4 minute read
SHIFTING GEARS
By James Neilson
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CAN PEREZ DO IT?
Afterthe season-opening Grand Prix of Bahrain, it appeared as if another title was already gift-wrapped for Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. The 2023 Red Bull RB19 is clearly the class of the field. Ferrari is still searching for its early-2022 form, and Mercedes is still struggling with the new-for-2022 aerodynamic rules in 2023, leaving Red Bull unchallenged atop the time sheets.
But four races in, Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing teammate, Sergio Perez, has equaled the reigning champion’s win total – two victories apiece – and is only six points behind Verstappen, 93 points to 87.
The last time we saw a true battle between teammates in equal cars was 2016, when Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won his lone World Championship, defeating teammate Lewis Hamilton, before abruptly retiring at the end of that season.
Historically, intra-squad rivalries have been some of the fiercest in Formula 1 history, as it is so rare – especially since the 1980s and the end of the 1970s “Garage Era,” when smalls teams like Tyrrell Racing could strap a Cosworth DFV in its cars and compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lotus, the heavy hitters of the time.
Hamilton versus Rosberg, Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost at McLaren, and Jacques Villeneuve versus Damon Hill at Williams, have all thrilled in seasons past. It’s only since the dominance of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in the early 2000s that the notion of having a “solid No. 2” has become the status quo.
Aside from Villeneuve and Hill, all those rivalries featured public feuding between the dueling drivers, the main reason teams like Ferrari in the 2000s and onwards tended to avoid equally paced teammates. It’s much easier to manage egos when both drivers know their role, with the No. 2 often acting as a tail gunner would in a WW2 bomber, keeping rivals at bay and banking points for the Constructors Championship.
And we already know, despite Red Bull’s best attempts to squash it, that there is some bad blood between Verstappen and Perez. At last year’s Sao Paolo Grand Prix, Verstappen – who had already clinched the title – refused to cede his place on the track to Perez, who was chasing second in the World Championship. And ultimately, the loss of points in that race relegated the Spaniard to third in the World Drivers Championship, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It has since been suggested by various members of the media that Verstappen’s refusal to adhere to team orders in Sao Paolo was revenge for what he thinks was an intentional crash by Perez during qualifying for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, which helped keep the Spaniard ahead of the Dutchman on the timesheets at the historic road course, where track position is arguably more valuable than at any other circuit on the calendar.
We’ll probably never know the truth about what really went down in Monaco last year, but if the Red Bull Racing duo continue to trade wins, and the points gap remains close, we could see the makings of another all-time great battle between teammates.
And let’s be honest, the way the early season races have gone, Perez is likely our only hope of making the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship a closely fought affair. IT
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