By Jake Owen
12th of September 2021. Max Verstappen leaves the Monza pits after a slow stop and finds
himself going into turn one with title rival Lewis Hamilton on his outside. Not giving an inch, both
men collide with Verstappen planting his car on top of Hamilton. The image epitomises the word
‘rivalry’. Is F1 missing this?
F1 is well-known for its famous rivalries, you have Senna vs Prost, an intra-team rivalry that
included that infamous 1989 Japanese collision, resulting in a Prost championship and his
quote,’ I’m quite happy to leave […] it becomes absolutely impossible to work with Ayrton’. You
also have Hill vs Schumacher, a 1994 rivalry that can be summed up by one corner in Adelaide
and a joyous Schumacher winning his first championship on the sideline.
In recent years, a dominant Mercedes team from 2014-2016 had to deal with a Hamilton vs
Rosberg rivalry, starting with a battle in the desserts of Bahrain in 2014 and peaking with a first
lap collision in the Barcelona gp of 2016. There is also of course, the already mentioned
Verstappen vs Hamilton rivalry which resulted in arguably the most controversial moment in F1
history in the Abu Dhabi gp of 2021.
Ever since the end of that season, us as F1 fans have been left hungry for a good rivalry and
what has been served to us has been bland at best. Verstappen vs Leclerc in 2022? That ended
before it even got going, Verstappen vs Perez in 2023? After Baku, Verstappen swept away his
teammate, Norris vs Verstappen in 2024? It had its potential but Norris couldn’t capitalise on a
under performing Red Bull team, Norris vs Piastri in 2025? Early season promise but always kept
us asking for more, especially when Piastri began to faulter.
Perhaps the lack of a good rivalry is the sign of the times, a modern F1 that is more interested in looking at F1 friendships such as Sainz and Norris, or Hamilton and Leclerc. Although I do find myself enjoying the friendships, a good rivalry is really missing from the sport and is wanted by the fans. The spat between Russel and Verstappen after qualifying in Qatar 2024, exemplifies
this want from the fans, with the internet exploding over comments made by Russel and the
resulting fight back from Verstappen.
After an incident in qualifying in which Verstappen was handed a 1-place grid penalty,
Verstappen commented about there meeting with the stewards and stating,’ I’ve never seen
someone trying to screw someone over so hard’ in relation to Russell. After this, Russell claims
that Verstappen threatened to ‘purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘put me on
my head in the wall’.
As this was happening, the internet was ablaze with comments and videos, with everyone enthralled by this spat that resembled an on-track rivalry. I remember messaging my mate about it, seeing where they stood on the issue. In that moment, it suddenly reminded me of the 2021 season and the many times I talked to my mate about the rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen. If this doesn’t show us that we as fans are missing a good rivalry in F1, then I don’t know what would.
With the 2026 season approaching, maybe this year we will finally get a rivalry we’ve been missing worth mentioning alongside the greats. With rumours of Red Bull and Mercedes nailing
the engine regulation, perhaps we will get a Russell vs Verstappen rivalry, and if their spat is anything to go by, we are in for a treat.
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