The job of Max Verstappen’s team-mate is one of the hardest in Formula 1 with huge mental strength required to go up against the four-time world champion.
He has so far had five team-mates in the series with a few of them being battered and bruised from the experience at Red Bull.
So, how do the head-to-head records stack up?
Max Verstappen vs Carlos Sainz (2015-16)
|
Max Verstappen |
Carlos Sainz |
|
|
Grands prix together |
23 |
|
|
Times out-qualified team-mate |
12 |
11 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [including DNFs] |
12 |
9 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [excluding DNFs] |
6 |
5 |
|
Poles |
0 |
0 |
|
Wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
0 |
0 |
|
Points |
62 |
22 |
Verstappen and Carlos Sainz both contested their rookie seasons together as team-mates at Red Bull’s junior squad, Toro Rosso, in 2015. While Verstappen was fast-tracked to F1 with just one campaign of single-seater racing under his belt, Sainz, who is three years older than Verstappen, was well-seasoned and had been part of Red Bull’s set-up since 2010.
Their time together wasn’t always peaceful, with tensions often flaring between their fathers - Jos Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Sr - while Max sparked controversy by refusing orders in Singapore to let his team-mate overtake.
Nonetheless, Verstappen got the better of Sainz in 2015, scoring 49 points to the Spaniard’s 18 which featured two impressive fourth-place finishes in Budapest and Austin.
The duo started 2016 as team-mates again but would not end the year as such, as just four grands prix into the season Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull. That was after another impressive start to the year for the Dutchman, who subsequently went on to win world titles at Red Bull, while a move to Renault was next on the cards for Sainz before finally getting to the front of the grid with transfers to McLaren and Ferrari.
Max Verstappen vs Daniel Ricciardo (2016-18)
|
Max Verstappen |
Daniel Ricciardo |
|
|
Grands prix together |
58 |
|
|
Times out-qualified team-mate |
34 |
24 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [including DNFs] |
35 |
21 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [excluding DNFs] |
18 |
12 |
|
Poles |
0 |
2 |
|
Wins |
5 |
4 |
|
Podiums |
22 |
19 |
|
Points |
608 |
590 |
Verstappen’s first Red Bull team-mate was Daniel Ricciardo, and the 2016 season was also a close one in the team. While Verstappen took his first win in his first race with the team, he would have to wait until round 15 of 2017 to take his next win - seeing Ricciardo take two in that time (the 2016 Malaysian and 2017 Azerbaijan Grands Prix).
Ricciardo also scored more points than Verstappen in their first full year together, accumulating 200 points to Verstappen’s 168, with Verstappen also retiring once more than Ricciardo - the Australian failing to finish six times to the Dutchman’s seven.
2018 was a turning point in the pair’s time together though, as Verstappen comprehensively outscored Ricciardo and the pair came to blows in Azerbaijan. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Australian decided to leave the team and joined Renault, then McLaren and ultimately ended up back in the Red Bull stable with a drive at AlphaTauri.
While the move away from Red Bull was the start of a petering out of his career, Ricciardo remains the only team-mate to have scored more wins than Verstappen in their time together, as well as being the only driver to take more pole positions.
Max Verstappen vs Pierre Gasly (2019)
|
Max Verstappen |
Pierre Gasly |
|
|
Grands prix together |
12 |
|
|
Times out-qualified team-mate |
11 |
1 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [including DNFs] |
11 |
1 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [excluding DNFs] |
9 |
1 |
|
Poles |
1 |
0 |
|
Wins |
2 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
5 |
0 |
|
Points |
180 |
63 |
Following Ricciardo’s departure, 2019 marked somewhat of a new era for Verstappen who was now tasked with leading the Red Bull team, becoming a more complete and mature driver throughout the year.
On the other side of the garage meanwhile, it was a different story as new team-mate Pierre Gasly massively struggled in just his second, full season in F1. The then-23-year-old joined after showing signs of promise at Toro Rosso in 2018, fourth in Bahrain being an obvious highlight, but failed to replicate such form at Red Bull as he only lasted 12 grands prix before being replaced by rookie Alex Albon.
Gasly was consistently far off Verstappen, scoring just over a third of his points tally in their short time together while only beating him in a race just once. That was in Silverstone when the Frenchman finished fourth, one spot above Verstappen partly because the Dutchman, while running third, spun into the Turn 16 gravel after being hit by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
So that clear anomaly aside, Gasly simply struggled against Verstappen and by the time of the summer break, Red Bull had had enough. It sent him back to Toro Rosso, where Gasly later flourished once again without the pressure of Verstappen, as he claimed a podium in Brazil that year before taking his famous Monza victory in 2020.
Max Verstappen vs Alex Albon (2019-20)
|
Max Verstappen |
Alex Albon |
|
|
Grands prix together |
26 |
|
|
Times out-qualified team-mate |
25 |
1 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [including DNFs] |
17 |
8 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [excluding DNFs] |
15 |
2 |
|
Poles |
2 |
0 |
|
Wins |
3 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
15 |
2 |
|
Points |
311 |
181 |
With Gasly having lasted just 12 rounds before being ignominiously demoted mid-season, Alex Albon received the promotion to the main squad from the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix. It was always going to be a challenge for Albon, having been moved up just 12 races into his F1 career and facing off against Verstappen in his fifth year.
Despite this he had a respectable start, finishing eight of the remaining nine races no lower than sixth place - the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix being the only blemish as contact with Lewis Hamilton (for which the Brit received a five-second penalty) would see him fall to 14th having been fighting for a podium position.
The 2020 season did see Albon secure his first and second podiums, however those two were contrasted by 11 for Verstappen - very much putting pressure on the Thai driver.
He didn’t get the mid-season boot, lasting until the end of the season, however the conclusion of the 2020 season saw Albon not only leave Red Bull, but F1 entirely as he joined DTM for the season, competing in 14 of the 16 rounds and securing a win en route to sixth in the championship. He returned to F1 in 2022 behind the wheel of a Williams, where he’s remained since.
Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez (2021-present)
|
Max Verstappen |
Sergio Perez |
|
|
Grands prix together |
90 |
|
|
Times out-qualified team-mate |
80 |
10 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [including DNFs] |
79 |
10 |
|
Times beat team-mate in a grand prix [excluding DNFs] |
67 |
5 |
|
Poles |
37 |
3 |
|
Wins |
53 |
5 |
|
Podiums |
70 |
29 |
|
Points |
1861.5 |
932 |
Having pitted Verstappen against drivers coming from the Red Bull Junior Team, 2021 saw a departure from the norm as it hired experienced driver Sergio Perez to partner Verstappen in 2021.
It initially seemed like a good move too, as Perez drove capably and won a tumultuous Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Verstappen, plus Mercedes pair Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, all failed to finish in the points. He’d secure five podiums with the team in that first season, and played a role in holding up Hamilton in the Abu Dhabi season finale, which helped Verstappen to take his first title.
He had a better 2022, taking two wins and finishing third - just three points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc - however the wheels began to fall off in 2023 as Perez finished the season with less than half of the points scored by Verstappen (though he was second in the championship).
It would be the 2024 season - Verstappen’s 10th in F1 - that would see Perez flounder though.
A reasonable start - two second places behind race-winner Verstappen - would give way to worse results, as Perez failed to reach the podium after the Chinese Grand Prix, despite team-mate Verstappen taking 10 podiums and five wins in that time. Such was his decline in performance that Red Bull would lose the constructors’ title, falling to third place as Perez finished eighth in the championship to Verstappen’s first.
This comes as Perez completed 90 races alongside Verstappen - just six shy of the total he’d spent alongside other drivers.
