As the teams close the gap to Red Bull, the battle between F1 teammates is heating up, but could this spell disaster for 2024?
As Max Verstappen wrapped up his third consecutive Drivers Championship, there was plenty to discuss over the F1 sprint weekend in Qatar. One of the biggest talking points that arose was the lap 1 incident between Hamilton and Russell. The teammates collided at turn 1. Which lead to a bigger discussion of what will happen once Mercedes provide their drivers with a championship-winning car.
This close intra-team battle is not a problem exclusive to Mercedes. We also saw the Ferrari teammates also tussle on track earlier on in the year at Monza.
There are a few teams on the grid who have two closely matched F1 teammates creating a strong driver lineup for them. This could begin to unravel once they become quick enough to challenge for a title.
We’ve seen the reigning world champions, Red Bull, go in an entirely different direction. Verstappen is the clear number one and Perez the number two driver. This strategy has managed to secure them three championships in a row. However, the disparity between the Red Bull teammates might be too big.
Can the likes of Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari replicate the success of Red Bull by sticking with teammates who’d have an equal shot at going for a championship?
Mercedes
George Russell joined Mercedes in 2022. This left a few unanswered questions as no one knew how this new lineup of Hamilton and Russell would work. Mercedes had the Valtteri Bottas-Hamilton years to great success. It was clear from the outset that the dynamic between the teammates would shift. The Mercedes pairing would instead be a much more competitive to each other.
The collision in Qatar is not the first time that we’ve seen the teammates come close on track. Though, it was definitely the most dramatic incident that we’ve seen between Hamilton and Russell. Most likely costing the team a potential double podium. Mercedes were quick to ease any tensions between their drivers. The battle between the teammates is fierce. If this keeps up it could do the team more harm than good.
The lack of a championship fight in 2023 has in some ways prevented us from seeing an all-out battle between Hamilton and Russell over the past year and a half. If the team can close the gap to Red Bull in 2024, they may find themselves in a compromising position as Hamilton will no doubt be gunning for an eighth championship and Russell for his first.
McLaren
In the latter half of the season, McLaren have had the most competitive F1 driver lineup. The team have been on a run of podium finishes with Piastri scoring the team their first win of the season in the most recent sprint race at Qatar.
McLaren Team Principal, Andrea Stella, has already addressed the potential of a rivalry between the two drivers after Norris questioned the team orders in Qatar. Stella has stated that both drivers are aware that “the team comes first.” Although Stella’s warning seems to have put out any concerns for the moment, McLaren’s drastic turnaround means that they are no longer fighting for midfield points but now find themselves amongst the top runners, weekend in and weekend out.
If McLaren can carry through the success that they’ve displayed in the second half of the season, they could be in with a legitimate chance of being able to challenge Red Bull come 2024. McLaren have steadily been building up a team that is ready to return to the top. With their brand new wind tunnel now in operation, a solid driver lineup that has been secured for the next couple of years, and an all-new lineup of senior personnel set to take the reins in 2024, many will be watching to see what impact they can make in the coming years.
Ferrari
Ferrari has had somewhat of an unpredictable driver lineup. Neither Charles Leclerc nor Carlos Sainz cemented himself as the number one at the team. While Leclerc is still seen as the preferred number one.
Leclerc signing his five-year contract in 2019. The Monégasque went on to beat Sebastian Vettel in his first year. While the car far from perfect strong performances followed in the next two season. Leclerc stepped up to the title fight at the beginning of 2022. Whilst Sainz was getting to grips with the Ferrari in 2022, his teammate was battling Verstappen and initially started the year leading the driver standings. However, as the year progressed, the tides began to turn.
Due in part to a series of bad luck for Leclerc, 2022 ended with Sainz ahead of his teammate in the F1 driver standings. There’s no denying that the two drivers are very close on track. However, the standings never tell the full story. When we look at their performances again this year, Sainz leads his teammate 8 by points in the standings and is the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix this year.
Fred Vasseur made it clear when he took on the role of becoming Ferrari’s team principal that there would be no number-one driver. This principle has worked out so far, but just like Mercedes and McLaren, there’s no telling as to how this will play out once the teams close in on the championship fight.
