Rating F1's most exciting driver line-up

The battle between Red Bull team-mates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen has the potential to be one of this season's most explosive storylines. Arguably not since Ron Dennis paired rookie Lewis Hamilton alongside double world champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2007 has there been such a strong driver line-up at a top team.

That looks like a bold call when you consider this pairing has only five grand prix wins and not a single world title between them so far, but these two drivers have already made their mark on F1 in a manner that goes way beyond bare statistics.

Ricciardo has grown into one of F1's most consistently outstanding operators since arriving on the scene in late 2011. He has been named Autosport's number-one F1 driver for two of the past three seasons, was Alonso's best driver of '16, and not many can say they've seen off four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel across a season in the same team - in their first season in that team.

Max Verstappen is a whirlwind - gusting through F1's established order with terrifying and devastating ferocity. He is nothing short of a sensation, already F1's youngest ever race-winner, and a driver of such dynamic quality that he has provoked the ire of world champions, caused rules to be rewritten, and moved even Hamilton - arguably the most gifted driver of his generation - to heap praise on him publicly.

McLaren has Alonso, Mercedes has Hamilton, Ferrari has more world championship wins among its line-up than any other team on the grid, but Red Bull likely has the best pairing this year. F1's intra-team battles are fascinating - the closest thing we get to an equal contest of wills. Neither Ricciardo nor Verstappen are world champions yet, but they are most certainly heavyweight pretenders, fighting to be the number-one contenders for Nico Rosberg's vacated title.

QUALIFYING SPEED

This is probably the most outstanding aspect of Ricciardo's game. He is quite brilliant at feeling how to extract the most from a tyre over a single lap, which in the Pirelli era has required an intelligent and tactical approach, as well as pure speed.

Ricciardo has been faster than his team-mate across the balance of every season he's raced in F1 - quicker than Vitantonio Liuzzi, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastian Vettel, Daniil Kvyat, and Verstappen.

His composure, and Lewis Hamilton-like ability to deliver a lap at the key moment when the pressure is at its greatest, really stands out - whether it be putting a Toro Rosso inside the top six in Bahrain in 2012, defeating the faster Ferraris to make the front row in China last year, beating both Mercedes drivers to pole in Monaco a few races later, or digging deep to outqualify Verstappen at the death in Spain.

Conversely, this is not an area where Verstappen is outstanding - yet. He was evenly matched with Carlos Sainz Jr at Toro Rosso in 2015, and was comfortably beaten by Ricciardo after switching to Red Bull four races into last season.

In fact it took Verstappen until July's British GP to get the better of Ricciardo on a Saturday, a feat he managed just six times in 2016. But he is improving rapidly, and outqualified Ricciardo for four of the last six races of '16, once he felt settled and confident enough to plot his own set-up path.

What he certainly has done is force Ricciardo to raise his own game - pretty much from the moment they became team-mates. This constant game of one-upmanship helps drive the whole Red Bull project forward.

Rating: Ricciardo 10 - 8 Verstappen

RACECRAFT

This is an underrated element of Ricciardo's arsenal of driving weapons. He is arguably less spectacular than Verstappen, but that should not be mistaken for a lack of aggression. Ricciardo is, in his own words, always prepared to "have a crack", as Vettel found out in Spain last season.

Those who've worked closely with the Australian say he is particularly strong at modulating his brake pressure in the heat of battle, which allows him to race hard without (usually) making errors. The way he snuck down the inside of Valtteri Bottas's Williams at last year's Italian GP, and ran side-by-side with Vettel all the way through Mexico City's Turn 4/5 complex - banging wheels without crashing - are great examples of his fine judgement.

Fernando Alonso once praised Ricciardo's driving as "unbelievable" after a wheel-to-wheel fight in the 2014 German GP. Praise doesn't come from many higher places than that in F1.

Racecraft is undoubtedly the most dynamic and exhilarating element of Verstappen's skillset. He has already shown time and again an extraordinary, instinctive capacity in wheel-to-wheel situations. Brilliant moves around the outside of Felipe Nasr at Spa's Blanchimont and Sergio Perez at the Senna S at Interlagos in 2015; quick-thinking passes on Ricciardo on the first laps of the Canadian and Austrian GPs last year; superb racing of Nico Rosberg's faster car in Canada, and the wet weather of Britain and Brazil.

Not all are enamoured with Verstappen's ruthless approach to racing, and those weavy defences against Kimi Raikkonen in Hungary and Belgium eventually led to a rules clarification; but whether you like his style or not, Verstappen is certainly a driver to be feared in battle.

Rating: Ricciardo 9 - 10 Verstappen

TEAMWORK

Not all top drivers have the right character and personality to bring a group of people together, but Ricciardo has always been blessed with an easygoing temperament outside the cockpit, which means he doesn't have to rely solely on the force of his driving talents to encourage those around him to pull in his direction.

This also allows him to develop healthy relationships with his team-mates (Christian Horner says he's been like an "older brother" to Verstappen), and criticise the team - which he did vocally after last year's Spanish and Monaco GPs - without causing irreparable damage.

"One thing that stands out is Daniel's attitude and the way he carries himself," his race engineer Simon Rennie told Autosport in late 2015. "Out of the car he's quite light-hearted, but once he gets in the car that stops and it becomes very focused. The fact that he can switch between the two makes him very easy to work with."

Verstappen is still very young, so his personality is evolving as he establishes himself in F1.

