The team-mate killer: This is every driver Max Verstappen partnered in F1
The Red Bull ace has a reputation for being a tough Formula 1 team-mate, this is what happened to every driver he’s partnered so far
2015-2016: Carlos Sainz
Spanish racer Carlos Sainz was Max Verstappen's first teammate in Formula 1. They debuted together in 2015 for Toro Rosso after rising through the ranks of the Red Bull junior programme. At the end of the pair’s first season together, the Dutchman was clearly ahead with 49 points versus Sainz’s tally of 18. The pair stopped racing together in 2016, when Verstappen was called up to replace a struggling Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull Racing.
Sainz drove for Toro Rosso until 2017, partnering Kvyat and young French racer Pierre Gasly. He moved to Renault mid-way through the 2017 season, and then raced for McLaren and Ferrari – where he picked up his first race win in Formula 1. Sainz then moved to Williams for 2025, and has now secured four grand prix wins and a further 25 podium finishes. While he hasn't reached Verstappen's level of success, the Spaniard has still had a solid Formula 1 career so far.
2016-2018: Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo was Verstappen’s only team-mate who beat him in the world championship standings – and he did so twice. In both 2016 and 2017, the Australian beat the Dutchman – who was then just in his second and third seasons in F1 respectively. However, Ricciardo’s advantage waned in 2018, and the pair ended the year with two wins apiece, but Verstappen’s points tally of 249 surpassed Ricciardo's 170.
Ricciardo decided to leave Red Bull for Renault at the conclusion of 2018, but his "escape" from Verstappen didn't pay off. He had two win-less seasons with Renault, before making the switch to McLaren in 2021 – where he consistently struggled to match team-mate Lando Norris and scored just one further F1 win. After a last-ditch attempt to revive his fortunes with AlphaTauri in 2023, the curtain finally fell on Ricciardo’s F1 career in 2024.
2019: Pierre Gasly
French racer Pierre Gasly was the first team-mate to be truly outclassed by Verstappen. As replacement for Ricciardo, the young driver was given just 12 races alongside Verstappen in 2019, which was only his second full-time season in F1. During the pair’s time together, Verstappen scored almost three times as many points as Gasly.
After 12 races, Gasly was sent back to Toro Rosso to join fellow former Red Bull driver Kvyat. With the Faenza-based team, he won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix a little over a year after his demotion, and a handful of strong performances helped salvage his F1 career. In 2023, he joined Alpine and has since achieved two further podium finishes.
2019-2020: Alexander Albon
Mid-way through the 2019 season, Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon succeeded Gasly at Red Bull. He also had a tough time in the second seat and failed to pick up a podium in 2019, despite occasions where he ran close to finishing third. He was given a second year to prove himself, but was beaten by Verstappen – who finished the season with 214 points compared with Albon’s tally of 105.
Albon spent a year on the sidelines at Red Bull after his exit, before he made his return to F1 full-time with Williams in 2022. Back then, Williams was one of the least competitive teams on the grid, but Albon managed some respectable results. Albon remains with the Williams team today, which is hoping for a transformation in its fortunes as F1’s new regulations roll out in 2026.
2021-2024: Sergio Perez
Mexican racer Sergio Perez was Verstappen’s longest serving team-mate – racing alongside the Dutchman for four seasons from 2021. After years racing for midfield teams in F1, Perez hit the ground running with Red Bull and won one race and picked up four podiums in his first year with the team. His highlight with the team came in 2023 when he secured second in the drivers’ standings – but he was consistently out-performed by Verstappen, who picked up four consecutive world titles while partnered with Perez.
Eighth place in the standings in 2024 did not match Red Bull’s ambitions, and Perez was dropped by the team at the end of the season. After a year away from the F1 circus, the Mexican makes his return to the series with Cadillac in 2026, where he partners fellow “also ran” Valtteri Bottas at the American team.
2025: Liam Lawson
New Zealand racer Liam Lawson broke Gasly's dubious "record" for the fewest races alongside Verstappen – lasting just two rounds as the Dutchman’s Red Bull team-mate. In that time, Lawson entered two grands prix, one sprint and scored no points for the team.
After the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, Lawson was demoted from Red Bull back to junior side Racing Bulls. He initially struggled after his return in Faenza, but was able to turn things around somewhat over the course of the year and managed seven points finishes by the end of the season.
2025: Yuki Tsunoda
After the failed Lawson experiment, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda was handed his chance at Red Bull following four full seasons with the junior squad. However, Tsunoda struggled and his results were more than meagre compared with Verstappen.
Tsunoda's best result at Red Bull was a sixth-place finish in Baku, which is why he too was shown the door at the end of the 2025 season. He will remain with the team as a test driver, but will disappear from the starting grid in F1’s new era in 2026.
2026: Isack Hadjar
Verstappen has a new team-mate in 2026, with French racer Isack Hadjar making the step up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull for the new season. After just one season in the series, Hadjar will be thrown in at the deep end this year – getting to grips with new engine rules, chassis regulations and a fiercely competitive team-mate. Will he fare better than his predecessors?
