Formula 1 is a team sport, but not in the full sense of the word. After all, it is not surprising to find in the Grand Prix that the driver is the most dangerous teammate and the strongest rival on the track, especially in competitive teams.
Since teammates do not require that the chemistry is perfect, or at least it indicates that the rivalries are eroding the camaraderie between the two who put personal relationships in order to compete for all the podiums, victories and even possible balls.
Even competing against your partner can be vital for the rest of the season, so that the one with the best results will benefit more from the improvements to the car, which could make a significant difference and, although not always admitted, confirm the status of the first driver. in the team
Verstappen vs. Czech
More recent cases can be seen in Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen, from Red Bull Racing. The friction started at the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, in which the Mexican climbed to the top of the podium, but the Dutchman later accused the Czech of deliberately crashing to stay in qualifying ahead of Max.
Under this argument, Verstappen refused to give him a place in the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Max in fourth place and Checo in fifth, not obeying the group’s order of seeking the most points that the man from Guadalajara was using. second place in the drivers’ championship.
The last situation occurred in the 2022 Arabian Grand Prix, which Pérez won. However, the Mexican could not climb to the first place in the championship, because Verstappen put the pocket very quickly in the last lap, allegedly not obeying the order of the team. Here goes what Max gave, noting that he “won”.
Alonso vs Hamilton
One of the most controversial and defined the championship, but not in favor of Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton. In 2007, the Spaniard arrived at McLaren with a big bill, the two-time Formula 1 champion, while the LH44 was a rookie with very few qualities.
On paper, Fernando Alonso had everything he needed to do 1, but it was full freedom for them to compete, which didn’t sit well with how competitive this pair of drivers are.
In the end, among many conflicts on the track, a war of declarations and Hamilton’s complaints about Alonso, which cost him places on the grid. The highlight came at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year: the victory gave Kimi Räikkönen the world championship by 110 points, one more than Lewis Hamilton (seventh in the race) and Fernando Alonso (third in the race).
The box was so broken that Alonso returned to Renault Vel and in 2008 Hamilton won the first of seven world championships.
Senna vs Stupid
The two most successful drivers of Formula 1, McLaren met in 1988, while Alain Prost just won the world championship in 1985 and 1986 with the said team.
Ayrton Senna came from Lotto and made an immediate impact by winning the championship, despite a bit of trouble against his teammate, who finished second in the standings.
But it all came to an end in 1989, when Senna threw Prost’s car to win him in San Marino, then the Japanese Grand Prix, in which both drivers collided in lap 47, with which the Frenchman retired, but the Brazilian race was said to be illegal; and when he won, he became reprobate for this.
By the end of that campaign, Prost was the world champion, but in 1990 he switched to Ferrari.
Vettel vs Webber
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber raced together in the Red Bull between 2009 and 2013, the latter competing for the Red Bull team. In the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, the two collided on lap 39, with a double appearance.
Vettel got out of the car and waved to signal to his partner that he was mad. Webber barely escaped third place. For this year, Webber played a key role in securing Vettel’s world title, deceiving Ferrari with a dominant performance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
For 2013, the rivalry reached its end in the Malaysian Grand Prix, when Vettel ignored the team orders and passed Webber, although many told the 21st order in the pits, referring to Webber’s 2nd and Vettel’s 1st. that is, he did not try to pass the Australian, which the German did and obtained 13 laps to go, for which he claims they were also on the podium.
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