Combatbetweenteam-matesis one of
the fascinations of Formula 1. The balance
of cooperation and single-mindedness shifts
constantly and there’s no simple equation for
delivering the best results. Sometimes a team
surges aheadthanks to intense rivalry between
two top campaigners, on other occasions the same
outfit may benefit from a more holistic approach.
Ferrari has won five times in Austria, the venue
of the firsttwo races of this delayed season; team
cooperation helped Jacky Ickx take thefirst win at
what is now the Red Bull Ring in 1970 thanks to
his rookie team-mate Clay Regazzoni waving him
through and providing a resilient doorstopto the
opposition. In 2002 Rubens Barrichello waited
until the end of the last lapbefore handing victory
to Ferrari’s superstar Michael Schumacher, a team
orders fiasco that had ramifications down the line.
The Italian squad often soars when there’sa
clear number one driver backed up by asolid
points scorer. At the start of 2019 the strategy
felt similar; the management adopted a relativelyinexperienced but talented driver in Charles
Leclerc and made it clear that Sebastian Vettel
would getpreference at key moments. But Leclerc
had other plans and outqualified Vettel more often
than not, outscored him by 24 points and beat
him 2-1 in terms of race wins.
The news of Vettel’sdepar ture from Ferrari
at the end of this season has shifted the balance
between the two even further. Charles integrated
closely with the team from the outset and has
created hope for the future. Vettel never quite
achieved that bonding process, something
identified by former team mate Mark Webber:
“Seb’s motivation has beentested in a very
culturallychallenging environment and that’s
a movie we’ve seen manytimes with Ferrari
drivers,” he commented when we caught up in
preparation for our Channel 4 work this year.
“The small nuances of how the Italians go about
their motorsport is quitedraining for him with his
robotic approach; unquestionably he could get the
spark back in a different environment”.
While Vettel may not have melded with Ferrari
as he did with Red Bull, he goes into this shortened
campaign with a mindseteffectively freed from
the duties of being team leader while Leclerc
will unofficially carry that label. The hunter and
the hunted fromearly 2019 have exchanged
roles and that could set the path for some fiery
confrontations this year.
Those contract announcements in May could
affect other relationships. Renault’ssitua tion isINSIDER
TEAM-MATE
RIVALRY IS
NEVER SIMPLE
particularly intriguing; Esteban Ocon goes into his first season with
the team after a year’s sabbatical that has extended to 19 months.
His target will surely be to match and beat Daniel Ricciardo before
Dan moves to McLaren. If Ocon succeeds, it will remove pressure
from team boss Cyril Abiteboul to sign up a big name like Vettel or
Fernando Alonso, but if Ricciardo retains the upper hand in these
early races it becomes more complicated.
A cooperative environment seems unlikely.
McLaren has had its own dramas in Austria between team-mates;
in 1999 David Coulthard piled into Mika Häkkinen at the first corner
which led to an embarrassing debrief and the gift of one of those five
Austria victories to Ferrari. Thankfully his relationship with Mika
survived and they’re happy to bump into each other these days.
The current McLaren line-up is a genuinely friendly combination
and least likely to be affected by the driver shake-up. Lando Norris
has a year under his belt and a contract that extends for a couple of
seasons while Carlos Sainz has extra confidence generated by his new
deal with Ferrari. If the two of them can focus on getting the best for
the team asthey did last year then McLaren has a healthy chance of
retaining fourth place in what promisesto be
an even more fraught contest for ‘Best ofthe
Rest’ in the constructors’ championship.
Mercedes has experienceda smooth
wo rking enviro nment over thepast few years
but it was a different story when Nico Rosberg
was fightingfor success. Lewis Hamiltonand
Nico clashed on thefin al lap atthe RedBull
Ring in 2016,although the team still emerged
with victory. Si nce ValtteriBottas wassigned
the atmospherehas been competitive yet
productive,important when the team’s margin
of superiorityhas been chippedaway at. That
knowledge no doubt lingers inTotoWolff’s
mind as heconsiders changes for thefuture.
As for the‘home’team at theinitial races ,
Red Bull has adriver reaching peak form in
Max Verstappen, sharing thegarag e wi th the
inexperienced yet talented Alexander Albon.
This is a pairing that could geleffectively, and
off the back of two wins in two years in Austria
the imminentback-to-back races could well
lead to four in a row if the cards fallinto p lace.
Each team develops an internal psyche
which shifts subtly in a season, affected by
results, reliability, ongoing prospects and
individual performances. Sometimes a team
boss can have an influence butultimately it
emerges through the character combinations
involved. Rarely is there a clear answer as
to which balance works best. Intense, calm
cooperation or spiky inner conflict? It looks
like we’ll bewatching examples across the
board in the coming months.BENED WARDS
THE F1
ANALYST
22 GP RACING JULY 2020
@benedwardstv
PICTURESCombatbetweenteam-matesis one of
the fascinations of Formula 1. The balance
of cooperation and single-mindedness shifts
constantly and there’s no simple equation for
delivering the best results. Sometimes a team
surges aheadthanks to intense rivalry between
two top campaigners, on other occasions the same
outfit may benefit from a more holistic approach.
