F1 Generations, page 15
McLaren’s own website explained his situation in this way in 2023: ‘Kevin’s 2013 season concluded with him being awarded the Formula 1 drive, racing alongside Jenson Button for 2014. If that added pressure, Kev quickly shrugged it aside with his trademark mixture of smiling charm and wilful insouciance.
‘Kevin enjoyed a dream debut at the Australian Grand Prix, running at the front for the whole weekend. His third-place finish on the road became second following the disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Kevin’s was the best result for an F1 debutant since Jacques Villeneuve also finished second at the same track back in 1996.
‘If the rest of the ’14 season didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations established in that series opener, Kevin still drove with all the passion and bravery that would go on to typify his F1 career and racked up an impressive 55 points in the championship in the process.
‘Through no fault of his own, Kev wasn’t retained for the following season, although he made a one-off appearance in Australia as a super-sub for the injured Fernando Alonso. With drives at Renault and Haas under his belt since departing McLaren, Kevin has turned into a fine, combative and much-admired racer who has earned support and respect from many within the F1 community.’
Vandoorne’s trajectory was similarly far from being a stellar one. Neither he nor Magnussen would hit anywhere near the heights of Hamilton, Norris or Coulthard.
Signed by McLaren in 2013, Vandoorne impressed with both speed and composure. He won the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2012 and was runner-up to Magnussen in the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
Where Magnussen could be fiery and aggressive, Vandoorne was often praised for his intelligence and coolness under pressure. McLaren placed him in Formula Renault 3.5, then GP2, and his rise was impressive. By 2015, he had conquered GP2 with a campaign widely regarded as one of the most dominant the series had witnessed. His reward was the role of reserve driver at McLaren, a frustrating position for an ambitious guy.
For years he waited in the wings, testing, learning and preparing for his big chance.
When Fernando Alonso was injured in 2016, it seemed his moment had arrived, and Vandoorne stepped in and scored points on his debut in Bahrain. But the joy didn’t last, as the McLaren website pointed out in 2023: ‘Stoffel made his Formula 1 debut, deputising for Fernando Alonso in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix. It was a last-minute call-up, which involved him flying overnight from a Super Formula test session in Japan to arrive at the Bahrain circuit hours ahead of the first Formula 1 practice session.
‘Despite his inexperience – he had never driven the MP4-31 before the race weekend – he performed flawlessly, out-qualifying teammate Jenson Button, and scoring the team’s first World Championship point of the campaign.
‘Stoffel graduated to a full-time race seat in 2017, working hard to compensate for the car’s deficiencies during a difficult maiden Grand Prix season. It was a tough year, marked by multiple grid penalties for power unit changes, but seventh places in Singapore and Malaysia showed promise.
‘Hopes were high for 2018, but again the team endured a difficult season. Stoffel earned points in three of the four opening races, but thereafter he was dogged by bad luck, and he struggled to get the results that he truly deserved. He has made a fresh start by moving to Formula E, where he currently drives for Mercedes.’
For George Russell, there would be no McLaren Young Driver Scheme, but he would benefit in his late teens from support provided by the MercedesAMG Petronas Junior Team. It was a similar deal to Lando’s at McLaren for the 19-year-old. Russell impressed Mercedes with his performances in European Formula 3 and, in late 2016, reached out to team principal, Toto Wolff, seeking support. In his usual meticulous approach to life, George crafted a detailed PowerPoint about why he deserved a spot in their junior programme.
Wolff invited him in as a simulator driver and eventually offered to back his racing programme. Russell officially joined Mercedes’ junior ranks at the beginning of 2017, becoming one of only three members of the programme at that time, alongside Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon.
That support wasn’t just financial. It meant access to resources, testing and the kind of guidance that helps a young driver focus fully on racing. Reflecting on what being a rookie within such a giant of motorsport meant, Russell said, ‘It is great to be a part of the Junior Programme . . . It is an incredible opportunity to have the backing of the Formula 1 world champions . . . I am working with people who are the best in the business, who I know will help me develop as a driver and as a person.’
