Qualifying duels after Bahrain | Verstappen picks up where he left off

The first qualifying session of the year is over and that means we can take initial stock of which drivers managed to take the lead in the qualifying duel. All rookies lost (perhaps not entirely surprisingly) to their teammates at the season opener in Bahrain.

Nyck de Vries, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant are all driving alongside a driver who already has at least two full seasons under his belt in Formula 1. Still, the difference between De Vries and Tsunoda (seven-tenths) was quite significant.

Last year, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Albon beat their teammates over a full season, and of these drivers, Hamilton, Gasly and Magnussen started the 2023 campaign with a defeat. Respectively George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg were faster than their teammates.

F1 2023 qualifying duel after Bahrain

Red Bull Racing: Verstappen/Perez 1-0
Ferrari: Leclerc/Sainz 1-0
Mercedes: Hamilton/Russell 0-1
McLaren: Norris/Piastri 1-0
Alpine: Gasly/Ocon 0-1
AlphaTauri: De Vries/Tsunoda: 0-1
Aston Martin: Alonso/Stroll 1-0
Alfa Romeo: Bottas/Zhou 1-0
Haas: Magnussen/Hulkenberg 0-1
Williams: Albon/Sargeant 1-0