We analyzed the data and look ahead to the team duels of the 2024 F1 season: This is how the Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez performed against each other
Points often only tell part of the story, so we took a closer look at the data from our technology partner PACETEQ to find out how Formula One teammates actually performed in 2024.
With precise time differences and detailed analysis of their individual strengths and weaknesses, we can paint a clear picture: who was really the better driver this season? And we continue with the Red Bull team.
Verstappen vs. Perez the clearest of all team duels in 2024
Verstappen vs. Perez
Qualifying duel: 23-1
Qualifying pace: -0.66 seconds
Sergio Perez had no chance at all against Max Verstappen in 2024. If you compare the best qualifying times of the two Red Bull drivers, Perez was on average 0.66 seconds slower. This is also reflected in the brutal qualifying record of 23:1 in Verstappen’s favor. If you add the sprint qualifying sessions, it’s even 29:1.
This means that the world champion was only beaten by Perez on a fast lap once, namely at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. There, the Mexican finished fourth with a lead of just over two-tenths of a second over Verstappen, who only qualified in sixth place.
The average lead of 0.66 seconds is the largest difference between two Formula One teammates in 2024, considering only the regular driver duels. No other driver was as far away from his teammate in qualifying as Sergio Perez was from Max Verstappen.
Perez 2024 slightly more tire-friendly than Verstappen
Verstappen vs. Perez
Race duel: 23-1
Race pace: -0.56 seconds per lap
Points: 437-152
Although Sergio Perez is even closer to Verstappen in terms of race pace, with an average deficit of 0.56 seconds per lap, the balance is just as clear in Verstappen’s favor, 23-1. Perez only managed to beat Verstappen in one race in 2024, in Australia, and only because the Dutchman retired there with a technical defect.
The enormous gap of 285 points at the end of the year also speaks for itself, which was almost a new Formula 1 record for the largest points difference between two teammates. This is namely 290 points, set by Max Verstappen over Sergio Perez a year earlier in the 2023 season.
Looking at the tire wear data, both drivers took practically nothing in the 2024 season, if then, Perez even had slight advantages in this area, but it shouldn’t have yielded more than two hundredths per lap. Still, the Red Bull RB20 was generally not exactly gentle on the Pirelli tires.
