Skip to main content

Top F1 Teammate Rivalries


There is a saying in Formula one that first driver you want to beat is your teammate. In a sport like F1 tension between teammates is normal. Sometimes such tensions can be elevated with the help of team orders.Here are some famous teammate rivalries :

1. Nico Rosberg / Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
 Rising through the ranks together, Robserg and Hamilton have known each other and driven against each other for a long time now.Everything heated up in Monaco 2014 when Hamilton blamed Rosberg as deliberately spinning in qualifying in order to get pole position.A clash in Spa put the relationship beyond repair. More recently in Austin 2015 , the cap 'spat' where Hamilton gave a cap to Robserg only to end up with the cap thrown back at his face. In Mexico , Hamilton accused Mercedes of favoring Rosberg . As you can see this rivalry isn't going to cool down any soon . 

2. Sebastian Vettel / Mark Webber ( RedBull Racing) 
This pair was always exploding with tension. The pair seemed very happy at first but things soon got heated up. The 2010 Turkish Grand prix being the main reason. The pair crashed while figthing for the lead due to which Vettel had to retire. The most popular one being the Multi-21 saga in Malaysia 2013. Due which Webber believed that he was receiving second hand treatment. What probably frustrated Webber the most was that Vettel was able to win 4 consecutive titles with the same car as he did. Now the pair are still in touch and the tensions between them have surely cooled off. 

3. Fernando Alonso / Lewis Hamilton (Mclaren)
2007, arguable the most scandalous year in modern f1. Spygate where Mclaren illegally obtained technical information from Ferrari (for which there later fined $100 million and disqualified from the constructors championship). It was obvious that Mclaren favored the Brit. But things went out of hand in the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying when Hamilton ignored a pre-qualifying agreement to which Alonso replied by blocking him off at the pitline so that he couldn't finish his final flying lap. Alonso even went to the extent of threatening Ron Dennis that he would reveal the spygate saga. Adding fuel to the fire Kimi Raikkonen won the championship by 1 point in the final race.

4. Jochen Mass / James Hunt (Mclaren)
Going into 1977 championship, Hunt was the champion and many expected him to challenge for the title again. At the Canadian Grand prix the pair collided and Hunt retired while Mass carried on. Hunt found his way back to pit whilst picking up fines ( for pushing a marshal). Now seated at the pitwall he yelled and waved his fists every time Mass would go past him. 

5. Ayrton Senna / Alain Prost (Mclaren)
This rivalry is by far the most intense f1 has ever seen. It all started in 1988 in the Portuguese grand prix , when an on track battle between the pair became a personal affair.A feud that went on for two more years.The problem further escalated when Senna ignored team orders. The deciding race in 1989 came . Prost and Senna collided giving Prost his third title. Senna definitely was not pleased and took "revenge" the next year on the same circuit in the same manner to win the championship. Prost once said " Ayrton didn't want to beat me , he wanted to destroy me". This rivalry is one of the greatest because of the intensity and fierceness of the drivers to win.     


6. Nelson Piquet / Nigel Mansell (Williams)
Personally the two men did not like each other , Piquet once referred to Mansell as an "uneducated blockhead" (he actually said that) . They were rivals on and off track. Piquet even went to the extent of concealing useful technical information from his teammate. Over the course of the season the pair had 9 wins together ( 5 for Mansell and 4 for Piquet). The championship decider in Australia'86 left Mansell with a punctured tire and handed the championship to Prost.


Until the next race , 
Goodbye

(All Pictures Courtesy : Corbis images)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

F1 Friendships/Bromances

In the title i used the word 'Bromance', if you don't know what bromance means well to put it simply it friendship between men . It's not hard to tell that it's the combination of two words 'brother' and 'romance'.  There are bromances in everywhere and F1 is not an exception.They maybe rivals while on track but off track it's a little different.  1.Fernando Alonso/Mark Webber  Mark webber might have retired form Formula one but that doesn't mean that his friendship with fellow driver Mark webber would halt. They share a common love for cycling and are often seen together in the paddock ,F1 or Le Mans.    P.S their "shipped name is webbando"             2.Sebastian Vettel/Kimi Raikkonen   Now teammates these two have been friends ever since Vettel's entry into F1 in 2007. They are often seen sharing jokes let it be on the podium or in the paddock , they spend most the driver's parad...

F1 Ladies 2018

1.   Minttu Raikkonen Fitness freak and model Minttu virtanen is the wife of Kimi "Iceman" Raikkonen. Kimi and Minttu wed in a private ceremony only for family and friends on 8th August in Tuscany, Italy. The pair have a son called Robin Ace Raikkonen and a daughter called Rianna Angelia Milana. Minttu has an Instagram and so does Kimi ( I AM NOT JOKING).    2. Hanna Prater Long-time girlfriend of Sebastian Vettel, still continues to stay out of the public eye. She and Seb have been together since high school. They live in Switzerland with their two daughters Emily and Mathilda. Hanna rarely makes public appearences and prefers to stay out of the limelight. She  made a rare appearance at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. 3. Emilia Bottas Finnish Olympic swimmer Emilia is the wife of Williams driver Valtteri Bottas . She participated in the 2016 Rio Games. Emilia and Valtteri wed on September 12th in H...

Formula 1 Ladies 2015

Jessica Button  - Sadly Jessica and Jenson have decided to separate within a year of marriage . We wish them both the best for the future. Jessica has had a busy year doing shoots and promotion of products and so on.The pair got married in December of 2014 and have separated in December 2015. Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessicamichibata/?hl=en Hanna Prater  -Hanna Prater is the girlfriend of the youngest ever Formula 1 Champion Sebastian Vettel. They now have two daughters called and Emily or Emilie and Matilda or Mathilde. Rumor mill was that Hanna  and the kids were in Abu dhabi during the Abu dhabi grand prix. So far they aren't yet married but they soon will.   Anna Raffaela Massa  -  34-year-old Anna Raffaela Bassi aka Raffaela Massa was born in Brazil in 1978, They got married in 2007 .Little Felipinho Bassi Massa was born on the same day of  Felipe and Raffaela’s second wedding anniversary, No...