The Biggest Formula 1 Rivalries in the Last Decade
The Biggest Formula 1 Rivalries in the Last Decade
Formula 1 is easily one of the most exciting sports where some of the biggest rivalries happened. You won’t see classic clashes again like those between Hunt and Mass, Mansel and Piquet, Senna and Prost, Hunt and Lauda, Schumacher and Häkkinen, and plenty of other before them. Many of those rivalries have been depicted in popular culture, through music, documentaries, movies and even in the world of slots like those developed by IGT. But, let’s see some of the biggest clashes in the last decade.
Rosberg vs. Hamilton
One of the biggest rivalries lately is that between Hamilton and Rosberg. It gave us many exciting moments, although there
was nothing exciting in the constructors category at all. They are both racing for McLaren, which means continuous dominance among the constructors ever since 2014. Anyway, lots of bad blood happened when Rosberg and Hamilton became teammates.
One of the most evident moments of this bad blood was when Rosberg ruined Hamilton’s chances in Monaco for the pole position. Rosberg said that he ‘slid’ of the track unintentionally right before Hamilton was about to complete his final flying lap. In the end, Rosberg claimed the pole position and the race.
This was only one of the many incidents that ensued. Rosberg was mainly irked by the constant talks that Hamilton is a better wheel to wheel racer. Their relationship was finally destroyed when Rosberg caused a clash in Spa, which caused Hamilton to drop out of the race and Rosberg to win it. The season ended with Hamilton winning the title when he overtook Rosberg off the start in the last race. This rivalry, which continues till today can easily become one of the greatest in the history of Formula 1.
Alonso vs. Hamilton
Hamilton was a a big rival with Alonso when both raced for McLaren in 2007. Hamilton finished 2nd, Alonso 3rd while Raikkonen stole the title with Ferrari on the final day. Why is this one of the biggest rivalries? Because of the friction that happened throughout the season.
Alonso was a champion, but made many errors that were not characteristic for him, while Hamilton was very consistent. On top of that, it was his debut season, and Alonso wouldn’t let a rookie beat him. One of their most famous incidents was the one where Alonso blatantly blocked Hamilton in the pit lane so that he couldn’t finish his qualifying lap, for which Alonso was demoted five places in the grid.
The entire charade culminated with Alonso threatening Ron Dennis that he would reveal all the incriminating details that made up the Spygate scandal later.
All of this made the final day a historic one. Alonso and Hamilton were both contenders for the title, but Raikkonen was the
one that profited from their rivalry in the end. Alonso finished 3rd, while Hamilton 7th. Raikkonen on the other hand won the race and the title by a margin of just 1 point. Then, Alonso simply quit McLaren after just one season and returned to Renault.
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