There have been some great driver pairings in the history of F1: Prost/Senna, Fangio/Moss the list goes on, but what if some of the greatest drivers to have ever competed against each other, competed with each other for the same team? Of course it’s impossible to compare drivers from different eras due to the vast differences in the cars they drove. So in that regard these pairings could never happen, but we can always dream. Here are the top ten dream driver partnerships.
Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton are both known as masters of the track and have been recognised as ‘real racers’. The pair would bring back pure racing and excitement to the sport if they were to be on the same team, with both men possessing a unique skill when it comes to wet conditions.
Michael Schumacher was the very best of his generation. A record setter and one of the most dominant sportsmen over a ten-year period. That was until another young German stepped up by the name of Sebastian Vettel. These two Champions have taken F1 by storm and between them currently hold ten World titles, with the chances of that number increasing week-by-week.
Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve were at one time fierce competitors with both men having big reputations to live up to. They both did that in 1996 and 97 with the Williams team and were teammates although not for long. If these two title holders had continued to perform for the same team who knows how many more they would have won.
It seems a little obvious that the two most famous Finns to have competed in F1, and the men with the hardest names to spell are put together, but their credentials speak for themselves. Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen have both won World Championships and have shown a talent for sticking it to the favourite and taking the top spot. In 2001, a young Raikkonen replace a Hakkinen looking towards the end of a career, however these two Finn’s could have been the very best.
Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were both very young when they made their debuts in Formula One; Alonso was still only a teenager. Recently rumours have been circulating that this is a team we could see in the future, but for now we can only wonder what kind of a force these two racing prodigies and World Champions could achieve.
Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell were teammates for a short time in 1994 and were a match made in heaven. Two British stars at one of the teams that made World Champions, these two only raced together for four races altogether.
A father/son pairing would surely be one of the greatest partnerships in Formula One. Keke Rosberg and his son Nico would be lethal if they were to take to the track together. This year Nico Rosberg has been impressive in qualifying with his Mercedes team and has shown considerable pace alongside his current teammate Lewis Hamilton. His father Keke, a former World Champion, was the first Finnish driver to regularly compete in F1.
In September 2013, James Hunt and Niki Lauda’s historic battle for the 1976 World Championship has since made its way to the big screen. Their encounters were highly competitive, Lauda and Hunt fought for the title but if they were to combine their talent and spirit (Lauda suffered severe burns to his head and face during the German GP but would return just six weeks later) they would have been unstoppable.
Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello would have made the perfect Formula One team too. Unfortunately both men have suffered the consequences of being the number two drivers behind two other men that have made this list, however, Barrichello and Webber have shown glimpses of brilliance in the past, only to be shunned for the team’s preferred driver.
Another dream partnership that came true was Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, both of whom were two of the very best. Although at odds with each other for most of the time they were together, Prost and Senna were dominant. No one could touch them when they were at McLaren in 1988, but the two paid the price as their rivalry would take over their careers creating controversy in the process.
By Jamie Bassett
This photograph was provided by Zip250
