Without intentionally bringing hateful tweets, comments and emails upon
myself, if a follower of Formula One declines to recognise that 1988 and
1989 were two phenomenal seasons, then they might want to consider whether
they really are a ‘fan’ after all.
The reason some of the last few years have been on the dull side is not solely
because Red Bull were supreme, it is partly because of the disparity in
performance between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
We can harp on about ‘the good ol’ days’ as much as we like – although in
reality, the gap between teams has generally shortened rather than elongated
in recent days – but 2014 has all the ingredients for a hugely memorable
rivalry. After all, there are so many factors and subplots at play which
make the Rosberg-Hamilton dynamic so intriguing.
They’re friends. They’ve raced against each other since they were 15. They can
quickly regale anyone with stories of the wrestling matches or the
pizza-eating contests of their youth.
How that relationship holds up under immense strain and stress is difficult to
predict, but if the championship remains close throughout 2014’s 19 rounds,
it is impossible not to imagine – possibly quite public – friction. Formula
One loves a good soap opera, after all.
There is also the size of their respective trophy cabinets. Even though
Hamilton keeps his in his father’s loft or garage, he has more wins and the
trophy that matters over Rosberg: the world championship, of course.
That experience of what it takes to get over the line will be invaluable, but
if the season does become more competitive, will it influence Mercedes’
choice of who to back if it gets to that?
So far, and to their enormous credit, Mercedes have eschewed team orders. The
softly spoken Paddy Lowe is now the man giving out the crucial radio
messages, and his drivers just about fulfilled his request to bring the cars
home with 10 laps to go.
Not every race will be like Bahrain, but there may come a point when such an
admirably free policy becomes untenable, particularly if they do make
contact in a race. Unless of course their championship lead is so enormous
it does not even matter if they take each other out.
Regardless of whether team orders are imposed, there’s something common to all
racing drivers, and especially the best ones: they hate to lose. Rosberg was
gracious in defeat in Bahrain, but he was clearly deeply wounded and
frustrated. From the early indications, they will probably share the winning
and the losing, and as the championship reaches its critical point managing
those losses will become increasingly difficult.
At the moment, they are both good spirited enough to share an almost rugby
tackle embrace after the race, and they both speak about how they share
data, studying one another’s performances to garner crucial information.
But will all that last? History suggests that it will struggle to. And that
will be the making of a rivalry of epic proportions.