Source: PlanetF1 (2026)
Key Findings at a Glance
- → Norris 7-4 Piastri (GP qualifying), 4-0 (Sprint qualifying) in 2026 McLaren’s Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri in qualifying head-to-heads so far this season, after a 12-12 draw over Grand Prix qualifying and Piastri leading 4-2 in Sprints the previous year. [PlanetF1]
- → Norris 423-410 Piastri in final 2025 championship points Lando Norris finished the 2025 season first in the standings with 423 points, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri’s 410, despite Piastri leading several qualifying and race head-to-head counts. [Sky Sports]
- → Leclerc 19-5 Hamilton in 2025 Grand Prix qualifying Charles Leclerc dominated Lewis Hamilton in qualifying during their first season together at Ferrari in 2025. [Sky Sports]
- → Alonso 58-6 vs Massa at Ferrari (career head-to-head) Fernando Alonso built one of the largest career teammate gaps in F1 history against Felipe Massa during their years together at Ferrari. [Grid Position (Instagram)]
- → Verstappen won all six head-to-head factors (6-0) against Sergio Perez in 2023 Max Verstappen swept every measured category — points, race result, qualifying, fastest lap, laps in the top 10, and best result — against Sergio Perez across the 22-race 2023 season. [F1Bytes]
- → Verstappen led 75.06% of race laps in 2023 Max Verstappen’s laps-led percentage in the 2023 season broke Jim Clark’s 1963 record of 71.47%, underlining his dominance over teammate Sergio Perez. [F1Bytes]
- → Sainz 10-9 Verstappen in 2015 qualifying at Toro Rosso In their rookie season together, Carlos Sainz edged Max Verstappen in qualifying head-to-heads (10-9) across 19 races, though Verstappen scored more points overall (49 vs 18). [Formula1.com]
- → Max Verstappen career totals: 4 World Championships, 71 wins, 127 podiums, 48 pole positions As of early 2026, before Isack Hadjar joined as his eighth F1 teammate, Verstappen’s overall career record stood at four titles, 71 wins, 127 podiums and 48 poles. [Formula1.com]
Through the early stretch of the 2026 season, Max Verstappen holds an 8-3 qualifying lead over Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar in Grand Prix sessions, plus a clean 4-0 sweep in Sprint qualifying. Numbers like these sit at the center of how F1 fans judge teammates against each other, since drivers share equal cars and setups. This piece breaks down current-season tallies alongside career-long comparisons for Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, and the McLaren and Ferrari lineups of 2025 and 2026.
1Who Is Winning the 2026 F1 Teammate Qualifying Battles?
So far in 2026, Max Verstappen leads Isack Hadjar 8-3 in Grand Prix qualifying and 4-0 in Sprints. Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri 7-4 and 4-0. Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell 7-4 in Grand Prix qualifying after trailing 25-5 in 2025. Charles Leclerc leads Lewis Hamilton 6-5.
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| McLaren GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Norris 7-4 Piastri sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| McLaren Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Norris 4-0 Piastri sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Mercedes GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Antonelli 7-4 Russell sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Mercedes Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Antonelli 2-2 Russell sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Antonelli vs Russell prior overall qualifying deficit | 25-5 sessions | PlanetF1 |
| Red Bull GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Verstappen 8-3 Hadjar sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Red Bull Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Verstappen 4-0 Hadjar sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Ferrari GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Hamilton 5-6 Leclerc sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Ferrari Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Hamilton 3-1 Leclerc sessions won | PlanetF1 |
| Source: PlanetF1 | ||
Each of the four constructors shows a different qualifying pattern this year. Red Bull and McLaren both feature one driver sweeping Sprint qualifying outright, while Ferrari and Mercedes remain closer contests session by session. Antonelli’s swing from a 25-5 deficit to a 7-4 Grand Prix qualifying lead marks one of the sharper reversals tracked in statistical-analysis-f1-qualifying-performance. For more on how these tallies fit into the broader 2026 order, see driver-and-constructor-standings-2026 and current-f1-drivers-standings-comparison-2026.
2How Did the Final 2025 Head-to-Head Numbers Compare to the Championship Result?
Lando Norris finished 2025 with 423 points to Oscar Piastri’s 410, despite Piastri closing the year ahead in some session counts. Norris led final qualifying 13-11 and races 13-10, while Piastri led Sprint qualifying 4-2 and Sprint races 3-2. Charles Leclerc beat Lewis Hamilton 19-5 in qualifying that year.
