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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Teammates Made For The History Books: Foes

All through Formula One hisrty, some on the memorable moments cropped up between teammates. 2010 was no different.

When the 2010 season started, Red Bull racing appeared to have made a terrific decision on retaining both mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.  Both are amazing drivers and the relationship between them seem to be strong and positive.  As the season progressed, a crack formed in the team between the two drivers.  It is most likely due to championship tension and as the season was coming to a close, their relationship had deteriorated to an almost unrepairalbe state. It had to have been truely difficult to keep things even between the two driver's no matter what had happened and how close the two got.

In recent press releases, to the delight of their fans, both Webber and Vettel declaired that they had cleared the air between them.  With it only being days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it given prsidence to the championship tension breaking down their communication.

Looking through the F1 history books, we have a few points of reference on just how bad things could have gotten between the two drivers.  Immediately to mind is the soap opera that was McLaren in 1988.  Ayrton Senna joined McLaren with Alain Prost and by the books, it seemed like a match made in heaven.  Two winning driver's both with alot left to give.  Statistically, it should have been an unstoppable pair but when you put personalities into the mix, what had ensued could never have been predicted. 

It started out with Alain Prost convincing Ron Dennis to sign Ayrton Senna to a three-year contract with McLaren.  However, this began the rivalry that pushed two of the sport's greatest drivers to unprecedented heights of success and controversy. It all seemed to have started on September 25, 1988  at the Portugal Grand Prix and did not end until Prost broke his contract and moved to Ferrari.  A great place to read all about the Prost vs Senna years is here.  

Through out the History of Formula One, all the way up to current season there have been many teammate rivalries.Some have been physical and some have been verbal but all have been great viewing.  Some of the most famous rivalries were:

Lewis Hamilton vs Fernando Alonso @ Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in 2007
This rivalry kicked up before the 2007 season even began. McLaren organised a meet-the-driver day to introduce Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to all of the factory staff. Alonso apparently became rather disconcerted when most of the staff's questions were directed at Lewis. This would later reinforce Fernando's perception that the British team was biased toward the hometown driver.

Carlos Reutemann vs Alan Jones @ Albilad Williams Racing Team In 1980
Gilles Villeneuve vs Didier Pironi @ Scuderia Ferrari 1981-1982

Most of these teammates made such good foes due to the fact that they were both statistically great drivers.  Both gunning for first driver position and both in a great position to become a World Champion.  And yet almost every single one of them also indicated that these were some of their best drives when they had a teammate that never backed down, never quit and pushed them to the edge of reason and beyond just to win.

A great page for additional reading on the Prost vs Senna scandal is the story put out by Alain Prost years after Ayrton Senna's death. Ayrton Senna - by Alain Prost

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