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The Saudi Arabian GP featured one of the best endorsements of why the first driver you have to beat on the grid is your teammate. The battle between Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso was a true reflection of the mentality that every driver on the grid has as he tries to assert himself within the team.
Having said that, let's take a look at how the rest of the grid fared against their teammates during the Saudi Arabian GP.
2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Teammate rivalry
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell (1-1)
Winner: George Russell
In terms of pure pace, it is evident that Lewis Hamilton holds an advantage over his young teammate. Hamilton finished 10th in the race while George Russell brought the Mercedes home in 5th. Somewhere down the line, Hamilton has to take some of the blame for the set-up issues he faced this weekend and because of that, Russell edges him for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez (2-0)
Winner: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen struggled during qualifying while Sergio Perez nailed his final lap. When the Mexican dropped down the order due to the safety car, however, the gulf in pace between Verstappen and his teammate became apparent. The Dutchman had a few tenths in hand as compared to his teammate throughout the race and the win capped off a return to form for the Dutch driver.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz (2-0)
Winner: Charles Leclerc
After the race, Carlos Sainz did not look like the driver who was second in the championship. He looked like the driver that had just realized that his teammate was performing at an elite level.
Sainz was more of a match for Charles Leclerc last season but this time around, Leclerc is firing on all cylinders and the Spaniard has no answers for it whatsoever.
McLaren
Lando Norris vs Daniel Ricciardo (2-0)
Winner: Lando Norris
For the second race in a row, Daniel Ricciardo led Lando Norris in the race because of the advantage he gained with an alternate strategy. The Briton, however, was the quicker driver of the two and was catching up with Ricciardo by the time his car gave up.
For the Australian, it is a positive that he is much closer to Norris than last season, however, for the second race in, Norris holds a slight edge over his teammate.
Alpine
Fernando Alonso vs Esteban Ocon (1-1)
Winner: Fernando Alonso
While Esteban Ocon stole the honors during qualifying, the battle was much closer between the two during the race. Fernando Alonso held the edge and was able to fend off Ocon before his car cried enough.
The intensity of the battle and Ocon's willingness to engage is going to rile up the Spaniard who does not like losing to his teammate. Watch this space in the future because this might just be the battle worth looking at this season and the Saudi Arabian GP might just be a trailer.
Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel/Nico Hulkenberg vs Lance Stroll (2-0)
Winner: Nico Hulkenberg
Lance Stroll held the edge during qualifying as Nico Hulkenberg got to grips with the extremely demanding track. It was nip and tuck during the race as the German was on Stroll's tail before the safety car period and was keeping up with his teammate.
While the safety car led to a split strategy for the two drivers, one can't say enough of what Hulkenberg has been able to accomplish in the two races without any prior preparation or race fitness. Hulkenberg takes a point in our view for the Saudi Arabian GP.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly vs Yuki Tsunoda (2-0)
Winner: Pierre Gasly
It was rather unfortunate to see Yuki Tsunoda not even complete a single lap in qualifying and the race at the Saudi Arabian GP. The reliability issues of the Honda engine once again caught out the Japanese driver (ironically he was the only one that escaped a DNF in the first race).
It was a bit harsh for Tsunoda to give Pierre Gasly the point on this one, but at least the French driver was able to take part in the Saudi Arabian GP.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas vs Guanyu Zhou (2-0)
Winner: Valtteri Bottas
Once again, it was Valtteri Bottas who held the advantage over his young teammate. The Finn was the standout for his team as he once again made Q3 while his teammate didn't. Bottas was on course for a solid points finish while Guanyu Zhou suffered a penalty and finished outside the points.
Slowly but steadily, it does appear that Bottas might be falling in love with his new home.
Williams
Alex Albon vs Nicholas Latifi (2-0)
Winner: Alex Albon
Alex Albon has taken over George Russell's role at Williams. He's qualifying an uncompetitive Williams as high as he can and putting an authoritative stamp on Nicholas Latifi.
Latifi has made the worst possible start to the season as it was his crash that triggered the safety car. Regardless, the Canadian has looked out of depth at Williams this season.
Haas
Mick Schumacher vs Kevin Magnussen (0-2)
Winner: Kevin Magnussen
Mick Schumacher had a rather unfortunate error in qualifying that ruled him out of the race. Meanwhile Magnussen, struggling with neck strength for the Saudi Arabian GP track, was able to bring his car home in points yet again.
