Qualifying Differentials

	Marcel Borsboom, Netherlands

Atlas F1 is going to keep an eye on the battle between team mates throughout the season by race and overall averages (again). The measurement is simple. We compare the intra-team difference in seconds on Saturday. Some may say compensation must be given in the favouritism between the number one and two seats within the team. We, on the other hand, do not grant that pardon. For better or worse, our analyses will be on the perfect world of egalitarian status in intra-team rivalry. With twelve qualifying sessions completed for 1999, the differentials are on a roll. Let's see which drivers deserve bragging rights. Belgium Notables Herbert. Johnny is certainly making progress, closing up to Stewart teammate Rubens Barrichello. In Belgium, he shaved off a little more of the wide gap to the Brazilian, qualifying a respectable two tenth of a second behind him. It may not help him demote himself from the top of the Qualifying Differentials averages at the end of the season, but it will certainly do him and his fans a whole lot of good. Alesi. If we thought Jean Alesi will slip down in form now that he knows he's leaving Sauber - we couldn't have been more wrong. The French-Sicilian opened a huge gap over teammate Pedro Diniz - 0.8 secs in Belgium, putting him in the fourth overall spot for now. The Rookies. Interestingly enough, Belgium proved the ultimate venue to separate the rookies from the experienced drivers. All newcomers to the Formula One circus - Marc Gene, Pedro de la Rosa and Ricardo Zonta - were quite significantly outqualified by their teammates, Luca Badoer, Tora Takagi and Jacques Villeneuve, respectively. The average gap between teammates in Belgium was the smallest gap we've had all year - 0.381 secs. This, compared to Hungary's average gap of half a second; Germany's 0.588sec; 0.511sec in Austria; Britain's 0.463 seconds; France's 2.514sec; Canada's 0.588sec; Spain's 0.471sec; 0.671sec in Monaco; 0.601sec in San Marino; 0.446sec in Brazil; and 0.922sec in Australia. The overall average gap for the first eleven rounds of 1999 stands on 0.585.

Marcel Borsboom	© 1999 Atlas Formula One Journal.
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