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| McLaren 2025 final GP qualifying head-to-head | Norris 13-11 Piastri sessions won | Sky Sports |
| McLaren 2025 final Sprint qualifying head-to-head | Norris 2-4 Piastri sessions won | Sky Sports |
| McLaren 2025 final GP race head-to-head | Norris 13-10 Piastri races won | Sky Sports |
| McLaren 2025 final Sprint race head-to-head | Norris 2-3 Piastri races won | Sky Sports |
| McLaren 2025 final championship points | Norris 423, Piastri 410 points | Sky Sports |
| McLaren 2025 final championship placing | Norris 1st, Piastri 3rd position | Sky Sports |
| Ferrari 2025 GP qualifying head-to-head | Leclerc 19-5 Hamilton sessions won | Sky Sports |
| Source: Sky Sports | ||
Piastri’s edge in several session counts did not translate into the title, since Norris converted his qualifying and race wins into a four-point margin at season’s end, finishing 1st to Piastri’s 3rd. That gap between head-to-head tallies and final points figures shows why raw session counts rarely tell the full story, a theme covered further in f1-drivers-win-percentage-per-season. Leclerc’s 19-5 qualifying record over Hamilton in their first year together stands out against Ferrari’s usual pattern, and it lines up with wider trends tracked in career-average-finishing-positions-f1-drivers-by-year.
3What Is Fernando Alonso’s Career Head-to-Head Record Against Teammates?
Fernando Alonso’s widest career gap came against Felipe Massa at Ferrari, 58-6 in race wins, and he led Kimi Räikkönen 15-1 and Lewis Hamilton 9-6. At Alpine, Alonso edged Esteban Ocon 17-16, and at Aston Martin he leads Lance Stroll 41-10.
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Alonso vs Massa career head-to-head (Ferrari) | 58-6 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) |
| Alonso vs Räikkönen career head-to-head | 15-1 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) |
| Alonso vs Hamilton career head-to-head | 9-6 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) |
| Alonso vs Ocon career head-to-head (Alpine) | 17-16 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) |
| Alonso vs Stroll career head-to-head (Aston Martin) | 41-10 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) |
| Source: Grid Position (Instagram) | ||
The Massa gap stands as one of the widest teammate splits in F1 history, built over Alonso’s Ferrari years from 2010 to 2014. His closer records against Hamilton and Ocon show how margins shrink when a teammate arrives with title-winning or near-equal machinery, a pattern visible across total-f1-wins-by-each-driver-and-how-they-compare-over-seasons. The 41-10 record against Stroll at Aston Martin extends that same wide-gap trend into the final years of Alonso’s career, a detail worth setting against broader career counts in statistics-race-winners-podium-finishes-f1-history.
4How Completely Did Verstappen Sweep Every Category Against Perez in 2023?
Max Verstappen beat Sergio Perez in all six tracked 2023 categories: points (575-285), qualifying (20-2), fastest laps (17-4), and laps spent in the top ten (1,312-974). Verstappen won 19 races that season and led 75.06 percent of all racing laps, breaking Jim Clark’s 1963 mark of 71.47 percent.
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 points total | Perez 285, Verstappen 575 points | F1Bytes |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 qualifying wins | Perez 2, Verstappen 20 sessions | F1Bytes |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 fastest laps | Perez 4, Verstappen 17 races | F1Bytes |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 laps in top 10 | Perez 974, Verstappen 1312 laps | F1Bytes |
| Verstappen 2023 season wins | 19 race wins | F1Bytes |
| Source: F1Bytes | ||
No other Red Bull driver pairing in the team’s history has produced a six-category sweep like this one, and the 75.06 percent laps-led figure separates the 2023 campaign from any prior Verstappen season. Perez’s totals, 285 points and only two qualifying wins across 22 races, mark one of the widest single-season teammate gaps recorded in historical-data-f1-driver-performance-by-race. That record fits into wider single-season milestone tracking covered in f1-driver-records-and-milestones-by-season.
5How Do Verstappen’s Rookie Numbers with Carlos Sainz Compare to His Later Teammates?
As Toro Rosso rookies in 2015, Carlos Sainz beat Max Verstappen 10-9 in qualifying across 19 races, though Verstappen scored more points, 49 to 18. Verstappen won the 2015 race count 10-7 and the 2016 qualifying count 3-1 as well, with 13 points to Sainz’s 4 across four shared races that year.
