When team mates go to war: a history of internal Formula 1 rivalries
It is the dream of every Formula 1 team to have two drivers fighting at the top level of their careers, but it is often a recipe for absolute chaos. History shows that once the red mist descends, team principals are forced into a desperate scramble to preserve the collective success of the machine over individual egos.
From the coin tosses Ron Dennis used to distribute Honda engines between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna at McLaren, to the intense pressure cooker of Mercedes in the 2010s, the methods have been as varied as the personalities involved. Toto Wolff, for instance, once resorted to threatening Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with redundancy via email just to ensure the interests of the brand were prioritised. It is a stark reminder that even the most successful outfits are constantly balancing on a knife-edge.
Some teams opted for rigid structures, like the 'Multi 21' saga at Red Bull where Sebastian Vettel famously defied orders to hold position ahead of Mark Webber in Malaysia 2013. Others, like McLaren, have tried to rely on 'papaya rules', demanding clean, respectful racing that allowed them to secure a Teams' Championship by a massive 364 points. Whether through iron-fisted management or a leap of faith in their drivers, keeping the peace in the garage remains one of the toughest tasks in the sport.