George didn’t waste the opportunity. He won the GP3 title in his first season under Mercedes, then followed it up with the Formula 2 Championship a year later, proving himself against the best of his generation. Those results made him impossible to ignore, and when the time came to step into Formula 1, Mercedes placed him at Williams, one of their engine customers, for the 2019 season. It was a tough introduction, given Williams’s struggles at the time, but he did well, all considered.
The path Mercedes set him on eventually led back to them, with Russell becoming a full-time Mercedes driver and race winner. In the same way McLaren’s programme paved the way for Hamilton and Norris, the Mercedes junior scheme played a decisive role in Russell’s rise, turning him from a promising late teen hopeful into one of the leading names on the grid.
In 2025, Mercedes announced an expanded junior roster and George was asked to comment on the impact the scheme had had on his development. He said, ‘The Junior Programme has been such a big part of my life. I think the one thing I’m most grateful for is the support that everyone in the team gave me to help me perform. They didn’t just drop me in situations and pile on the pressure.
‘For all 12 of the current junior drivers, I know they will have the very best support and structure to help them on their motorsport journey.
‘With Kimi [Antonelli] and I, both Junior Programme graduates, racing in F1 for the team this year, it shows what is possible. I am sure every one of the juniors will be giving it their all this year and I look forward to seeing their success on track.’
Fellow junior graduate Antonelli added, ‘The Junior Programme helped me develop so much, not only as a driver but also as a person. I’m so grateful . . . without it, I don’t think I would be sitting here as a works Mercedes driver in F1.’
The path Mercedes set Antonelli and Russell on eventually led to them becoming full-time Mercedes drivers and, in George’s case, an F1 race winner. In the same way McLaren’s programme paved the way for Hamilton and Norris, the Mercedes junior scheme played a decisive role in Russell’s rise, turning him from a promising youngster into a genuine contender for the World Championship crown.
CHAPTER 10
RIVALRY
It’s 2007 and Lewis Hamilton is in his debut Formula 1 season. As a rookie at McLaren, he may have been expected to toe the line behind his teammate, Fernando Alonso, especially as the Spaniard was the reigning world champion. But his innate ambition and desire to win meant that was against his very nature — while Alonso was also fiery and fully committed. In his eyes, he was not only team number one, but world number one, so of course he should have special treatment. His sense of entitlement didn’t sit well with young Lewis and the two would frequently clash over the season.
Alonso also seemed to take umbrage at the fact that Lewis received better treatment within the team, and the media, because he was British – and McLaren was based in the UK.
At the time, I asked one of the McLaren crew if this was why they seemed so behind their new boy. On condition of anonymity, they hinted at the team’s thinking on the feud between Lewis and his teammate Fernando Alonso, ever present in his debut campaign.
‘The thing is there’s been all this stuff in the press with Alonso saying we favour Lewis because he is British . . . but that’s rubbish. We’re all in this together; we’re all McLaren. Big Ron [Ron Dennis] wouldn’t have any of that kind of thing in his team – if anything, it was Lewis as the rookie who got the slower car.
‘But Lewis is a special talent – he works harder than most seasoned drivers and he’s got that touch of magic that most don’t have. I watch him in the practice sessions and it reminds me of why I wanted to be part of Formula 1 in the first place.
‘A lot of the time it seems that Alonso’s raging, that he’s flat out, trying to cling on to his title, but Lewis was often beating him hands down – looking as if he hasn’t broken sweat, always gracious and the crowds love him.
‘The thing is, Alonso’s a great driver, a great champion and nice guy underneath it all, but Lewis is something special. Forget all the stuff about being the first black guy and all that – he could be the best driver of his generation irrelevant of all that. It gives me the shivers to be around that, to see it happening, and, yes, even Big Ron’s got a spring in his step these days.’
Of course, the duo were far from being the only ones to not see things eye to eye in the ultra-competitive world of F1.
The paddock has always been awash with gossip of various fallouts between teammates over the following two decades, as indeed it had been since the very start of the sport. Currently, George Russell is regularly involved in spats on and off the track with Max Verstappen and had a run-in with teammate Alex Albon while both raced for Williams.
