Since both drivers in Formula 1 want to establish their place inside the team, there is no more rivalry than that among colleagues.

While some teams will have precisely designated first and second drivers, others will let their racers compete on an equitable basis. Here, the urge to come out on top is even more important to have the upper-hand not just in contract negotiations but also to receive vital updates about their automobile first.

But where are the tightest intra-team contests on the grid to be found, and who has firmly placed their team-mate in the shade? Allow me to show you.

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Max Verstappen against Sergio Perez: Red Bull

Based on Max Verstappen's winning run last year, Red Bull was projected to keep running dominantly in 2024. The Dutchman barely made top step of the podium at half of the 14 races before the summer break; he won 19 out of 22 races in 2023.

He has outpaced his team mate Sergio Perez in all spheres this season, including out-qualifying him at every race this year, as in 2023. Perez qualified behind Verstappen, who slid from first to 11th, even though he started ahead of Verstappen in the Belgian GP and received a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine allotment. Perez inherited second spot behind Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull revealed shortly after Spa that, despite a challenging few months in which Perez had only surpassed Verstappen once - in the Australian GP, the three-time world champion retired on lap four with a brake failure, thereby retaining the Mexican for the duration of the year.

Perez has throughout the past nine races failed to finish higher than sixth, although he did earn four podium places in the first five races. Starting from the pitlane, that run comprises two retirements in Monaco and Canada and finishes 17th at Silverstone following a Q1 accident.

McLaren - Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri

During a 2024 season where both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have taken their first wins—at the Miami and Hungarian GPs respectively— McLaren has maintained its upward trajectory. With a genuine chance of chasing Red Blood in the later parts of the season, the two have also gathered other podium results and a further win for Norris in Zandvoort, thereby helping the Papaya team to second in the constructors' championship.

Notwithstanding errors possibly losing Norris many race victories, the team is sure it can pursue the constructors' title, which it has not won since 1998. Team CEO Zak Brown said ahead of F1's return from the summer break: "I would want to think all departments, which either directly or indirectly, feed into performance, are all world championship material."

After defeating Max Verstappen at Zandvoort, Norris still has a tiny but not impossible chance of capturing the drivers's championship; in the wake of that triumph, the Briton described it as "stupid" to draw attention on grabbing both crowns.

Although the more seasoned Norris has prevailed in qualifying - surpassing his Australian team-mate at 12 races - the two Mercedes drivers have been somewhat well matched in results. While Piastri ranked himself above Norris at both the Saudi Arabian, Emilia Romagna, and Monaco GPs, Norris took pole in Spain, Hungary, and the Netherlands. The two also experienced one front-row lockout in the Hungarian GP, where Piastri emerged following stressful team directives directed to Norris. 

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Ferrari Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz

Ferrari has had varied fortunes during the 2024 season, declining in form following a quite good start while others around it have developed. From the first four races, Carlos Sainz managed three podiums; he notably withdrew from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to win in Australia following appendix surgery.

Following mostly challenging years at the Monte Carlo circuit, Charles Leclerc secured a second podium in Saudi Arabia and Australia as well as his maiden victory in his home race in Monaco.

Since then, though, the team has only had three podium results; Sainz inherited third in Austria following the Verstappen-Norris tangle, while Leclerc was similarly awarded third at Spa by George Russell's ban before replicating that achievement at Zandvoort.

Leclerc is in third, leading his team-mate by 20 points in the championship; Sainz is fifth. Oliver Bearman finished ninth while substituting for the Spaniard in Jeddah, the Briton securing a racing spot with Haas for 2025 in an outstanding debut.