Before any of the 20 drivers on this season’s Formula 1 grid can hope to become world champion, they must first beat the driver in the opposite garage to them before they can worry about the other 18 opponents.
Unlike most team sports, a driver’s team mate is often their biggest rival in Formula 1. The only competitor in equal machinery means they become a driver’s best benchmark by which to measure their own performance.
Heading into 2023, there are some fascinating match ups throughout the field. From all-new partnerships to other pairings where one driver is eager to settle the score after losing out in 2022. But which ten drivers do you foresee coming out on top at the end of this season against their team mates?
Red Bull: Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez
Two seasons of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez together at Red Bull has produced the results Red Bull were likely hoping for when they first signed Perez for 2021. Verstappen is now a double world champion and Perez helped the team secure their first constructors’ championship crown since 2013.
Perez fared a bit better in year two against Verstappen than his first year with the team, but Perez was not close to threatening Verstappen for the title, taking just two wins across the year compared to Verstappen’s record-setting 15 victories.
Last year: Verstappen was overwhelming favourite to beat new team mate Perez in 2021, earning 93% of the vote, and last year you backed the world champion even more with 96% – the biggest margin on the grid. Verstappen ultimately proved most of you correct, dominating the championship.
Which Red Bull driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Sergio Perez (1%)
- Max Verstappen (99%)
Total Voters: 150
Loading …Ferrari: Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz Jnr
The score between the two Ferrari team mates now sits at 1-1 after two seasons together. Carlos Sainz Jnr finished ahead on points in his first season with Charles Leclerc at Maranello, but Leclerc began 2022 as the clear quicker driver, taking two wins from the first three races.
While Sainz found more of a rhythm as the year went on, he was unable to catch Leclerc by the end of the season, who only just held off Sergio Perez to take second in the championship.
Last year: After 86% of you picked Leclerc to beat Sainz in 2021, only for Sainz to finish ahead on points, last year’s poll was a much closer affair. But you again backed Leclerc with 54% of the vote, with a small majority of you ultimately getting this call correct.
Which Ferrari driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (17%)
- Charles Leclerc (83%)
Total Voters: 149
Loading …Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Mercedes: George Russell vs Lewis Hamilton
Probably one of the most intriguing intra-team battles of last year was at Mercedes. Formula 1’s most successful ever driver, Lewis Hamilton, was joined by Mercedes junior George Russell, finally promoted to the factory team after three seasons with Williams.
Hamilton had easily had the measure of former team mate Valtteri Bottas over five years together, but as Mercedes struggled to match Red Bull and Ferrari, Russell enjoyed the better results of the two drivers. Taking the team’s only win of the season in Brazil sealed that Russell would finish ahead of Hamilton at the first time of asking.
Last year: Only around 1-in-3 of you had faith that Russell would beat Hamilton in their first year together, with Hamilton easily winning last year’s poll with 69% of the vote. Will it be the same story this season?
Which Mercedes driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Lewis Hamilton (75%)
- George Russell (25%)
Total Voters: 151
Loading …Alpine: Esteban Ocon vs Pierre Gasly
Two young, talented, race-winning French drivers line up at Alpine for 2023. Esteban Ocon has been with the team since 2020, giving them their only win in Hungary 2021. This year he is joined by Pierre Gasly, who embarks on his first season of Formula 1 outside of the Red Bull system.
Last year: Ocon was not favoured by you to beat former team mate Fernando Alonso in 2022, with 80% choosing Alonso over Ocon. But at the end of the year, Ocon sat one place ahead of his team mate in the final standings – helped in no small way by a series of car failures for Alonso.
Which Alpine driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Pierre Gasly (45%)
- Esteban Ocon (55%)
Total Voters: 151
Loading …McLaren: Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri
McLaren field one of the youngest driver line ups in the team’s history in 2023. Team talisman Lando Norris remains for a fifth year, but with McLaren dropping Daniel Ricciardo for 2023, in comes 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri, having been poached from Alpine.
Piastri has one of the most impressive junior formula records of any driver to have joined Formula 1 in many years, but how will he fare in his first season against Norris after a full year out of racing?
