Just as we did in Australia lets see how 2019 qualifying for the 10 teams stacks up against their performances this time last year
First the 2018 fastest times:
| Team | Best 2018 time |
| Ferrari | 01:27.958 |
| Mercedes | 01:28.124 |
| RedBull | 01:28.398 |
| Renault | 01:29.187 |
| Toro Rosso | 01:29.329 |
| Haas | 01:29.358 |
| Force India/Racing Point | 01:29.874 |
| McLaren | 01:30.212 |
| Sauber/Alfa | 01:31.063 |
| Williams | 01:31.414 |
Differences and percentages:
| Team | Time difference to leader | % of leader’s time 2018 |
| Ferrari | 100.000% | |
| Mercedes | 0.166 | 100.189% |
| RedBull | 0.440 | 100.500% |
| Renault | 1.229 | 101.397% |
| Toro Rosso | 1.371 | 101.559% |
| Haas | 1.400 | 101.592% |
| Force India/Racing Point | 1.916 | 102.178% |
| McLaren | 2.254 | 102.563% |
| Sauber/Alfa | 3.105 | 103.530% |
| Williams | 3.456 | 103.929% |
And here are the 2019 best times:
| Team | 2019 Best time |
| Ferrari | 01:27.866 |
| Mercedes | 01:28.190 |
| RedBull | 01:28.752 |
| Haas | 01:28.757 |
| McLaren | 01:28.813 |
| Sauber/Alfa | 01:29.022 |
| Toro Rosso | 01:29.513 |
| Force India/Racing Point | 01:29.756 |
| Renault | 01:29.488 |
| Williams | 01:31.759 |
There are a few winners and losers this time round. The top 3 are still the same, but Renault have gone from best of the rest in 4th to 9th in 2019 with Toro Rosso dropping from 5th fastest to 7th. Positive improvements for Haas, McLaren and Alfa Romeo have given them the chance to close up on the leading teams and Williams are stuck down in last place.
When you look at the gaps and percentages from this year it works out like this
| Team | Time difference to leader | % of leader’s time 2019 |
| Ferrari | 0.000 | 100.000% |
| Mercedes | 0.324 | 100.369% |
| RedBull | 0.886 | 101.008% |
| Haas | 0.891 | 101.014% |
| McLaren | 0.947 | 101.078% |
| Sauber/Alfa | 1.156 | 101.316% |
| Toro Rosso | 1.647 | 101.874% |
| Force India/Racing Point | 1.890 | 102.151% |
| Renault | 1.622 | 101.846% |
| Williams | 3.893 | 104.431% |
And here is how times compare with 2018 and we see that half the field are actually slower than last year, while Alfa & McLaren have made the biggest strides this time round with smaller improvements from Haas, Racing Point and Ferrari
| Team | Difference from 2018 | % of 2018 time |
| Sauber/Alfa | -2.041 | 97.76% |
| McLaren | -1.399 | 98.45% |
| Haas | -0.601 | 99.33% |
| Force India/Racing Point | -0.118 | 99.87% |
| Ferrari | -0.092 | 99.90% |
| Mercedes | 0.066 | 100.07% |
| Toro Rosso | 0.184 | 100.21% |
| Renault | 0.301 | 100.34% |
| Williams | 0.345 | 100.38% |
| RedBull | 0.354 | 100.40% |
Now if we look at the relative times to the leader we can see where the gaps have closed this time round and once again it’s Sauber that have made the biggest advance with McLaren also closing the gap to the front, with Haas & Racing Point also bringing the gaps down and in Relative terms RedBull have actually gone further back than Williams!
| Team | % of leader's time 2018 | % of leader's time 2019 | % difference from 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauber/Alfa | 103.530% | 101.316% | -2.214% |
| McLaren | 102.563% | 101.078% | -1.485% |
| Haas | 101.592% | 101.014% | -0.578% |
| Force India/Racing Point | 102.178% | 102.151% | -0.027% |
| Ferrari | 100.000% | 100.000% | 0.00% |
| Mercedes | 100.189% | 100.369% | 0.180% |
| Toro Rosso | 101.559% | 101.874% | 0.316% |
| Renault | 101.397% | 101.846% | 0.449% |
| Williams | 103.929% | 104.431% | 0.501% |
| RedBull | 100.500% | 101.008% | 0.508% |
So Alfa Romeo are continuing their progress toward the sharp end and there’s positive signs for McLaren again this time round