How does the teammate performance work?

[4eyedCoupe 78]

I'm just curious how your teammates performance works in career mode.  I started a career as a McLaren driver with Alonso as my teammate.  I admittedly started on a hard setting(50) because I am new to the game.   At 50 I became more than competetive with the AI and earned lots of points and car progress.  At the start, Alonso would qualify and finish anywhere 7-10.  And then at one point, he started finishing in the top with me.  Coincidentally, at the point the car was only third in progress, but I had also came across this site and started using set ups from here.  So I guess my question would be, Does Alonso's performance have any correlation with MY car set-up as well as performance progress?  Or is purely purely performance progress? 

[MochiWaffle407 1]

In the end your teammate has the same car, so yes, an increase on your side will also benefit them even if their lazy butt didn't do anything. As to what settings they use I don't know, I have always wondered that myself, which usually makes the difference between two cars. But yes, upgrading your car also benefits your teammate.

[Gooderz 10]

Try to spot their lap times. Also see when they pit too. They may have aggressive tendencies.