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2015 race head-to-head (Toro Rosso, 19 races) | Sainz 7-10 Verstappen races won | Formula1.com |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2015 points | Sainz 18, Verstappen 49 points | Formula1.com |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2016 qualifying head-to-head (4 races) | Sainz 1-3 Verstappen sessions won | Formula1.com |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2016 points | Sainz 4, Verstappen 13 points | Formula1.com |
| Isack Hadjar as Verstappen’s teammate number | 8th ordinal | Formula1.com |
| Source: Formula1.com | ||
Verstappen’s 2015 season marks the only qualifying head-to-head he has lost to a full-time teammate across his career, a detail that stands out given his later record with Sergio Perez and now Isack Hadjar, his eighth teammate since joining Red Bull’s junior program. The shift from trailing Sainz 10-9 in qualifying during 2015 to leading him 3-1 across four races in 2016 hints at the sharp development curve Red Bull expected from its young lineup, a pattern examined further in f1-drivers-qualifying-performances-compared-across-history. That early record now sits alongside seven other teammate comparisons, including Perez, ahead of Hadjar’s arrival in 2026, a full list of which appears in comparison-of-f1-drivers-statistics-over-time.
Complete Data Reference
Sortable table of all verified data points. Click any column header to sort.
| Metric | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Norris 7-4 Piastri sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| McLaren Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Norris 4-0 Piastri sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Mercedes GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Antonelli 7-4 Russell sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Mercedes Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Antonelli 2-2 Russell sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Antonelli vs Russell prior overall qualifying deficit | 25-5 sessions | PlanetF1 | 2025 |
| Red Bull GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Verstappen 8-3 Hadjar sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Red Bull Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Verstappen 4-0 Hadjar sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Ferrari GP qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Hamilton 5-6 Leclerc sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| Ferrari Sprint qualifying head-to-head (2026 season) | Hamilton 3-1 Leclerc sessions won | PlanetF1 | 2026 |
| McLaren 2025 final GP qualifying head-to-head | Norris 13-11 Piastri sessions won | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| McLaren 2025 final Sprint qualifying head-to-head | Norris 2-4 Piastri sessions won | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| McLaren 2025 final GP race head-to-head | Norris 13-10 Piastri races won | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| McLaren 2025 final Sprint race head-to-head | Norris 2-3 Piastri races won | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| McLaren 2025 final championship points | Norris 423, Piastri 410 points | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| McLaren 2025 final championship placing | Norris 1st, Piastri 3rd position | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| Ferrari 2025 GP qualifying head-to-head | Leclerc 19-5 Hamilton sessions won | Sky Sports | 2025 |
| Alonso vs Massa career head-to-head (Ferrari) | 58-6 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) | 2026 |
| Alonso vs Räikkönen career head-to-head | 15-1 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) | 2026 |
| Alonso vs Hamilton career head-to-head | 9-6 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) | 2026 |
| Alonso vs Ocon career head-to-head (Alpine) | 17-16 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) | 2026 |
| Alonso vs Stroll career head-to-head (Aston Martin) | 41-10 race wins | Grid Position (Instagram) | 2026 |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 points total | Perez 285, Verstappen 575 points | F1Bytes | 2023 |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 qualifying wins | Perez 2, Verstappen 20 sessions | F1Bytes | 2023 |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 fastest laps | Perez 4, Verstappen 17 races | F1Bytes | 2023 |
| Perez vs Verstappen 2023 laps in top 10 | Perez 974, Verstappen 1312 laps | F1Bytes | 2023 |
| Verstappen 2023 season wins | 19 race wins | F1Bytes | 2023 |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2015 race head-to-head (Toro Rosso, 19 races) | Sainz 7-10 Verstappen races won | Formula1.com | 2015 |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2015 points | Sainz 18, Verstappen 49 points | Formula1.com | 2015 |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2016 qualifying head-to-head (4 races) | Sainz 1-3 Verstappen sessions won | Formula1.com | 2016 |
| Sainz vs Verstappen 2016 points | Sainz 4, Verstappen 13 points | Formula1.com | 2016 |
| Isack Hadjar as Verstappen’s teammate number | 8th ordinal | Formula1.com | 2026 |
Methodology
Some qualifying tallies reflect a season still in progress and may shift after each remaining Grand Prix weekend. Career-long comparisons draw on secondary compilations from outlets like PlanetF1, Sky Sports, and F1Bytes rather than a single official FIA session-by-session archive, so minor discrepancies between outlets are possible. Historical figures from earlier seasons (2015, 2023) are treated as fixed, while 2025 and 2026 figures are subject to revision as new sessions are logged.
