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Are these Formula One's fiercest rivalries?
From Lauda versus Hunt to Webber and Vettel, we round up some of the fiercest race-day feuds that have made Formula One such an exciting and dramatic sport.
Boasting battles on the track and intrigue behind-the-scenes, Formula One has played host to some epic rivalries over the decades. If the fans are lucky, sometimes these season-long conflicts can boil down to just one race, or sometimes even a single corner.
Here are some of the greatest F1 rivalries, where scores have been settled and legends created.
Verstappen vs Leclerc: The next great rivalry in F1?
Browse through the list below and it's immediately apparent just how big some of F1's rivalries have been. We're talking years of conflict, where some of the sport's biggest talents and egos clashed repeatedly, and Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc's rivalry is shaping up to be every bit the next great rivalry.
With over 100 races already under his belt, it's easy to forget that Max Verstappen is just 22-years-old. Already an F1 veteran, the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver has matured at the very top of the sport, coming though tough times and evolving into a composed, incredibly fast driver. Over the past season however, Verstappen has faced a force like never before, in the form of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen is ready for action
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Like Verstappen, Leclerc is also 22-years-old, races for a competitive team and has a precocious talent that's rarely seen. He's also every bit as stubborn and ambitious as Verstappen, willing to battle it out to the very end, with neither party yielding when it matters most.
During the past season, that resulted in some truly spectacular racing, with the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix a great example, as the duo battled side-by-side for the lead of the race, with a late dive down the inside from Verstappen leaving Leclerc nowhere to go but off the track – a move that gave Verstappen the win.
It's not the first time the youngsters have clashed, with a rivalry building slowly over years in junior formulas, but nothing is more spectacular than seeing them go head-to-head in the fastest cars of all. Better yet, both drivers still have their best years in front of them and we can look forward to years of increasingly intense action on track.
James Hunt vs Nikki Lauda at Fuji Speedway, Japan, 1976
This is the apex of racing's most dangerous and glamorous era. The classic clash is documented in the film Rush, which portrays it as a struggle between flamboyant playboy James Hunt versus hard-headed technocrat Nikki Lauda (stereotypes which, by Lauda's own admission, are fairly accurate).
With eerie forshadowing, at the start of the season Lauda had complained about the inclusion of the infamously narrow and twisty Nurburgring circuit in Germany. During the race there, Lauda slid off in the rain and was trapped in his burning car for almost a minute.
Niki Lauda and James Hunt
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Amazingly, despite sustaining serious burns to his body and face, Lauda only missed two races and, on his return, even managed to extend his championship lead over Hunt. But Hunt refused to give up, scoring enough wins to keep him in contention and the scene was set for a final showdown at a storm-lashed Fuji Speedway.
After two laps, Lauda felt the conditions were too dangerous and voluntarily retired from the race. Hunt still needed to finish third to win the title however and just to ratchet up the tension, serious tyre degradation forced a pit stop that left him in fifth place with only two laps remaining. But, in one of racing's most dramatic finishes, Hunt battled furiously to regain third, pipping Lauda to the world title at the last second.
Nigel Mansell vs Nelson Piquet at Adelaide Street Circuit, Australia, 1986
Nigel Mansell was a drama queen to rival Bette Davis. For example, the arrival of Alain Prost at Ferrari in 1990 gave Mansell a serious case of middle-child syndrome, leading to moustachioed tantrums and an infamous blocking incident at Estoril that almost took both drivers out of the championship.
This was a cheese and wine party compared to Mansell's earlier conflict with Nelson Piquet, though, who joined Mansell at Williams in 1986. The urbane Piquet, who described Nigel as "an uneducated blockhead", was widely expected to eclipse Mansell's performance. Over the season however, Mansell, to much surprise, won five races to Piquet's four.
Nigel Mansell at the 1986 Australian Grand Prix
© Bryn Colton/Getty Images
The championship, and its crucial bragging rights, were to be decided at the Australian Grand Prix, on the streets of Adelaide. Mansell took an early lead and by the midpoint looked unassailable – until a puncture put him out of the race, serving the title to Piquet on a plate.
Mark Webber vs Sebastian Vettel at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, 2013
Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were on the same team in contractual terms only. The two Red Bull Racing drivers had an incredibly tempestuous rivalry from the start and held each other in outright contempt following a wheel-to-wheel crash during the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix.
Webber believed that the team favoured the then-untested German wünderkind and made regular sardonic verbal swipes to this effect in interviews, which Vettel answered by winning four consecutive world championships.
