The F1 2025 qualifying battles will no doubt throw up plenty of intrigue as the season unfolds, as we find out who gains the upper hand at each team.
Of course, the points are handed out in races and now Sprints, but ultimate one-lap pace remains a vital indicator of performance – and every driver is extremely competitive in both qualifying and race trim.
F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: McLaren
Lando Norris 2-2 Oscar Piastri
Sprint qualifying: Lando Norris 0-1 Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris has held a comfortable margin in the qualifying head-to-head against Oscar Piastri in the past two seasons, with this being their third together as McLaren team-mates.
Piastri has made it clear qualifying is a target of his to improve this season, having been on the wrong end of a 21-3 deficit in 2024 – though he was rarely far away from Norris on the grid.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton 1-3 Charles Leclerc
Sprint qualifying: Lewis Hamilton 1-0 Charles Leclerc
The sport’s all-time leading polesitter is going up against the person who many believe to be Formula 1’s fastest qualifier over one lap at Ferrari this season.
Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult head-to-head against George Russell at Mercedes in 2024, himself an excellent qualifier, so watch this space at the Scuderia.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Red Bull
Max Verstappen 2-0 Liam Lawson
Sprint qualifying: Max Verstappen 1-0 Liam Lawson
Max Verstappen 2-0 Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint qualifying: Max Verstappen 0-0 Yuki Tsunoda
To out-qualify Max Verstappen has been a rare feat in recent seasons, with Sergio Perez on the wrong side of a 20-2 deficit in 2023, and an even more one-sided 23-1 defeat in 2024.
Verstappen continued that dominance in his two F1 2025 weekends with Liam Lawson as his team-mate and will be looking to do the same to Yuki Tsunoda, his newest Red Bull team-mate.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli 0-4 George Russell
Sprint qualifying: Kimi Antonelli 0-1 George Russell
Having beaten a seven-time World Champion 19-5 in qualifying in 2024, George Russell will have every reason to go into this season against a rookie team-mate in Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the favourite in this metric.
The teenager has significant pedigree in every championship in which he has raced so far, however, so there is every chance he will grow into the season as it progresses.
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F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso 4-0 Lance Stroll
Sprint qualifying: Fernando Alonso 0-1 Lance Stroll
Fernando Alonso has held the upper hand at Aston Martin in both qualifying and race trim since his arrival at Silverstone, winning out 19-5 against Lance Stroll last year.
Alonso’s one-lap speed shows no sign of waning as Formula 1’s most experienced driver looks for a 23rd pole position, with his most recent coming at Hockenheim in 2012.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Alpine
Jack Doohan 0-4 Pierre Gasly
Sprint qualifying: Jack Doohan 1-0 Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon had the closest qualifying battle on the grid last season, with a 12-11 result in Ocon’s favour before he departed one race early at the end of 2024.
This move opened the door for Jack Doohan to settle in a race early before his full-time drive in 2025, with Gasly getting the first qualifying notch on the board against his rookie team-mate in Abu Dhabi last year.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Haas
Oliver Bearman 1-3 Esteban Ocon
Sprint qualifying: Oliver Bearman 1-0 Esteban Ocon
It’s an all-new partnership at Haas that sees Ollie Bearman take on Esteban Ocon, with the Frenchman taking in his new surroundings after a five-season stint at Team Enstone.
Bearman graduates to Formula 1 from his F2 stint alongside Kimi Antonelli at Prema, and remains a Ferrari junior through his stint at Haas.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Racing Bulls
Isack Hadjar 1-1 Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint qualifying: Isack Hadjar 0-1 Yuki Tsunoda
Isack Hadjar 2-0 Liam Lawson
Sprint qualifying: Isack Hadjar 0-0 Liam Lawson
Three races into the new season and Isack Hadjar has a new team-mate in Liam Lawson, who has replaced the Red Bull-bound Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull’s sister team.
Both Hadjar, who has stepped up from Formula 2, and Lawson, who suffered an early season demotion from Red Bull, have something to prove.
Hadjar partnered Yuki Tsunoda in his first two races, tied in Grand Prix qualifying although Tsunoda pulled in front in Sprint qualifying.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Williams
Alex Albon 3-1 Carlos Sainz
Sprint qualifying: Alex Albon 1-0 Carlos Sainz
Alex Albon has been dominant in his qualifying head-to-heads at Williams to date, but in Carlos Sainz finds a stern test of his capabilities.
Both formerly among the Red Bull stable and with strong reputations on the Formula 1 grid, they will both be looking for internal bragging rights within Williams this season.
F1 2025 head-to-head qualifying record: Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto 1-3 Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint qualifying: Gabriel Bortoleto 1-0 Nico Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg became something of a qualifying specialist in his stint at Haas, and he goes up against a back-to-back F3 and F2 champion in Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber this season.
The two are both contracted to take the team through its transition to being an Audi factory outfit in 2026, with a blend of youth and experience.
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