The 2020 F1 season is drawing closer – later this month we’ll get our first look at the new cars.

We already know the 10 pairs of drivers who will get to race them. But who will lead the way in each of their teams? Cast your vote in this week’s poll.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton versus Valtteri Bottas

Has Valtteri Bottas narrowed the gap to Lewis Hamilton over their three seasons as team mates at Mercedes? Or is the fluctuating gap between the pair more to do with how well recent Mercedes have complemented their driver styles?

Hamilton found it trickier to get the best out of the W10 over a single lap last year, which was reflected in his unusually low (for him) haul of five pole positions. Perhaps if Bottas can raise his game on race-day to match his better qualifying performances last year, he might yet find a way to beat the driver who is on the cusp of becoming F1’s most successful competitor of all time.

Which Mercedes driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Lewis Hamilton (96%)

Valtteri Bottas (4%) Total Voters: 377

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Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel versus Charles Leclerc

It’s hard to avoid comparisons between Sebastian Vettel’s experience alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari last year, and his defeat alongside Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo five years earlier. After all, had Ferrari not interfered with proceedings in Singapore, Vettel would have gone down 3-0 on wins against Leclerc, just as he did to Ricciardo.

The intriguing difference is that while Vettel left Red Bull immediately after his 2014 defeat, he will go up against Leclerc again this year. And the stakes are undeniably high: 12 months ago he was the undisputed team leader; today Leclerc has a long-term Ferrari contract in his pocket, while Vettel’s future beyond this year is unclear.

Which Ferrari driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Sebastian Vettel (18%)

Charles Leclerc (82%) Total Voters: 376

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Red Bull: Max Verstappen versus Alexander Albon

Being Max Verstappen’s team mate must be the most unenviable gig in Formula 1. Not only is he unrelentingly fast, but utterly ruthless on-track, and does not spare his team mate his more uncompromising moves, as Ricciardo can attest.

Pierre Gasly took a beating here over the first half of last year, but Alexander Albon made a better start once he was drafted in. Albon also started from a much lower experience level, and potentially has more to gain in his second year of Formula 1.

Which Red Bull driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Max Verstappen (95%)

Alexander Albon (5%) Total Voters: 378

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McLaren: Carlos Sainz Jnr versus Lando Norris

Carlos Sainz Jnr and Lando Norris may play up their chummy partnership for the cameras, but their friendliness seems to be a genuine. That may be tested more strongly this year as McLaren aim to lift themselves clear of the midfield, and Norris’s growing experience and confidence enables him to exploit his obvious ability. Sainz shone last season but he can expect a stiffer challenge this time.

Which McLaren driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Carlos Sainz Jnr (68%)

Lando Norris (32%) Total Voters: 376

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Renault: Daniel Ricciardo versus Esteban Ocon

One of only two new partnerships on the grid this year. Ricciardo had Nico Hulkenberg comfortably handled last season, but now goes up against a promising young talent who has something of the iron fist in a velvet glove about him. Esteban Ocon has shown himself unwilling to back down against his own team mate – as Sergio Perez knows well – and even drivers who are lapping him, which Verstappen surely hasn’t forgotten.

Which Renault driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Daniel Ricciardo (88%)

Esteban Ocon (12%) Total Voters: 378

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Alpha Tauri: Daniil Kvyat versus Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat must regard each other as the biggest obstacle to gaining a chance to return to Red Bull. Both have driven for the top team and both have been relegated to the junior squad. Put perhaps if they trounce their 2020 team mate Helmut Marko may come knocking? Or perhaps not: After all, Sainz hammered Kvyat over 2016 and 2017, yet his promotion never came.

Which Alpha Tauri driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Daniil Kvyat (21%)

Pierre Gasly (79%) Total Voters: 375

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Racing Point: Sergio Perez versus Lance Stroll

Sergio Perez was not troubled in the slightest by new team mate Lance Stroll last year. Stroll may have scored the team’s best result but it was against the run of play; Perez consistently out-qualified and massively out-scored him.

This year will be the first time since Stroll came into Formula 1 that we can measure his improvement year-on-year with the same team and the same team mate. But ultimately his long-term future in the sport comes down to how long his father, team owner Lawrence Stroll, desires to keep him there.

Which Racing Point driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Sergio Perez (98%)

Lance Stroll (2%) Total Voters: 378

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Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen versus Antonio Giovinazzi

Alfa Romeo has the classic pairing of elder statesman versus up-and-coming young talent. Indeed, Kimi Raikkonen is about to become the most experienced driver ever, so Anthonio Giovinazzi couldn’t ask for a better benchmark alongside him. Giovinazzi gained on Raikkonen over the course of last season, setting up an intriguing contest this year, particularly with Mick Schumacher waiting in the wings eyeing an Alfa Romeo seat for his F1 call-up.

Which Alfa Romeo driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Kimi Raikkonen (80%)

Antonio Giovinazzi (20%) Total Voters: 377

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Haas: Romain Grosjean versus Kevin Magnussen

Along with Mercedes, Haas have the longest-running driver pairing in Formula 1 at the moment. Romain Grosjean may have been out-scored by Kevin Magnussen again last year, but demonstrated his worth to the team by insisting they reconsider the flawed Spanish Grand Prix upgrade package which led them into a development cul-de-sac.

Which Haas driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? Romain Grosjean (20%)

Kevin Magnussen (80%) Total Voters: 377

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Williams: George Russell versus Nicholas Latifi

The least experienced driver pairing for 2020 features sophomore talent and highly-rated Mercedes junior George Russell plus Nicholas Latifi, the only rookie on the grid, who has doubled F1’s contingent of well-heeled Canadians. Russell looked formidable against Robert Kubica last year, but both were somewhat unknown quantities given Kubica’s return following a lengthy absence.

Which Williams driver will finish ahead in this year's championship? George Russell (97%)

Nicholas Latifi (3%) Total Voters: 376

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What you said last year

Last year RaceFans readers correctly predicted how eight of the 10 team mate battles would turn out in terms of who scored the most points. The most emphatic positive choices were in favour of Hamilton (96% expected him to come out on top), Perez (also 96%), Verstappen (93%) and Raikkonen (93%).

Sainz and Ricciardo were also correctly chosen, though with slighlty lower shares of the votes, 83% and 75% respectively. And while 72% correctly predicted Kvyat would out-score Albon, and he did as long as they were team mates, it was Albon who gained the coveted Red Bull drive. The lowest positive vote was for Magnussen, 56% of you tipped him to beat Grosjean.

That leaves just two drivers who out-scored their team mates last year against the expectations of RaceFans readers. Just 45% thought Kubica would beat Russell, and perhaps he wouldn’t if the Williams had been in contention for points more often, but it wasn’t, and Kubica bagged their sole point of 2019.

The other was Leclerc, in many ways the story of last year, who just 27% of you expected would out-score Vettel. Will we get a surprise to rival that in 2020?

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