Last year: After Daniel Ricciardo could not match Norris at all in 2021, 84% of you picked Norris to beat Ricciardo again in 2022. The majority of you were proven right, with Ricciardo jettisoned by the end of the year.
Which McLaren driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Oscar Piastri (6%)
- Lando Norris (94%)
Total Voters: 151
Loading …Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas vs Zhou Guanyu
The only team last season to have an entirely new line up, Alfa Romeo was an interesting matter of youth versus experience with rookie Zhou Guanyu joining Valtteri Bottas after his departure from Mercedes.
Bottas leapt out into a comfortable lead in the points standings over Zhou, who suffered from more than his share of bad luck. Once Zhou began to match his team mate more often, the Alfa Romeo was no longer a regular points scorer and Bottas finished the year well ahead of Zhou.
Last year: The vast majority of you correctly predicted Bottas would beat his rookie team mate, with 93% of you tipping him over Zhou.
Which Alfa Romeo driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Zhou Guanyu (9%)
- Valtteri Bottas (91%)
Total Voters: 150
Loading …Aston Martin: Lance Stroll vs Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll bid farewell to one multiple-world champion team mate at the end of 2022, only to be greeted by another joining in his place for 2023. Fernando Alonso moves to Aston Martin at the age of 41, aiming to guide the rapidly growing team to the front of the field.
Both drivers were beaten by their team mates last season, although Alonso had his car and power unit to blame for that more than Stroll did. Can Stroll finish ahead of his team mate for only the second time in his F1 career?
Last year: Although we weren’t to know it at the time, 89% of you correctly predicted that Sebastian Vettel would finish ahead of Lance Stroll in his final season in Formula 1 – despite Vettel missing the opening two races.
Which Aston Martin driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Fernando Alonso (95%)
- Lance Stroll (5%)
Total Voters: 150
Loading …Haas: Kevin Magnussen vs Nico Hulkenberg
Haas forms one of the most intriguing match ups between team mates of the season. Kevin Magnussen was brought back suddenly in 2022 and it was as if he had never been away, immediately scoring a hoard of points to start the season. With the team ultimately discarding Mick Schumacher at the end of the year, they have replaced him with veteran Nico Hulkenberg.
The two are more than familiar with each other having spent many seasons fighting in the midfield. But as they work to try and bring Haas further up the order, which one will end the year on top?
Last year: Despite Magnussen’s year out, two-thirds of you had confidence that he would be able to beat the less-experienced Schumacher in 2022 – and you were proven right.
Which Haas driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Nico Hulkenberg (41%)
- Kevin Magnussen (59%)
Total Voters: 148
Loading …Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda vs Nyck de Vries
After two years alongside Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda has gained a new team mate for 2023. While the driver joining him is a rookie, he is not a young upstart or even a member of the Red Bull junior programme. Instead, he is 2019 F2 champion and 2021 Formula E world champion Nyck de Vries.
De Vries finally breaks into Formula 1 much later than he would have wanted, but finally gets an opportunity to make a case for himself at the highest level. He also has a grand prix under his belt already, impressively stepping in for Alexander Albon for Williams at Monza and scoring a point on debut. But will he beat out Tsunoda over the course of the year?
Last year: After Gasly’s best ever season in 2021, 95% of you expected him to beat Tsunoda in their second year together. Your faith in Gasly was validated as Gasly almost doubled Tsunoda’s score at the end of the year.
Which AlphaTauri driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Nyck de Vries (76%)
- Yuki Tsunoda (24%)
Total Voters: 147
Loading …Williams: Alexander Albon vs Logan Sargeant
The final driver pairing on the grid is also a fascinating match of younger drivers. Alexander Albon heads into his second season at Williams having successfully re-established his Formula 1 career, while being joined by the grid’s final rookie, Logan Sargeant, who earns promotion from Williams after just a single season in Formula 2.
Last year: Despite a year out for Albon, 89% of you had confidence that he would end up on top against Nicholas Latifi. So it proved to be, with Latifi leaving the team at the end of the season.
Which Williams driver will finish ahead in this season’s championship?
- Logan Sargeant (4%)
- Alexander Albon (96%)
Total Voters: 149
Loading …A RaceFans account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
