Top 3 'passing the baton' moments in F1 history

F1 as a sport is filled with history and legacy. One of the biggest legacies in the sport is being the best driver on the grid for a particular period, which, more often than not, is a rarity. Yet, on some occasions, there has been a clear #1 on the grid. The driver might not have had the best car under him, but it seemed obvious that no one came close to him.

There are moments in history, though, when that driver finally loses out and is succeeded by the next best driver. In sports, such moments are called 'passing the baton'.

In the long and distinguished history of F1, the 'passing the baton' moment has taken place a few times. In this piece, we take a look at the top 3 'passing the baton' moments in F1.

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#3 Alain Prost beating Niki Lauda in 1985 F1 championship

Niki Lauda was already an F1 legend when he made his return to McLaren in 1982. He had two world titles in the bag and had brought Scuderia Ferrari back to its glory days. By then, he had developed a reputation for being an uncannily smart operator.

Yet when he arrived at the sport after a prolonged break, there were question marks around his performance levels. Those questions were answered when he beat Alain Prost in 1984 en route to his third title.

In 1985, Lauda, a three-time world champion, was considered one of the sport's greats of his time and the gold standard of driving. That year, however, he was thoroughly beaten by Alain Prost in the same machinery — 73-14 on points and 5-1 on race wins — with Lauda retiring from the sport at the end of the season.

By this time, Prost had taken over as the gold standard for driving in the sport from Lauda. The 1985 season was one that was considered to be the point where the balance shifted in his favor.

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#2 Max Verstappen beating Lewis Hamilton in 2021 F1 season

The 2021 title battle was one of the most intense championship battles in the history of Formula 1. What made the battle even more intense was the fact that two of the best drivers on the grid were fighting for the title in relatively similar machinery. Lewis Hamilton, the reigning champion fighting for a record eighth world championship, was going up against Max Verstappen, a young sensation that was fighting for the championship for the first time in his career.

In a colossal battle contested by the tiniest of margins, Hamilton and Verstappen fought for every inch of the track throughout the season. If there was, however, one thing that seemed obvious in all of that, it was the fact that Verstappen arguably had a better overall season compared to Hamilton — 10-8 on race wins and 18-16 on podiums.

The Dutchman was named the best driver on the grid by the team principals, and even by the drivers as well, at the end of the season. It seemed like Hamilton, who had been the benchmark in terms of driving on the grid for quite some time now, had been finally eclipsed by the young Red Bull driver.

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#1 Fernando Alonso winning against Michael Schumacher in 2006 F1 season

The 2006 Formula 1 season is significant in multiple ways. This was the season where the more than a decade-long relationship between Ferrari and Michael Schumacher ended, with Michael Schumacher's (first) retirement. Most importantly, this was the season when the German finally passed the baton of the best driver on the grid to someone else.

Schumacher had been the undisputed king of Formula 1 since 1994 when he won his first title. He picked up six more championships before 2006 in a career that was nothing short of legendary. Yet that year, he was in a season-long battle with Fernando Alonso for the title.

The 2006 season saw Alonso and Schumacher going up against each other. Based on consistency — Alonso's 14 podiums to Schumacher's 12 — and slightly better reliability, the Spaniard was able to win the title. Schumacher duly retired after the season and, by this time, it did appear that he had passed on the crown to Alonso as the rightful heir.