3 F1 championship battles that defined the 'end of an era'

F1 has always been defined by eras, be it that of Jackie Stewart-Emerson Fittipaldi in the 70s or the Prost-Senna-Mansell era of the late 90s. Like everything else in life, however, everything comes with an expiry date. There is this famous saying, "Father time waits for no one". Even in this sport, that holds true.

Throughout the years, there have been specific moments that defined 'the passing of the baton'. The moment where the new generation takes over from the old one. The moment when the old guard cannot hold on to the crown anymore, and the new guard — the younger, hungrier drivers — take over.

F1's history is fraught with these moments where the young chargers finally take over from the old guards and make their mark. In this piece, we look at three such title fights that signified the end of an era and take over for the next generation.

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#1 Michael Schumacher vs Damon Hill (1994 F1 season)

The 1994 F1 season championship battle was the first time since 1982 that either Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, or Alain Prost were not involved in the title fight. The three drivers had been the standouts in the sport, with Prost winning 4 championships, Senna winning 3, and Mansell winning 1 title during that period.

In the 1994 season, Mansell was on the sidelines, Prost had retired while Senna tragically lost his life to a crash in Imola. The title battle went down to the last race of the season in Australia, where Michael Schumacher led the championship by one point.

In what was a slightly dubious turn of events, Schumacher ran into the side of his rival Damon Hill, leading to the retirement of both the drivers and the German's first title win. The title will be the first of seven for him as the German went on to win the title again in 1995 with Benetton before moving to Ferrari and winning five titles with the Italian squad.

Damon Hill will pick up his sole championship with Williams in 1996 after fending off teammate Jacques Villeneuve in the title battle.

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#2 Fernando Alonso vs Kimi Raikkonen (2005 F1 season)

The 2005 F1 season was a welcome surprise for many fans who were tired of watching Michael Schumacher and Ferrari dominate the sport in the 21st century. The driver-team combination had rattled off an unprecedented five consecutive titles in the sport.

In 2005, however, the tables were turned when a specific rule change left Ferrari on the back foot. The regulation change meant that the teams could only use a single set of tires for the entire race. The change impacted the teams that had Bridgestone tires as they were not suitable to run the entire Grand Prix.

As a result, Renault and McLaren were the teams that cracked the code. This meant that Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen found themselves in a championship battle. This was the first time since 1996 that Schumacher was not part of a championship fight. The Ferrari was just not a challenge and it left the two young drivers battling it out between each other.

Alonso, with a piece of far more reliable machinery at his disposal, was able to win the title in 2005 and defend it in 2006 while Raikkonen won the title in 2007. 2005 marked the end of an era where Schumacher was the dominant force in the sport and brought forth able challengers like Alonso and Raikkonen.

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#3 Max Verstappen vs Charles Leclerc (2022 F1 season)

At the risk of counting out the eight-time world champions for the 2022 F1 season, it does appear that the title fight might be between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. If that happens, this will be the first time since 2007 that a title fight does not feature either Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, or Fernando Alonso.

The three drivers have been pillars of the sport, all of them top-class performers, all of them multiple world champions. Right now, however, the situation has changed. Fernando Alonso drives for Alpine, which is in essence a midfield contender. Sebastian Vettel drives for Aston Martin, which has seemingly produced a backmarker contender. Finally, Lewis Hamilton is part of Mercedes whose radical no-sidepod design is proving to be a tough nut to crack.

Coming to the title challengers, Verstappen is already a world champion after his title win last season, while Leclerc looks like he has all the tools needed to beat the former. It will be interesting to see the kind of level of performance both Verstappen and Leclerc can display throughout the title battle.