Through the first one-third of the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season, which of the 10 teammate battles has been the most lopsided?
Following the conclusion of the Canadian Grand Prix, seven of the 21 races on the 2019 Formula 1 schedule have been completed. Through the first one-third of the season, which of the 10 teammate battles has been the most lopsided?
There are three teammate battles that are in contention and two honorable mentions that could certainly get to that point if things continue going how they’ve been going.
The two honorable mentions are the battles between the Rich Energy Haas teammates, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, and the Alfa Romeo Racing teammates, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
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Magnussen has outscored Grosjean 14-2 so far this season and Raikkonen has outscored Giovinazzi 13-0, but both Grosjean and Giovinazzi have outqualified and finished higher than their respective teammates on multiple occasions this season. Additionally, one solid finish for either of these two drivers could change the complexion of their respective teammate battle immensely.
The three teammate battles in the running for “most lopsided” through the first one-third of the 21-race season are the teammate battles between the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport teammates, the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing teammates and the ROKiT Williams Racing teammates.
The battle among Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas started off intense, with Bottas winning the season opener ahead of Hamilton, who, entering the 2019 season, had earned Mercedes 20 of their 23 victories since Bottas arrived at the team ahead of the 2017 season. Additionally, through the season’s first four races, both drivers had earned two victories.
But now Hamilton has earned three more victories than Bottas, and no driver other than Hamilton has even earned three victories all season. After they finished in first and second place in some order in each of the season’s first five races, Bottas has been kept out of the top two in two consecutive races and now trails Hamilton by 29 points in the driver standings.
All of a sudden, Hamilton’s gap ahead of his teammate is the second highest gap among teammates in Formula 1, and given how he has dominated Bottas over the last two-plus seasons, this looks like it may only get worst for the 29-year-old Finn.
As for the battle among Red Bull Racing teammates Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, it has never really been a battle. Verstappen leads Gasly by a series-high 52 points in the driver standings, and he has not finished lower than fifth place in the last 16 races going back to last year.
Meanwhile, Gasly has just one fifth place finish in his first nine races driving for the Milton Keynes-based team and is one of only two drivers who has not yet finished higher than his teammate in any race this season.
Finally, as for the battle among Williams teammates George Russell, a rookie, and Robert Kubica, it could also be said that a solid result for either driver could change the complexion of this teammate battle immensely.
The problem is, a solid result by Williams standards would be a 14th place finish, as neither Williams driver has finished in the top 14 all season, and this would not change the complexion of this battle at all as far as the driver standings are concerned.
Let’s face it. Neither Williams driver is going to finish in the top 10 to score points at all this season. Take that to the bank. They will finish the season tied for last place in the driver standings at 0-0. But despite this, Russell has still dominated his teammate.
Through the season’s first seven races, Russell is the only driver in Formula 1 who has both outqualified his teammate in every race and finished higher than his teammate in every race. Driving for by far the sport’s slowest team, the way by which he has dominated Kubica is almost unprecedented, as he typically finishes well up the road from his teammate, several times even a lap ahead of him.
Given the fact that Bottas is still in second place in the driver standings despite his recent struggles, the most lopsided teammate battle would have to be either the battle among the Red Bull Racing teammates or the battle among the Williams teammates.
Right now, the edge goes to Red Bull Racing due to Gasly’s consistent struggles to perform at a high level in one of the sport’s fastest cars.
How will Formula 1‘s 10 teammate battles turn out by the time the season concludes in early December? Will these lopsided battle remain lopsided? Will other battles that are currently close turn into lopsided affairs?