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The Formula 1 season is upon us and this season could be as exciting as the last one. Both Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton, have won 4 World Championships so far and both of them will be looking to win their 5th Championship.
Formula 1 has produced some amazing rivalries over the years. Before the famous Vettel-Hamilton rivalry, there have been many drivers going head to head with each other fighting for the Championship.
Let's take a look at some of the famous rivalries that have taken place over the course of time:
#5 Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
Most rivalries in F1 are based on bad blood between the drivers. But, this was different. The Alonso-Schumacher rivalry was about the changing trends in F1.
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Micheal Schumacher had won 5 consecutive World Championships from 2000 to 2004 and, was already the greatest F1 drivers at that time. In 2005, Fernando Alonso overtook Schumacher and won the World Championship for the first time. Schumacher had given up midway through the season and, said that there was no way he could chase down Alonso and beat him.
In 2006, Alonso and Schumacher went head to head once again, the former with Renault and, the latter with Ferrari. The most famous incident of the 2006 season, was in the Monaco Grand Prix when, Schumacher stopped his car in the middle of the track during the qualifying round, to obstruct Alonso's lap.
Schumacher lost the Championship to Alonso in the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was the last race of the season. Schumacher produced a truly heroic performance, by starting 10th on the grid and, falling down to 19th midway through the race.
His brilliant performance earned him the 4th spot, while Alonso finished 2nd, and won the World Championship 2 years in a row. Alonso became the youngest driver to win 2 consecutive Championships and, Schumacher retired after the season.
#4 Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Hamilton and Rosberg have had a love-hate relationship in their Formula 1 careers. Both of them were good friends when they were teenagers in Formula 3, and their friendship continued in Formula 1 as well, when they were racing for different constructors.
The rivalry began when Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013, teaming up with Rosberg. Hamilton replaced Schumacher, who came out of retirement in 2010 and, had a brief stint with Mercedes.
In 2013, Sebastian Vettel cruised home with a 4th consecutive World Championship. But, this was the beginning of a new Mercedes rivalry. Rosberg won Monaco and, Britsh Grands Prix and, Hamilton came 4th in both of them. However, the Englishman won the Hungarian Grand Prix in which Rosberg finished last.
In 2014, Rosberg won the inaugural race in Australia and, Hamilton came 2nd. Hamilton then won 4 Grands Prix after that. Out of 19 Grands Prix, Hamilton won 11 of them and, Rosberg won 5. The Englishman became the World Champion and Rosberg was right behind him in 2nd spot.
It was deja vu for Mercedes the next year in 2015, as Hamilton won the Championship again and, Rosberg finished in the 2nd spot. Mercedes had a huge lead in Constructors Championship as well, with these two getting podium finishes in almost all races.
Nico Rosberg beat Hamilton in 2016 to win the World Championship for the first time in his career. It was a close affair as in most of the races, both of them were earning podium finishes. But, the German finished the season with more wins than his partner. Rosberg retired after the season and, Hamilton still continues to race for Mercedes with Valtteri Bottas as his new partner.
#3 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) and Mika Hakkinen (McLaren)
Mika Hakkinen signed for McLaren in 1993 and stayed with them till he retired in 2001. Michael Schumacher was with Benetton from 1991-1995. He then signed for Ferrari in 1996 and continued to race for them till 2006.
Schumacher, over the years, has had many rivalries but, the one with Hakkinen is one of the most prominent ones. Although the rivalry was short-lived, it was fierce nonetheless. Hakkinen won 2 Championships consecutively in 1998 and 1999. Schumacher had won two Championships for Benetton and won 5 more for Ferrari.
Hakkinen and Schumacher went head to head while competing for the Championship in 1998 and 1999. The Finn won the first two races of the season. The then 2 time World Champion won 5 races that season and, both of them were tied on the points table with two races to go. It was a very controversial season, but Hakkinen won the final two races and claimed the Championship.