Ferrari has won five times in Austria, the venue
of the firsttwo races of this delayed season; team
cooperation helped Jacky Ickx take thefirst win at
what is now the Red Bull Ring in 1970 thanks to
his rookie team-mate Clay Regazzoni waving him
through and providing a resilient doorstopto the
opposition. In 2002 Rubens Barrichello waited
until the end of the last lapbefore handing victory
to Ferrari’s superstar Michael Schumacher, a team
orders fiasco that had ramifications down the line.
The Italian squad often soars when there’sa
clear number one driver backed up by asolid
points scorer. At the start of 2019 the strategy
felt similar; the management adopted a relatively
inexperienced but talented driver in Charles
Leclerc and made it clear that Sebastian Vettel
would getpreference at key moments. But Leclerc
had other plans and outqualified Vettel more often
than not, outscored him by 24 points and beat
him 2-1 in terms of race wins.
The news of Vettel’sdepar ture from Ferrari
at the end of this season has shifted the balance
between the two even further. Charles integrated
closely with the team from the outset and has
created hope for the future. Vettel never quite
achieved that bonding process, something
identified by former team mate Mark Webber:
“Seb’s motivation has beentested in a very
culturallychallenging environment and that’s
a movie we’ve seen manytimes with Ferrari
drivers,” he commented when we caught up in
preparation for our Channel 4 work this year.
“The small nuances of how the Italians go about
their motorsport is quitedraining for him with his
robotic approach; unquestionably he could get the
spark back in a different environment”.
While Vettel may not have melded with Ferrari
as he did with Red Bull, he goes into this shortened
campaign with a mindseteffectively freed from
the duties of being team leader while Leclerc
will unofficially carry that label. The hunter and
the hunted fromearly 2019 have exchanged
roles and that could set the path for some fiery
confrontations this year.
Those contract announcements in May could
affect other relationships. Renault’ssitua tion isINSIDER
TEAM-MATE
RIVALRY IS
NEVER SIMPLE
particularly intriguing; Esteban Ocon goes into his first season with
the team after a year’s sabbatical that has extended to 19 months.
His target will surely be to match and beat Daniel Ricciardo before
Dan moves to McLaren. If Ocon succeeds, it will remove pressure
from team boss Cyril Abiteboul to sign up a big name like Vettel or
Fernando Alonso, but if Ricciardo retains the upper hand in these
early races it becomes more complicated.
A cooperative environment seems unlikely.
McLaren has had its own dramas in Austria between team-mates;
in 1999 David Coulthard piled into Mika Häkkinen at the first corner
which led to an embarrassing debrief and the gift of one of those five
Austria victories to Ferrari. Thankfully his relationship with Mika
survived and they’re happy to bump into each other these days.
The current McLaren line-up is a genuinely friendly combination
and least likely to be affected by the driver shake-up. Lando Norris
has a year under his belt and a contract that extends for a couple of
seasons while Carlos Sainz has extra confidence generated by his new
deal with Ferrari. If the two of them can focus on getting the best for
the team asthey did last year then McLaren has a healthy chance of
retaining fourth place in what promisesto be
an even more fraught contest for ‘Best ofthe
Rest’ in the constructors’ championship.
Mercedes has experienceda smooth
wo rking enviro nment over thepast few years
but it was a different story when Nico Rosberg
was fightingfor success. Lewis Hamiltonand
Nico clashed on thefin al lap atthe RedBull
Ring in 2016,although the team still emerged
with victory. Si nce ValtteriBottas wassigned
the atmospherehas been competitive yet
productive,important when the team’s margin
of superiorityhas been chippedaway at. That
knowledge no doubt lingers inTotoWolff’s
mind as heconsiders changes for thefuture.
As for the‘home’team at theinitial races ,
Red Bull has adriver reaching peak form in
Max Verstappen, sharing thegarag e wi th the
inexperienced yet talented Alexander Albon.
This is a pairing that could geleffectively, and
off the back of two wins in two years in Austria
the imminentback-to-back races could well
lead to four in a row if the cards fallinto p lace.
Each team develops an internal psyche
which shifts subtly in a season, affected by
results, reliability, ongoing prospects and
individual performances. Sometimes a team
boss can have an influence butultimately it
emerges through the character combinations
involved. Rarely is there a clear answer as
to which balance works best. Intense, calm
cooperation or spiky inner conflict? It looks
like we’ll bewatching examples across the
board in the coming months.BENED WARDS
THE F1
ANALYST
22 GP RACING JULY 2020
@benedwardstv
PICTURES