- Sources consulted: 10
- Sources cited: 5
- Data range: 2015-2026
- Freshness: 10 current-year, 3 last-year, 3 older
- Update schedule: Quarterly
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the largest career head-to-head margin over a teammate in F1 history?
Fernando Alonso built one of the widest teammate gaps on record, beating Felipe Massa 58-6 in qualifying across their shared seasons at Ferrari. That count, tracked by Grid Position, remains a common reference point when fans compare qualifying dominance between drivers paired at the same team over multiple years. [Grid Position (Instagram)]
How does Max Verstappen’s 2026 qualifying record compare to Isack Hadjar?
Through the early part of the 2026 season, Verstappen leads Hadjar 8-3 in Grand Prix qualifying and swept all four Sprint qualifying sessions, 4-0. These figures, tracked by PlanetF1, show Verstappen holding a strong qualifying edge over his eighth career Red Bull teammate. [PlanetF1]
Who is winning the McLaren qualifying battle between Norris and Piastri in 2026?
Lando Norris currently leads Oscar Piastri 7-4 in Grand Prix qualifying and 4-0 in Sprint qualifying for the 2026 season, according to PlanetF1. This follows a 12-12 tie in Grand Prix qualifying during 2025, when Piastri had led Sprint qualifying 4-2 across that prior campaign. [PlanetF1]
Did Piastri outscore Norris in head-to-head counts but still lose the 2025 title?
Yes. Despite leading several race and qualifying head-to-head counts during 2025, Oscar Piastri finished the championship on 410 points, four behind Lando Norris’s 423, per Sky Sports figures. The result shows how session-by-session head-to-head tallies do not always match the final standings order. [Sky Sports]
How dominant was Verstappen over Sergio Perez in 2023?
Max Verstappen swept all six tracked head-to-head categories against Sergio Perez in 2023, per F1Bytes data, covering points, race results, qualifying, fastest laps, laps spent in the top ten, and best finish. He also led 75.06 percent of race laps that year, breaking a mark set by Jim Clark in 1963. [F1Bytes]
How did rookie Kimi Antonelli compare to George Russell at Mercedes?
Antonelli entered 2026 trailing Russell 25-5 in career qualifying sessions, but PlanetF1 figures show him turning that around this season, leading 7-4 in Grand Prix qualifying while splitting Sprint qualifying 2-2. The shift marks a sharp swing for a driver in only his second F1 campaign. [PlanetF1]
How did Charles Leclerc perform against Lewis Hamilton in their first season together?
In their debut year as Ferrari teammates, Charles Leclerc won the qualifying head-to-head 19-5 over Lewis Hamilton during 2025, according to Sky Sports. That lopsided count marked an adjustment period for Hamilton in his first season away from Mercedes after more than a decade with the team. [Sky Sports]
Did Carlos Sainz ever beat Max Verstappen in qualifying?
Yes. As rookie teammates at Toro Rosso in 2015, Carlos Sainz edged Verstappen 10-9 in qualifying head-to-heads across 19 races, per Formula1.com. Verstappen still scored more points that season, 49 to 18, showing how qualifying counts and championship points can diverge even between closely matched teammates. [Formula1.com]
Sources & References
- PlanetF1. “F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates.” https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-2026-head-to-head-qualifying-statistics-teammates. Accessed 2026-08-10.
- Sky Sports. “F1 team-mate head-to-head: Qualifying, race and sprint scores from the 2025 season.” https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12028/13339705/f1-team-mate-head-to-head-qualifying-race-sprint-latest-scores-results-from-2025-season. Accessed 2026-08-10.
- Grid Position (Instagram). “Alonso vs Massa career qualifying head-to-head post.” https://www.instagram.com/p/DXAHP59jjWz/?hl=en. Accessed 2026-08-10.
- F1Bytes. “Formula 1: The Ultimate 2023 Teammate Head-to-Head Analysis.” https://f1bytes.com/formula-1-the-ultimate-2023-teammate-head-to-head-analysis/. Accessed 2026-08-10.
- Formula1.com. “In numbers: How Verstappen’s teammates fared against him, with Hadjar the latest.” https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/in-numbers-how-verstappens-team-mates-fared-against-him-with-hadjar-the.6mAPDm3VHZVJd491BoAGLV. Accessed 2026-08-10.
Last updated: August 10, 2026