Sebastian Vettel leads Mark Webber at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Five years of simmering – and occasionally over-boiling – resentment came to a conclusion at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. After the last pit stops, Vettel broke a pre-race agreement to let the Australian have a commiseratory victory, blowing past Webber on the final lap to clinch the win.
In a bitter post-race comment, Webber stated that he didn't expect Vettel to face sanction from the team, saying, "Seb will have protection as per usual and that's the way it goes." Webber retired from F1 a few weeks later.
Lewis Hamilton vs Felipe Massa at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil, 2008
As sporting rivalries go, this was as close to a classic Victorian gentlemen's agreement as you'll find outside the age of steam locomotion.
Undercutting Lewis Hamilton's sometimes hot-headed reputation, the two drivers engaged in a mutually respectful campaign, spurring each other on to some legendary performances. Until, ultimately, the Drivers' Championship rested on the last race of the season.
Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at the 2008 Grand Prix of Belgium
© Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images
Although Hamilton led the table, Felipe Massa was leading the race by a comfortable margin, with Hamilton lagging in fourth. As Massa crossed the finish line, with Hamilton seemingly off the rostrum, mass celebrations broke out among the Ferrari team. This quickly turned to despair, though, as they realised that Hamilton had – on the very last corner of the last lap – managed to inch past Timo Glock into third place, securing the title by a single point.
Michael Schumacher vs Jacques Villeneuve at Circuit de Jerez, Spain, 1997
Although Michael Schumacher was without doubt one of the all-time great drivers, his mercurial talent for driving fast was matched by a nefarious knack for gamesmanship.
In 1994, Schumacher seemingly used a kamikaze crash to knock Damon Hill out of the Australian Grand Prix, preventing him from winning the championship. But this was far from the only time Schumacher had a conveniently advantageous 'accident'.
Three years later, Schumacher was involved in a scathing rivalry with Jacques Villeneuve, who was running him a close second in the world championship schase. The two headed into the final race of the season with everything to play for.
A relaxed Jacques Villeneuve after his retirement
© GEPA pictures/Red Bull Content Pool
Schumacher held first place until, on Lap 48, Villeneuve took his shot and attempted to pass the Ferrari on the inside. Schumacher responded by swerving sharply into Villeneuve's side. The collision took Schumacher out of the race, although Villeneuve was able to limp home in third place to claim the title.
On review – and taking his previous form into account – Schumacher was judged to have caused the crash deliberately and was disqualified from the championship.
Michael Schumacher vs Mika Häkkinen at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy, 2000
Although both drivers held each other in high esteem, this high-stakes conflict clearly got under their skin.
At the 1998 Italian Grand Prix, ice man Mika Häkkinen was filmed sobbing on his knees after spinning off into a gravel trap, but he was later able to take some consolation from winning that year's Drivers' Championship.
Two years later, Italy was also home to one of Schumacher's most famous victories. Despite a fierce challenge from Häkkinen, Schumacher got the best of his rival, not only breaking a streak of six races without a win, but also equalling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 GP firsts.
Uncharacteristically, the German broke down in tears while describing the experience to the media. In a classy move, Häkkinen put his arm around Schumacher, asking reporters if they could "have a break". Schumacher went on to win the Drivers' Championship that year, suggesting that public weeping is the secret to F1 success.
Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna at Suzuka International Racing Course, Japan, 1990
Perhaps F1's greatest ever rivalry, with a narrative straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster and two of racing's all-time greats at the peak of their respective powers: Alain Prost, the calculated, efficient professional and Ayrton Senna, the daring maverick, known for his risk-taking and flair.
The two titans were former team-mates whose relationship soured. After beating Senna to the title in 1989, Prost moved to Ferrari, insisting on a clause in his contract stating that Senna couldn't be hired under any circumstances.
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna lead the pack at Suzuka
© Pascal Rondeau/Allsport/Getty Images
The following year, at the season's penultimate race in Japan, Senna was holding the cards, leading on points and sitting in pole, with Prost in second.
Before the race, Senna pledged that should Prost get the better start, he'd use any means necessary to overtake him at the first corner. Which is sort of what happened. What Senna didn't reveal is that his plan also included smashing into the side of Prost's Ferrari, forcing it into the wall and putting both drivers out of the race.
Senna still had enough of a points advantage to win the Drivers' Championship and the stunt robbed Prost of an essential chance to overtake him.
