Tuesday 28 April 2015 12:04, UK
We look at how the drivers are faring in their intra-team qualifying and race battles in 2015.
Please note: For the purposes of this feature a driver is awarded one point if they beat their team-mate in qualifying and with the same formula applied to the race results.
The results are taken from the official FIA classification and if both drivers retire from a race the score is given to the driver classified higher by the governing body.
After surprisingly losing the qualifying battle at Mercedes last year, Lewis Hamilton has started 2015 in dominant fashion with four successive pole positions to establish clear daylight over Nico Rosberg.
The world champion has continued to impress on a Sunday and beaten Rosberg in every race so far to surge into an early lead as Hamilton looks to cement his unofficial position as the number one driver at the Silver Arrows.
Despite Daniil Kvyat displaying impressive qualifying pace in GP3 and for Toro Rosso last year, Daniel Ricciardo has fended off the challenge from his new team-mate thus far, with the young Russian getting knocked out in Q1 for the first time in his career in Bahrain.
On race day, Ricciardo also leads, with Kvyat’s one score benefiting from team orders allowing him to pass Ricciardo’s hobbled car in Malaysia.
After Felipe Massa seemingly rediscovered his mojo by outpacing the highly-rated Valtteri Bottas during qualifying at the opening three rounds, the Brazilian was beaten on a Saturday for the first time in Bahrain.
After injuring his back in Australia, Bottas declared he was pain free in the desert and it showed in his driving as he beat Massa by three and a half tenths in Bahrain.
With the Australian GP omitted from this head-to-head due to Bottas’s absence, the Finn moves ahead in the race standings with his fourth place in Sakhir, having previously won a race-long battle in Malaysia.
Sebastian Vettel has quickly established himself as the lead runner at Ferrari, dominating the qualifying battle over Kimi Raikkonen.
However, an error-strewn race in Bahrain saw the German slip off the podium as Raikkonen took the fight to the Mercedes cars and won his intra-team duel to break his duck for the season.
It seems Raikkonen is perhaps struggling to get enough heat into his tyres in qualifying, while his session in Malaysia was compromised by the rain leading to a Q2 exit. That, though, could be of benefit in the race as demonstrated by the Finn's ability to work himself up the order in Malaysia, China and Bahrain.
As a result of Fernando Alonso missing Australia, the 2015 internal battle at McLaren only started in Malaysia and it was Jenson Button who came out on top against the team’s marquee signing - the Briton was over a tenth clear of Fernando Alonso as both cars went out in Q1 at Sepang.
Button would once again lead the way in China, but his qualifying advantage was cut to just four thousandths of a second by the double world champion. It was Alonso, though, who picked up the race score in Shanghai after Button made contact with Pastor Maldonado, dropping him behind the Spaniard.
As Button did not take part in qualifying or the race in Bahrain, the weekend is discounted.
It is a battle of one-lap pace versus race pace at Force India with Nico Hulkenberg winning the Saturday battle, but trailing Sergio Perez on Sundays.
That said, the qualifying fight has been tight with Bahrain the only time in 2015 they have not lined-up alongside each other on the grid, as Hulkenberg made a Q3 appearance that even surprised him.
But on race day it has been Perez who has improved on his position, with Bahrain another example of that as the Mexican went from 11th to eighth, while Hulkenberg slipped from eighth to 13th.
The battle of the rookies at Toro Rosso appears an even affair despite Max Verstappen’s lack of racing experience in comparison to his team-mate. Carlos Sainz picked up the qualifying score in Australia as he made it into Q3, but the Spaniard was caught out by the rain in Malaysia which, in a reversal of fortunes, saw him make an early exit and Verstappen take part in the top-10 shootout. Verstappen topped a close battle in China, but disappointed in Bahrain as six places separated the pair on the grid.
The race score is also a dead heat with Sainz picking up points in Australia and Verstappen retiring. In Malaysia they followed each other across the line with Verstappen ahead after a late pass, although the Dutchman had started nine places ahead on the grid.
Verstappen’s race came to an early end in China, while both drivers were forced to retire in Bahrain.
Romain Grosjean dominated the 2014 fight at Lotus and has once again established himself as the lead driver at Enstone after whitewashing Pastor Maldonado in the opening four rounds.
The Frenchman has made Q3 at every event this season, whereas Maldonado’s sole appearance came in Australia, with the Venezuelan even making a Q1 exit in Bahrain.
Grosjean has also scored all of Lotus’ points this season, while Maldonado is yet to finish a race.
With both cars missing the opening weekend in Australia and only Roberto Merhi taking part in qualifying and the race in Malaysia, the comparison at Manor could only begin in China.
Once underway, Will Stevens enjoyed a clear advantage in qualifying and the race and in Bahrain he extended the gap by qualifying over a second quicker than his team-mate and being lapped one time fewer by winner Lewis Hamilton in the race.
Despite having a year of F1 experience under his belt, Marcus Ericsson is being outperformed by rookie Felipe Nasr at Sauber. The Swede picked up his only score of the season in Malaysia courtesy of being on the track at the right time as the rain fell in qualifying.
The Swede wasted his lofty grid position in Sepang by mistiming his braking and spinning into the gravel on the third lap of the grand prix, underling the superior race craft of his Brazilian team-mate, who enjoys a clean sweep in the races and has scored nearly three times as many championship points.