Meanwhile, Norris initially appeared at odds with teammate Carlos Sainz, when Lando first raced in F1, and now battles competitively with Oscar Piastri – although in both instances no rancour survived or survives now after racing is completed. It’s not really in Lando’s nature to hold grudges, and he even remains friends with Verstappen, despite the Dutchman sporadically cutting him up on the track. We’ll examine these cases later in this chapter, but first it’s back to Hamilton and pre-Hamilton to give the issue a broader feel.
Few rivalries in sport – let alone Formula 1 – have matched the intensity, drama and sheer magnetism of Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost. Spanning from 1988 to 1993, their clashes were not simply about race wins or championships; they were philosophical battles fought on the tarmac, in the media and behind closed garage doors.
Senna, the Brazilian maestro, drove with unyielding aggression and a near-mystical belief in his destiny.
Prost, the Frenchman known as ‘The Professor’, relied on meticulous preparation, political acumen and clinical precision. Their contrasting styles made them natural adversaries. When McLaren paired them as teammates in 1988, it was always going to be the most combustible of mixes.
That first season set the tone. McLaren’s dominance was absolute – the team won 15 of 16 races – but Senna emerged as champion, unsettling Prost. For the Frenchman, it was a reminder that raw speed could overpower calculation. For Senna, it was confirmation of his belief that talent and courage should reign supreme.
By 1989, the relationship had soured beyond repair.
At the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Prost led the championship. When Senna attempted a daring pass at the chicane, the two collided. Prost retired immediately, but Senna rejoined, won the race and was then disqualified for a supposed rules breach. The title went to Prost, and the political undercurrents were laid bare.
The animosity deepened after Prost departed for Ferrari in 1990, and fate brought them together again in Japan. This time, Senna was in control of the championship. Angered that pole position had been placed on the ‘dirty’ side of the grid, he vowed to retaliate if Prost got ahead. True to his word, Senna rammed Prost at the first corner, securing the title in one of the most controversial acts in Formula 1 history.
Later, Senna admitted the move was deliberate, justifying it as redress for perceived injustices.
Despite their hostility, there were moments of begrudging respect. They pushed each other to the limits of their abilities, creating races that would go down in F1 legend. In 1993, when Prost returned from a year-long sabbatical to drive for Williams, he again had the upper hand, winning his fourth championship. Senna, still at McLaren, fought valiantly with an inferior car, but the gap was insurmountable.
Prost retired at the end of 1993, and in one of the most unexpected gestures in sport, Senna invited him to join him on the podium in Adelaide and publicly acknowledged his old rival.
It was a fleeting glimpse of the mutual admiration that lay buried beneath years of bitterness. Tragically, less than a year later, Senna would die at Imola, leaving Prost to reflect openly on how much the Brazilian had meant to him.
The Senna–Prost rivalry remains a benchmark for competitive intensity. It was not merely a contest of speed but of ideology: instinct versus intellect, raw courage versus calculated precision. Each man’s greatness was, in many ways, forged by the other, and their battles left an indelible mark on Formula 1’s history – a reminder that the sport’s fiercest rivalries often create its finest moments.
Yet there would be no such nobleness in Lewis Hamilton’s feud with Fernando Alonso. That 2007 season would witness a multitude of run-ins, fallouts, accusations and resentment as the seasoned pro battled to put the young whipper-snapper firmly in his place. Alonso came into McLaren as the reigning double world champion (2005 and 2006 with Renault) and believed Hamilton, the rookie, would support his own title bid.
But Hamilton matched Alonso’s pace from the first race – finishing third to Alonso’s runner-up in Australia – and then went on a run of nine consecutive podiums. By mid-season, Hamilton was leading the championship and made clear his view of how the season was panning out, ‘I don’t see myself as anyone’s number two. I’m here to race.’
That certainly clashed with Alonso’s ego. He argued that team orders or preferential strategy should be due to him as the senior driver.
