Before the Monaco Grand Prix, who is dominating their teammate?

Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas)

At the championship leader, it is currently Valtteri Bottas who seems the most comfortable in qualifying. With three pole positions to his credit, the Finn is clearly the driver to rely on for Saturday: he has only been beaten by Lewis Hamilton in the first two sessions of the season. Notably, one can highlight his performance in Spain where he dominated his five-time world champion teammate by six-tenths.

However, it is indeed the Briton who most often manages to pull the chestnuts out of the fire during the race. With three victories compared to Bottas’ two, Hamilton is the man to beat before the arrival in Monaco. Will the driver bearing the number 77 be able to continue performing as well and offer a duel to Hamilton, as Nico Rosberg did in 2016?

Ferrari (Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc)

Charles Leclerc must surely be biting his nails at this moment. In addition to driving an underperforming SF90, the Monegasque has not managed to gain the upper hand over his teammate, Sebastian Vettel. While Ferrari’s young protégé clinched the team’s only pole position in Bahrain, it was the only weekend where he succeeded in beating the German in qualifying… The same holds true in races!

It is true that the four-time world champion benefited from his status as the number 1 driver and team orders to make his life easier. But let’s note that the Maranello drivers each made at least one big mistake. Vettel may have lost the race due to his spin in Bahrain, and Leclerc missed out on a good podium position due to his error in qualifying in Baku, which caused him to start in the middle of the pack. Ferrari knows it: they will need to double their efforts to catch up with Mercedes.

Red Bull (Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly)

It’s been a relatively difficult start to the season for Pierre Gasly, dominated by a very consistent Max Verstappen, who has already managed to finish on the podium twice, in Australia and Spain. Having never finished higher than 6th, there is nonetheless a clear progression in the Frenchman’s understanding of his car. Proof of this improvement is his race in Baku where he maintained the same pace as Leclerc’s Ferrari. Now that Gasly has started to match his pace with the leaders, he must overtake Verstappen, or at least reach his level!

In addition to never being beaten by his teammate, the Dutchman can boast of occupying third place in the overall drivers’ standings, ahead of the two Ferraris. Much like Vettel, Verstappen benefited from his status as the number 1 driver, giving him a certain advantage over Gasly by receiving upgrades first.

McLaren (Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris)

The internal rivalry within the British team is probably one of the most interesting at the start of this season. It indeed pits a very promising young rookie, Lando Norris, against Carlos Sainz, who is entering his fifth season in the premier category of motorsport.

In qualifying, it’s the Briton who is currently the most comfortable. Indeed, Norris has outqualified Sainz three times, in Australia, Azerbaijan, and Spain. However, the Spanish driver can rely on his experience to triumph over his teammate in the race. It’s worth noting that the former Renault driver missed out on points twice, in Australia and Bahrain, where he suffered from a mechanical failure and a collision, respectively. Currently 4th in the constructors’ standings, McLaren may need to manage a growing internal rivalry!

Racing Point (Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll)

Sergio Pérez has every reason not to clash too much with his teammate, who is none other than the son of the team owner, Lawrence Stroll. However, this doesn’t stop the Mexican driver from dominating all the qualifying sessions. While the Canadian has consistently been eliminated in Q1, the driver with number 11 has managed to reach Q3 twice.

But one should not write off the Montreal native too quickly, who finished ahead of his teammate in Australia by ending up 9th. By the end of the season, Pérez will be a good mentor for Stroll, who must prove to Formula 1 that he deserves his place, beyond his father’s support.

Haas (Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen)

Probably the two most incisive drivers on the grid! Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen once again displayed a great wheel-to-wheel battle in Spain. However, be careful not to overdo it and send both cars off the track!

In qualifying, the advantage is with Magnussen, who has outpaced his garage neighbor three times on Saturday. In the race, the Dane is always ahead and scores points whenever the car allows it, whereas Grosjean often suffers from bad luck, such as in Australia where the Frenchman had to retire due to a suspension issue.

Alfa Romeo (Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi)

No big surprise, the Finnish veteran consistently beats his less experienced teammate. While the Italian has never reached the Top 10 in a race, Räikkönen has already scored 13 points. The Finn will undoubtedly be a good teacher for Giovinazzi, who must absolutely show impressive performances if he doesn’t want to give up his place to a certain Mick Schumacher.

Renault (Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg)

The two Renault drivers have a lot to prove this season. On one hand, Ricciardo must prove that his successes are not solely due to Red Bull, and on the other, Hülkenberg needs to show a top team that he has the talent to join them.

In qualifying, the Australian is clearly faster than his teammate. Already eliminated three times in Q1, the German struggles in comparison to Ricciardo, who has reached Q3 on two occasions. The results balance out in the race, where neither of the Renault Boys has an advantage over the other. In addition to dealing with a struggling RS19, the diamond-badged brand will surely have to closely monitor the battle between its two drivers!

Toro Rosso (Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon)

It is well known that one must not disappoint Helmut Marko if one wants to stay in the Red Bull program. Kvyat paid the price in 2016 and 2017 when he was dismissed from Red Bull Racing and then Toro Rosso, and consequently from Formula 1. Fortunately for the Russian, he knows how to get back on track. But he now has to face another very promising rookie, Alexander Albon.

At the start of the season, the Thai driver was the fastest in qualifying, but since his crash during the third free practice session in China, he has consistently been beaten by his garage neighbor. The race on Sunday is tight between the two drivers of the Faenza team. Sharing the team’s 6 points equally, Toro Rosso can always rely on one of its two drivers to secure a good result.

Williams (Robert Kubica and George Russell)

In addition to driving an FW42 in neutral, Robert Kubica has not fully recovered from his injured left arm, which makes driving even harder for him. To make matters worse, he is unable to beat his teammate, George Russell, despite a chassis swap in Spain. The Briton even outpaced the Polish driver by one second and a tenth in qualifying!