achieved much better results than Sainz, justifying Ferrari pulling ahead of the championship-contending Monegasque at the time. Over one lap Charles Leclerc is again faster than Carlos Sainz in 2023, but the difference this time is minimal. But it seems that internally, the Italians still prefer Leclerc's good result to Sainz's. For example, in Hungary, Ferrari, logically, should have let the Spaniard pass Leclerc, but they did not allow it. Along with that, without the bad luck of Belgium, Sainz would have been in much better shape compared to his teammate.

Mercedes

At the start of the season, it looked like George Russell - having finished higher in the championship standings last season - would once again become Mercedes' leader. But during this season, there has been a shift, with Lewis Hamilton now finding some excellent form. However, it is his car which is not allowing him to compete for wins. In any case, Hamilton is the man who put a Mercedes on pole this season. Moreover, Hamilton finished on the podium four times, against one visit by Russell. So the young Briton needs to step up in the second half of the season.

Alpine

Pierre Gasly hoped to structurally compete for trophies with his switch from AlphaTauri to Alpine. After half a season of hassle and intrigue, the French team has proved anything but successful. And Gasly? Who is already happy to drive in the points. Moreover, the former Red Bull Racing driver regularly lost out to his teammate, who finished on the podium once (in Monaco). Gasly had to make do with 'only' a medal in the Spint of Belgium. Twice the Alpines have both failed to finish (Australia and Hungary), as they eliminated each other. So in that, the two men are equal.

McLaren

What a difference some updates bring. McLaren hardly played a significant role at the start of the season, but since the MC60 underwent a huge change, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been competing for podium spots. Norris already got to spray champagne twice, and Oscar Piastri grabbed second place in the Sprint of Belgium. In the last races, the difference between the two youngsters was small, but in the duels between them, Norris still has a wide lead over the Australian in all facets. But seeing how Piastri has been profiling recently, we should not be surprised if those margins narrow after the summer break.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas has come second in the World Championship twice in his career, compared to Guanyu Zhou, a solid driver who is in his second season in Formula 1. On paper, Bottas should have the upper hand over his teammate. But in reality, the differences are marginal. If drivers are close in all areas, they are likely getting the most out of their respective cars.

Aston Martin

At Red Bull Racing, the differences between the two drivers are huge. This is also the case at Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso has proved far stronger than his teammate Lance Stroll, who has scored 102 points less. This is not surprising when you see that Alonso almost always crosses the finish line before the Canadian. At any other team, Stroll's position would be in question by now. But, obviously, not at Aston Martin. After all, Stroll is the son of the owner.

Haas

What is going on with Kevin Magnussen? The Dane is responsible for the only pole position for Haas ever (Brazil 2022), but he is already failing to beat his teammate this season. From a place at the back of the grid, it is impossible to get anywhere near the points with the current Haas. Hulkenberg managed to do so regularly, but then the German is proving to be a beast on Saturday this season. Started further up front, then more points might be in the offing.

AlphaTauri

Nyck de Vries was sidelined by AlphaTauri because the difference compared with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was big. In reality, there are several teams where the qualifying differences are, in fact, larger. For the past two Grands Prix, Daniel Ricciardo has been allowed to prove he can do better than De Vries. It has only been a short period, but in Hungary and Belgium, Tsunoda did, and Ricciardo did not take a point.

Williams

*Albon's crash in Australia is not included, as the team stated after the race that it was a technical problem that caused the Thai driver to crash out.

Alex Albon is top-form, and Logan Sargeant certainly is not. At no team are the differences between them as immense as at Williams. In all areas, Albon is dominating the American driver. After the summer, Sargeant has the chance to do better. If not, his stay in Formula 1 may be short-lived.