Events at the Monaco GP that year solidified the sense that the duo were at loggerheads, and that both were unhappy with how the team were handling them. Hamilton finished runner-up behind Alonso but felt the team had prevented him from challenging for the win. Afterwards, he said, ‘I was told to slow down. I think the team had their own agenda.’
Meanwhile, Alonso made his own view clear, saying that Hamilton needed to ‘understand how the team works’.
There was a further flashpoint in qualifying in Hungary. Alonso delayed leaving the pits, preventing Hamilton from getting in his final timed lap. The FIA penalised Alonso by demoting him five grid places. But many fans and pundits viewed the incident as another example of Alonso’s frustration with Hamilton, in this instance because the younger driver had earlier refused to follow team instructions to give Alonso track position. Team boss Ron Dennis openly admitted his ire at Alonso’s intransigence, saying, ‘I’m not going to comment on why Fernando sat there . . . we are unhappy with the situation.’
The incident caused a temporary rift between Dennis and the young man he had trained for nine years to become a champion. In a heated post-qualifying exchange, Dennis ended up throwing his headphones at the pit wall. Most pundits believed this was over his anger at Alonso impeding Lewis in the pit lane but subsequent analysis of the radio traffic between Dennis and his protégé came up with a different reason.
Lewis, angered by the delay, had blamed it on Dennis, allegedly screaming over the team radio: ‘Don’t ever f****** do that to me again!’ Dennis reportedly hit back, blasting: ‘Don’t ever f****** speak to me like that!’ Lewis is said to have responded: ‘Go f****** swivel!’ Dennis later denied the conversations had taken place.
Some pundits argued that Dennis was too often taking Alonso’s side precisely because he was Spanish and world champion – to show he wasn’t overbiased towards his British protégé. He had always claimed parity between his two drivers.
For 25 years, Ron Dennis had run a team based on parity. Now he had signed a double world champion on break-the-bank wages. If you’d splashed out all that cash on the world champion, you’d probably be happy if he won again and Lewis was runner-up.
Dennis’s problem appeared to stem from an unusual flaw in assessing Lewis Hamilton. He knew better than anyone that the boy was a winner, but what he hadn’t imagined is that he could have been a winner in his first season – otherwise, why bring in Alonso to bring home the title in the first place?
Also, he hadn’t counted on Lewis’s determination to grab Alonso’s crown; again, he knew his personality better than most, but even he had been surprised at Hamilton’s unflinching ambition to become world champion rather than world number two.
For Alonso, the problem was of a different nature: was Lewis Hamilton the better driver, even though he was so young and a rookie? Certainly, the results suggested so. The public also seemed to agree and maybe it was that, more than anything, that riled him. Despite the outstanding achievement of being double world champion, he was not receiving the public acclaim that should accompany such an achievement.
Fernando certainly did not win the support of British fans trackside. Many viewed him as being entitled with what appeared to be constant sniping, rather than helping his teammate adapt to F1. Another couple of examples of this were highlighted just before and just after the Hungarian race. Alonso was asked to contribute to a magazine’s efforts to help a charity. F1 Racing asked all 22 current Formula 1 drivers to sketch a picture of their teammate. Lewis’s doodle was a nondescript, but pleasant image of Alonso, while Fernando’s work was much more dismissive. He drew Lewis in his McLaren leathers and on the right-hand collar he had written the word ‘McLaren’ and on the left the word ‘Boy’.
The magazine’s executives couldn’t hide their surprise. In an accompanying caption, they wrote: ‘Notice the word “Boy” scrawled by Alonso on Lewis’s shoulder . . .’
Alonso finished a credible fourth in the actual race but seemed peeved that Lewis had won. Asked if he would be at McLaren in three years’ time, he said, enigmatically, ‘I don’t know.’ Kevin Garside of the Daily Telegraph summed up Alonso’s comments in this way: ‘Cleverly he has allowed questions about his future to hang in the air. If McLaren team principal Ron Dennis believes there is a real danger of the champion slipping through his fingers with two years of a contract still to run, might he not be minded to meet Alonso’s demands from the team over the course of a tight run-in?’
