Mid-Season Driver Analysis Reveals Surprising Gaps in Team-Mate Qualifying Performances
As the Formula 1 season reaches its summer break, now is an ideal time to assess the crop of 2024 drivers. With 14 rounds completed, the analysis of qualifying performances provides valuable insights into which drivers are exceling and which are struggling.
One key metric to compare drivers is raw speed, with qualifying serving as a straightforward indicator of pace. By examining the head-to-head qualifying performances of team-mates, we can gain a better understanding of the intra-team dynamics. Here’s how the 2024 F1 team-mates stack up:
Qualifying Head-to-Head
- Leclerc 8-5 Sainz
- Ocon 8-4 Gasly
- Alonso 9-5 Stroll
- Tsunoda 9-4 Ricciardo
- Russell 10-4 Hamilton
- Hulkenberg 10-2 Magnussen
- Norris 11-3 Piastri
- Bottas 13-1 Zhou
- Albon 13-0 Sargeant
- Verstappen 14-0 Perez
While this metric provides a good gauge of assessing the intra-team battles, it has its limitations. To gain a clearer understanding of the drivers’ actual speed, we’ve delved into supertimes. Supertimes are based on the fastest single lap by each driver at each race weekend, expressed as a percentage of the fastest single lap overall (100.000%) and averaged over the season.
Supertimes Gaps for the 10 Team-Mate Pairings
- Gasly-Ocon 0.015s
- Russell-Hamilton 0.101s
- Leclerc-Sainz 0.134s
- Norris-Piastri 0.185s
- Tsunoda-Ricciardo 0.196s
- Alonso-Stroll 0.211s
- Hulkenberg-Magnussen 0.426s
- Bottas-Zhou 0.643s
- Albon-Sargeant 0.675s
- Verstappen-Perez 0.953s
The supertimes reveal some intriguing insights. The gap between Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon is remarkably close, with a mere 0.015-second difference. This is comparable to the gap between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2007 (0.019s in Hamilton’s favour) and between 2015 Toro Rosso rookies Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz (0.067s).
The supertimes also highlight the strong performances of Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber, who boasts a 0.426% gap over Kevin Magnussen. Valtteri Bottas, too, has a significant 0.643% advantage over Zhou Guanyu at Sauber.
However, the biggest deficit belongs to Sergio Perez at Red Bull, who trails Max Verstappen by a substantial 0.953%. This gap is one of the largest seen in recent Formula 1 history, comparable to the 0.908% average gap between Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine at Ferrari.
“As the season resumes, it will be fascinating to see how these gaps change and which drivers can adapt to bridge the performance differences. For now, the mid-season analysis suggests that some drivers are under pressure to improve their qualifying performances to remain competitive.”
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