Niki Lauda vs John Watson

1982·

Niki Lauda edged John Watson 8–6 in the races and 10–4 in qualifying at McLaren in 1982. John Watson scored 39 points to 30.

Niki LaudaJohn Watson

10Qualifying4

14 shared races

8Race day6

14 shared races

30Points39

in shared races, as awarded at the time

103Points (today’s rules)133

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 2/2
Podiums: 3/5
Poles: 0/0
Retirements: 7/3
Best finish: P1/P1
Avg. grid: 8.1/11.4

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Niki Lauda and John Watson
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Niki Lauda	John Watson	Points
1	1South African Grand Prix	13/9	P4	P6	3 / 1
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	5/12	Collision	P2	0 / 6
3	3United States Grand Prix West	2/11	P1	P6	9 / 1
5	5Belgian Grand Prix	4/10	Disqualified	P1▲	0 / 9
6	6Monaco Grand Prix	12/10	Engine	Electrical	0 / 0
7	7Detroit Grand Prix	10/17	Collision	P1▲	0 / 9
8	8Canadian Grand Prix	11/6	Clutch	P3	0 / 4
9	9Dutch Grand Prix	5/11	P4	P9	3 / 0
10	10British Grand Prix	5/12	P1	Spun off	9 / 0
11	11French Grand Prix	9/12	P8▼	Electrical	0 / 0
13	13Austrian Grand Prix	10/18	P5	P9	2 / 0
14	14Swiss Grand Prix	4/11	P3	P13▼	4 / 0
15	15Italian Grand Prix	10/12	Brakes	P4	0 / 3
16	16Caesars Palace Grand Prix	13/9	Engine	P2	0 / 6
	Average finish		P3.7	P5.1

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Niki Lauda / John Watson.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Niki Lauda and John Watson in other seasons

Other seasons in which Niki Lauda and John Watson were teammates
Season	Team	Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
1983	McLaren	Niki Lauda vs John Watson	11–3	7–7	12–22
1978	Brabham	Niki Lauda vs John Watson	11–5	9–7	44–25

Niki Lauda’s career John Watson’s career McLaren 1982 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.