For several years now, Atlas F1 kept an eye on the battle between teammates with a simple measurement: comparing the qualifying times of each driver against his teammate's. The new qualifying format has made the comparison somewhat difficult - potentially, every driver could be running with a different fuel load. Moreover, with only one lap each, small errors could divert the results of any comparison significantly. But, we believe that over an entire season all these factors even out and the overall qualifying differentials between teammates remains the best tool to compare the natural capabilities of the drivers. So, with a few new charts and several observations - it's time to see who's hot and who's not...

With ten qualifying sessions completed for 2003, the differentials are once again on a roll! Let's see which drivers deserve bragging rights.

Spanish Notables

• Setting the Record Straight: Barcelona was the first time this season to feature two rookies outqualifying their vastly experienced teammates, with Ralph Firman ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan, and Justin Wilson ahead of Jos Verstappen in the Minardi.

• The BAR Duo This was always going to be one of the interesting battles of the year, and notably Jenson Button is now ahead of teammate Jacques Villeneuve in the Saturday average differentials. Is it merely down to a difference in fuel loads?...

• Going Down! McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen had barely recovered from his mistake in the Australian Grand Prix to go up in the Elevator's standings (see below), when the Spanish Grand Prix dropped him abruptly 12 floors down... it's going to be quite a climb back up from there!

The Elevator

We've decided to also keep track of the position changes between Friday and Saturday. We're not yet sure if it means anything, but we'll keep an eye on the results for the time being...