The F1 dream team - an attempt to bring the best together

Choosing a dream team is not the easiest task in any sport. What a ‘Dream Team’ consists of, is the best of the best individuals in that sport and who are terrific in their own fields with the hunger to reach for perfection.

While we keep on hearing about a dream XI in cricket every now and then, Formula One per say has never really had a dream team.

Even though the drivers remain in much of the spotlight, there’s a lot of work that goes behind the scenes to build a competitive car which makes Formula One a team sport rather than an individual sport.

While individuals fight for the drivers’ title, it’s the team that helps them reach the ultimate glory. A win and a loss is not just for the driver but for the whole team.

Before choosing the ‘Dream Team’, I penned down a few rules for deciding who would be a part of the team.

a) Constructor – A team which has a history in Formula One. A team which has been competitive, is always hungry for success and has the ability to bring out fast and reliable cars year-on-year.

b) Race Driver – A race driver is measured by his driving skills, attitude, race acumen and his determination to outperform himself rather than the competition. Not to mention the ability to win races no matter what car is given to him.

c) Test Driver – A test driver has a major role to play in the development of a competitive race car and it is he who passes on the critical information to the race engineers. He puts in the hard work on the tracks lap after lap. Hence, it is important to have a driver with a lot of experience, and who knows the formula one car like the back of his hand.

d) Team Principal – A man who is responsible for giving his driver the best chance to win with the best possible car. Add to that designing a race strategy that would help him win races.

Another rule that I followed was to choose the ‘Dream Team’ from the past 20-year period. While there have been Formula One legends before that, I thought it was better to stick to the era that most of us have grown up watching and can relate to.

So, here are my thoughts on my Formula One dream team along with the options I had to choose from. Trust me, it’s easier to read than to write about it.

Constructor – Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

I was able to shortlist three constructors which have been in Formula One long enough to be considered in a dream team. Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes and Williams were my choices. But I had to choose one among them and it had to be Ferrari.

When you have been in the sport for more than 60 years, you are supposed to be the best. Ferrari continue to be, by far, the best team in Formula One with 15 drivers’ titles and 16 constructors’ titles.

While the team has a big history behind them, they surely believe in creating history. With the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher in the drivers’ list, Ferrari are probably the most glamorous and most talked about team in Formula One, so much so that they continue to hold most of the records in the constructors’ table.

An incredible 8 constructors’ and 7 drivers’ championships in the last 20 years speak volumes about the team apart from having some of the best drivers drive for them.

Race Drivers – Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen

There is no dearth of talent in Formula One when it comes to driving skills and race acumen. There have been numerous drivers who I have admired and loved watching muscle their cars around different circuits and teams. These include Mika Hakkinen, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

I had to scratch my head before choosing my dream drivers, and I finally chose Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher.

While choosing Schumacher was a tad easier for obvious reasons, with his achievements in the sport, choosing Kimi was tough with Alonso and Hamilton in my mind.

But I voted for Kimi for his sheer determination, consistency, ability to deliver under pressure (no wonder he’s called the Iceman) and a no-nonsense attitude. Add to that, he doesn’t shy from doing the hard work and has performed with every car and team he has joined since arriving on the Formula One scene.

Even after a two-year sabbatical, he almost single-handedly turned around the fortunes for Lotus.

Schumacher, a legend in the history of F1, on the other hand, had the passion to perform and an endless quest for improvement with every race. He had the all the qualities of a great driver and with Ferrari, dominated Formula One like no one else had done. His records speak for themselves.

Test Driver – Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro de la Rosa

While testing is an integral part of getting a fast car ready for race day, a test driver never really gets due credit for his/her hard work.

While race drivers are in the limelight, test drivers work behind the scenes with race engineers and technical experts on the car development. They might thank their stars if they do get to race, even though temporarily, if one of the two racing drivers is either injured or unable to race, or the team is unable to find a race driver due to cost issues.

While looking for a test driver, there weren’t many choices available, so I choose Pedro de la Rosa over Marc Gene, Gary Paffet and Nicolas Prost.

While his Formula One career wasn’t a great success, Pedro’s time spent behind the wheel is commendable. He has been associated with McLaren-Mercedes, Jordan, Ferrari, Sauber, HRT and Jaguar.

With his experience in Formula One, spending 15 years on track and testing for various teams, he probably is the best test driver of all time.

Team Principal – Ross Brawn

Ross Brawn

With some of the best names in Formula One such as Flavio Briatore, Ron Dennis, Martin Whitmarsh, Stefano Domenicali and Christian Horner to choose from, you’re left with a challenging task.

But eventually, I had to make a choice between Jean Todt and Ross Brawn and I went with the former. Ross is known most famously for his first stint at Benetton, the team with which Michael Schumacher won his first 2 world titles, and with Ferrari (as Technical Director), for helping Schumacher win his remaining five championships.

He currently is the team principal of Mercedes. With his experience as a technical director and race strategist, he knows Formula One too well, and I’m sure he’ll turn the fortunes around for Mercedes.

How do you rate this dream team? Feel free to comment below.