He is highly ambitious, and prepared to push those around him to get what he wants. Often, young and inexperienced drivers get browbeaten by teams - especially big ones - into following directions they are not comfortable with, but Verstappen has been well educated in F1's intricacies by his father Jos, and those who've worked with Max closely say the electricity of his driving talent, never-say-die attitude, and ability to make something from nothing in races compels the team to follow his lead.

At Toro Rosso there were a few occasions - Singapore 2015 and Australia '16 spring to mind - where Verstappen refused team instructions to pursue his own path. This produced mixed results, and created tension, but he has subsequently displayed a reluctant capacity to put the team's interests before his own - playing rear gunner for Ricciardo in Hungary last season, and reigning in some of his naturally combative instincts during their wheel-to-wheel fight in Malaysia.

Selflessness doesn't sit easy with Verstappen, but he is learning quickly how and when to pick his battles.

Rating: Ricciardo 9 - 8 Verstappen

EXPERIENCE

Ricciardo describes Verstappen as a "racing nerd", and this ferocious work ethic is helping him offset his lack of experience in F1.

A driver who has completed only two seasons at the highest level will be lacking in this area, but Verstappen has shown an extraordinary capacity to learn quickly. He has also particularly impressed Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko with his maturity, deep knowledge of F1's history, and clear picture of his own future.

"I couldn't believe I was sitting next to a boy, who had the maturity of a 25-year-old man," said Marko of Verstappen before he signed for Red Bull.

Ricciardo has raced in F1 for five full seasons, started more than 100 grands prix, and driven for a proper frontrunning team for three years in succession. Experience is not something he lacks, but the experience of a full-blooded title fight is something that's missing from his CV.

But that's not down to him. Red Bull-Renault has yet to produce a car capable of putting Ricciardo into title contention. Everything we have seen so far suggests that he has all he needs to withstand the pressure and deliver at the crucial moments, but until he is actually thrust into the thick of a title battle we can never know for sure.

Rating: Ricciardo 8 - 7 Verstappen

MENTAL STRENGTH

Anyone who doubts Verstappen's mental strength should remember how he handled criticism of his defensive driving technique.

Raikkonen questioned his conduct in Hungary and Belgium, Vettel called him rude words in Mexico, Jacques Villeneuve said he could kill someone if he didn't change his ways - world champions queuing up left and right to put this unruly teenager in his place.

But Verstappen was utterly unmoved. If anything he went on the attack, suggesting that Villeneuves in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... Verstappen's mental strength lies in his individualism. He doesn't care what others think; he just does his thing, and if you don't like it, that's your problem.

Ricciardo's laid-back approach in the garage, and calm inside the cockpit, mask a steely determination that lurks beneath his self-proclaimed 'honey badger' persona. The way he executed his first grand prix victory at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix, and held off faster cars to win again in Hungary and Belgium, demonstrated his capacity to stay calm under new and extreme pressure. He is also very good at playing to his own strengths, which helped him see off Vettel's challenge in '14, and - so far at least - keep Verstappen at arm's length.

"He's very focused and calm," says Rennie. "He's just confident in his ability. Not arrogant, just willing to go up against anyone in the pitlane."

Rating: Ricciardo 10 - 10 Verstappen

WEAKNESSES

Like all top drivers Ricciardo has few of these, and none are particularly obvious. The only potentially worrying trend from last season was an occasional tendency to disappear from races that began badly.

In Canada and Japan he got stuck behind Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari after early setbacks, and couldn't recover. Similarly, in Austria he got overtaken by Verstappen on the first lap and gradually lost touch with the leading group. Several times - Spain and Abu Dhabi last year in particular - he has lost out strategically, following the team's instructions to the letter and paying the price. Sometimes it is necessary to take matters into your own hands.

There are also some question marks about his relative prowess in the wet. His excellence in leading much of the Monaco GP suggests he can get it done in adverse weather, but his performances relative to Verstappen in last year's British and Brazilian GPs were underwhelming.

Verstappen might be mature beyond his years, but there are still traces of immaturity in his driving. He's still developing his technique in qualifying, and his aggression is not always tempered by appreciation of the bigger picture.

His immediate attempt to repass Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 1 in Abu Dhabi after a slow start, which ended in contact and a spin, is a case in point - though his recovery from that difficult situation was outstanding.

Verstappen sometimes lacks composure when races aren't bending to his iron will - his panicked radio message to Toro Rosso after getting taken out at the start of the 2015 Russian GP, rogue approach to strategy in Australia last year for fear team-mate Sainz was gaining the upper hand, taking on a personal revenge mission against Ferrari after that first-corner collision at Spa, or arriving to an empty pitlane after a tricky first stint in Austin.

But he's a fast learner, doesn't tend to repeat mistakes, and can usually rely on his fierce racer's instinct and extraordinary feel for the tyres to dig himself out of trouble.

Rating: Ricciardo 8 - 8 Verstappen

FINAL SCORE: RICCIARDO 54 - 51 VERSTAPPEN

There is not much to choose between these two, which is what makes them such a formidable pairing.

Ricciardo has a narrow edge at the moment, mainly because of the extra composure that comes with age and experience.

Verstappen can't shortcut that process, but, as Ricciardo says, it's "scary" to think how good he could become if he carries on developing at his present rate.

Their partnership is yet to sour in the way Vettel and Mark Webber's did, which is good news for Red Bull. But their personal battle is still bound to be fierce this season, which can only be good news for F1.