In 1999, both Schumacher and Hakkinen stayed with their respective teams. However, in the British Grand Prix, the German was involved in a crash and was out for 98 days. During this time Hakkinen managed to take a healthy lead in the points table.
Hakkinen managed to win the Championship again in the Japanese Grand Prix, which was the last race of the season. Schumacher and his teammate, Eddie Irvine managed to make their team Ferrari, win the Constructors' Championship.
Hakkinen was one of the competitors that Schumacher respected the most.
#2 Niki Lauda (Ferrari) and James Hunt (McLaren)
Niki Lauda was regarded as one of the best drivers ever in the history of Formula 1. He was going from strength to strength in the 70s until the famous Nurburgring crash in Germany. James Hunt and Niki Lauda had a rivalry both professionally and personally.
James Hunt started racing for Hesketh in 1973, and Lauda started with Ferrari in 1974. The Austrian had a much-advanced engine than Hunt, which made him take the lead in the Drivers' Championship in 74'. Lauda ended the season in 4th place.
Hunt and Lauda both started the season in 1975 strongly. While Lauda's engine was great and smooth, Hunt was having repeated problems with the Hesketh engine. The Austrian was the World Champion in 1975 and, the Englishman finished 4th that year.
1976 was the turning point for both these drivers. Lauda continued to race with Ferrari and, Hunt signed with McLaren. Both were driving really good cars and were going neck to neck until the German Grand Prix in Nurburgring. The weather conditions made the circuit very unsafe for a race so, Lauda urged other drivers to boycott the race. The race continued and Lauda was involved in a life-threatening crash, keeping him out of action for 6 weeks and, had to undergo severe treatments.
Lauda, who until that point in time was leading the Drivers' Championship, saw James Hunt overtake him while Lauda was undergoing treatment in the hospital. According to Niki Lauda, the competition between him and Hunt was what motivated him to make a comeback as soon as possible.
Even after returning after 6 weeks, Lauda could not overtake Hunt in the race for the Championship, and the Englishman became the World Champion in 1976. James Hunt retired after the win. Niki Lauda won another Championship in 1977 and retired.
Lauda came back from retirement in 1982 and, joined McLaren. He won his 3rd World Championship in 1984.
#1 Ayrton Senna (McLaren) and Alain Prost (McLaren and Ferrari)
This rivalry is regarded one of the best and, most fierce in the history of Formula 1. Both of them are regarded as one of the finest and, best drivers in Formula 1.
Alain Prost joined Niki Lauda at McLaren in 1984. Lauda won the Championship in 1984 and retired. Prost dominated the next season and became the first French driver to win the World Championship in 1985 and, won it in 1986 as well.
1987 was a bad year for the Frenchman as he came 4th, falling behind Nelson Piquet (Champion), Nigel Mansell and Lotus driver Ayrton Senna. McLaren signed Senna from Lotus in 1988 and this was when the famous rivalry between the two McLaren drivers began.
Prost had himself convinced McLaren to sign Senna on a 3-year contract. The Frenchman finished 1st or 2nd in almost all the races that year but, the Brazillian ended up winning the Championship that year. Prost launched a complaint to McLaren that the constructors were giving preferential treatment to Senna.
Although there was mutual admiration between the two, in 1989, the battle for supremacy turned this into one of the most fierce rivalries in the history of any sport. The rivalry became so heated that Prost accused Senna of "dangerous driving". Both these drivers were involved in a famous collision in the Japanese Grand Prix as well.
In 1990, Prost signed for Ferrari, teaming up with the Englishman Nigel Mansell. The rivalry still continued between Prost and, Senna and moreover, this time it was a rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren as well. Senna collided with Prost, ruling out both the drivers from the race. By doing this, the Brazilian successfully won the World Championship.
Senna won the Championship again in 1992, and Prost won it in 1993. The Brazilian was involved in a famous car crash in 1994 and, was killed during the San Marino Grand Prix. The Frenchman retired in 1993 as the driver with the most number of Grand Prix wins.
