Regardless of what car a driver is in, his career can be made or broken by how he compares to the man driving the same car. In Team Mate Battles, we will compare the team-mates, and see whether results flatter to deceive, or whether a driver really is THAT good.
We will start by analysing the drivers based on pace. The first marker for this is Fastest Lap. This is something which is based on fact, not opinion. Using Formula1.com, we will compare laptimes between team-mates and see who did the overall fastest lap during a race. If for some reason a driver is not eligible for a laptime, ie. retires on first lap, then the point automatically goes to the driver who does complete one lap. If both are eliminated on the 1st lap, then equal points are awarded. Fluke circumstances such as an incident which puts a driver on brand new tyres with three laps to go…they will be taken into account.
The next area of critique is Qualifying. This is similar to Fastest Lap in that author decision is less about opinion, and is based on fact. A driver will usually outqualify the other, but again, circumstances will be taken into account. These circumstances will not include traffic, or driver error.
Finally, the drivers will be compared based on their Race. This is the area sure to cause most arguments, as the multitude of circumstances that can and will befall drivers will affect perception of how well a driver has done. For instance, a driver may finish a brilliant 3rd place, while his team-mate finished 4th just behind him. What if the 4th place driver had been ahead of his team-mate until his ERS failed? Circumstances will be taken into consideration, and I have no doubt that my decision will not always be unanimously agreed with. Now…let battle commence…!
Points system:
1 point is awarded to the driver who sets the faster lap.
3 points are awarded to the driver who performs best in qualifying.
5 points are awarded to the driver who performs best on raceday.