The battle of teammates in Formula One
The Formula One world championship this year is set to be one of the closest fought battles in recent times, but the great thing about it is that there are battles going on between teammates for the title.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are fighting one another, while the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are in hot pursuit.
At the start of the season, Ferrari were expected to challenge with both of their drivers, but it is only Fernando Alonso who looks likely to carry the fight for the Scuderia, with Felipe Massa not looking solid at all.
Heading for the British Grand Prix this weekend at Silverstone, Hamilton and Button are tussling to be top Briton on home soil. One and two in the drivers’ standings, the McLaren team consists of the last two world champions, Hamilton in 2008 and Button the current champion.
Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, believes the intensity will grow between Hamilton and Button. “Jenson will not be letting Lewis get away with anything. Your closest most significant competitor is your teammate and when you've got a teammate as good as Jenson then it's not a foregone conclusion,” Hill said.
Hamilton and Button are demonstrating how teammates should co-operate within a team, unlike Red Bull, who have shown what happens when teammates don’t co-operate.
At the Turkish Grand Prix, Vettel and Webber collided, throwing away valuable championship points and the race win. To this day, both drivers have not accepted the blame for the incident, and despite “clear the air” talks between the two, there is a personal battle simmering within the Red Bull camp.
McLaren have a history of acquiring competitive drivers. In 2007, having won back-to-back world titles, Alonso joined from Renault and was going to be the spearhead of the team. However Hamilton, making his debut in Formula One, was the teammate of Alonso and mounted a challenge to the Spaniard. Throughout the season, Alonso grew discontented with the team for not giving him the No.1 status. This boiled over at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Alonso held Hamilton up in the pits during qualifying on purpose after Hamilton had refused to let Alonso pass.
After only one season Alonso left McLaren and rejoined Renault, developing a bitter rivalry with Hamilton.
In 1988, one of the biggest rivalries in Formula One began. When Ayrton Senna joined McLaren, a fierce battle with Alain Prost began. At the Portuguese Grand Prix in that year, Prost was angered by Senna’s dangerous driving, as Senna tried to block him from taking the lead, forcing him near the pitwall. Prost somehow managed to find a way past, but a battle had emerged.
In 1989, the world championship was going to be won by Senna or Prost at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix. The two drivers collided on the final chicane, with Prost attempting to block a move from Senna. While Prost retired, Senna continued and won the race. However, the sport’s governing body, the FIA, decided to disqualify Senna, leaving Prost as world champion. When Prost moved to Ferrari their rivalry continued until the day when Prost retired.
Hill has likened Button and Hamilton to Prost and Senna. “I think they have got two totally different approaches. I think you've got a kind of Senna-esque driver [Hamilton] and a Prost-like driver [Button]. It is a bit like the tortoise and the hare. But Jenson is always in there with a shout.”
The president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which now owns the Silverstone circuit, believes Button is the better driver of the two.
“He will pick up opportunities when he needs to, as he showed when he won the championship. He put his foot down, took risks, and went through. He can do that but he is not at his maximum the whole time, which is what Lewis seems to be and sometimes Lewis, when he is at his maximum, will drop out. There will be a hiccup somewhere,” Hill added.
Hill is predicting that Silverstone will witness a great battle between the two. “It's just been on simmer so far and it will start to boil over. Between the two British drivers in possibly the best car you will have a very close and fascinating battle. Now they're warmed up. They all know where they are positioned, and there's only room for one guy to go through,” he said.
Senna v Prost. Hamilton v Button. The battle is on.
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