Best F1 Drivers for Qualifying & Poll Position

New research reveals Sergio Perez is the worst-performing driver on the grid compared to their teammate

It’s no secret that Sergio Perez is miles behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, but which Formula 1 driver isn’t? Verstappen is flying high at the top of the drivers standings and Red Bull are well clear in the constructors, but there has been a lot of finger-pointing at Sergio Perez suggesting that he’s not doing well enough.

Perez is routinely a long way off of Vertsappen’s pace - who isn’t? - but the picture looks really bad for the Mexican when compared to how teammates from rival teams perform against each other.

Research compiled by OLBG has found that Perez is the furthest behind his teammate of any driver on the grid when it comes to the level playing field that is qualifying.

Perez’s average qualifying times are 0.958 seconds behind Max Verstappens, which is the biggest difference in any team on the entire grid. Verstappen’s average qualifying time is a mighty fast 83.252 and Perez’s average trails at 84.210.

Of all the other teams, the average difference between the two drivers’ average qualifying time is 0.354 seconds - making Perez over half a second slower than the rest of the grid when compared to teammates.

The second-highest difference between two teammates is in the Alfa Romeo garage, where Valtteri Bottas’ average qualifying time is 0.755 faster than Zhou Guanyu.

The Ferraris are the drivers that are the closest to each other, with Charles Leclerc’s average qualifying time just 0.054 seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz’s average.

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Perez's Average Qualifying Position Pales in Comparison to F1 Contemporaries

And it’s not just compared to Verstappen where Perez falls short. His average qualifying position is only eighth on the grid, with Sainz, Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris achieving higher average positions in qualifying than Perez’s average place of ninth.

No other team on the grid has a car that is anywhere near good enough to compete with Red Bull in either the drivers’ or constructors’ title because Perez would likely be under even greater pressure as stats reveal that Verstappen’s contribution to the team’s points total is enormous compared to his teammate’s. 

Red Bull are dominating the constructors standings with 503 points and Mercedes on 247 are the closest challengers, but if the competition from other teams was greater it’s not implausible to say that Perez’s 89 points contribution may not be enough to keep the team at the top.

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Johnny Herberts View

Speaking to OLBG about the findings, former F1 driver and leading pundit Johnny Herbert said that Perez should be concerned by the huge difference in performance.

Phil Guest, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

“It’s alarming,” he said. “You don’t want to be that far away from your teammate for sure. If I was Perez, I’d be worried and very uncomfortable. Verstappen is very happy with the situation because he’s not under pressure or being challenged in any way, but Red Bull know they’ll need someone that will be consistently at the top when the other teams get more competitive.”

“If I was Perez, I'd be worried and very uncomfortable. He might think he’s done a good job in qualifying and they put the screen in front of you and you think 'oh, god I'm still miles off - what do I need to do?' We're halfway through the season and he's still not able to find that extra speed, there may be certain races when he can, but he can't find the consistency like Verstappen. Only Perez can turn things around.”

Herbert added that Red Bull are not blessed with options should they wish to replace Perez, suggesting that Lando Norris could be their best option.

“Who do you replace Perez with? They could look at Lando Norris - I don't know if he can get out of his contract or if there's a performance clause. I don't see why Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz would like to leave Ferrari, I know there are some frustrations but there's a big risk factor to consider when it comes to joining Red Bull because Verstappen is there, he's not an easy person to go up against.”

Latest F1 Betting

Let's take a look at the current betting on the F1 Drivers and Constructors Championships. Here we have Verstappen and Red Bull Removed as things are pretty much done and dusted in that regard

Here are the odds for the next F1 Grand Prix

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