Power Couples in F1

[Conceptual]

After reading the Q&A with Christian Horner of RBR on Formula1.com, I was struck by his last answer:

"Formua1.com" Q: You have two great drivers in Vettel and Webber, how will you handle the level of competition between the pair of them?
CH: I think it is a great line-up that we have with Sebastian and Mark. They are both very competitive and very hungry guys. Sebastian is at the start of his career and has an exciting future ahead of him and Mark is the experienced one now, who has always managed to get on top of his team mates. So we are going to see a very interesting year, and the net result will be that the team benefits. They will push each other hard and bring the best out of each other, and it will be interesting to see how it develops. We can promise both equal treatment, that is for sure.

My question is this: If Webber and Vettel for some reason synergize in an enormous way, could that lead to joint contracts for the drivers? I mean, if the Webber/Vettel combo wins the WDC/WCC this year for RBR, could they contract to each other to maintain that environment of excellence? Something that I have personally observed in life is that the more strict the rules you play by, the better that you get, and it is HARD to find good competitors to keep raising the bar.

Is the idea of contracted "Power Couples" an off-the-wall concept? Has it been done before? Have ANY driver pairings synergized in an outrageous manner?

I look forward to your comments!

[natef1]

I really did think about saying how well Hamilton and Alonso had an "environment of excellence", but I thought against it.

It's a very interesting idea - why not apply the same logic to engineering/designers/mechanics? In fact entire teams? If everyone got on that well then you'd have a happy camp. But obviously things don't work like that, and humans will always have differences of opinion on whatever it is, whether race cars, morals, competitiveness etc. So I can't see it happening.

[Conceptual]

I really did think about saying how well Hamilton and Alonso had an "environment of excellence", but I thought against it.

It's a very interesting idea - why not apply the same logic to engineering/designers/mechanics? In fact entire teams? If everyone got on that well then you'd have a happy camp. But obviously things don't work like that, and humans will always have differences of opinion on whatever it is, whether race cars, morals, competitiveness etc. So I can't see it happening.

NLP teaches you that when you put 2 people together, you never end up with the sum of the separate parts, but the sum + synergy/conflict variable. If 2 people synergize, the sum of their output is greater than 2, and if there is conflict there is less than 2.

What I am saying is, if any team-mates working together reach an awesome level of synergy, they could very well want to protect that. Especially if the Ego's get checked at the bathroom door.

Hamilton and Alonso were a conflict example of this, may Prost and Senna as well, but the Schumacher/Barrichello was deffinately synergy.

I was looking for examples of the synergy from the past, and if anyone made the jump to only drive for a team if they also hired his teammate driver.

Something like this could seriously be the way to guarantee equal treatment of drivers.

[xpensive]

Fittipaldi/Peterson qualifying in 1973, where Emerson did the set-up work on the Lotus 72 and Ronnie nicked the pole.

[Conceptual]

I'm really surprised that this doesnt happen more often, especially since most managers have a few drivers in their portfolio.

If the Webber/Vettel tandem produces amazing results, I think Flavio will be talking very hard to Mark to get Seb on board the Briatorie train...

[mx_tifoso]

Humans are very selfish and arrogant, especially when they know they are better than others. So putting two top drivers together, or binding them together might not produce the results imagined. Since they might butt heads and eventually lead to negative results, such as a feud within the team or even on track disputs, which we witnessed with Alonso and Hamilton.

This idea sounds really good on 'paper', but possibly wouldn't work out so well in reality, but I might be wrong. As always 'conceptual', a very good idea.

[xpensive]

Berger and Alesi together at Ferrari and Benetton for five seasons, great friends and perfectly matched not to win anything.

[Mitsuhirato]

Hakkinen-Coulthard also seemed too be a nice pairing.
Having two championship contenders in the same team will normally end in trouble. The best pair yet has to be Stewart-Cevert. Two great drivers but with a "master-student" relationship, making a nice synergy between the two. Of course, that was in another era. Nowadays I think it's hard to find a driver humble enough to learn from an older champion and sit in is shadow for a while. Also I don't think we would find a world champion willing to guide a rookie, especially a talented one, I mean, why risk putting another piranha in your aquarium while you're still swimming in it right...

[xpensive]

Alonso-Hamilton had the potential to be the Stewart-Cevert of our time, but obviously the latter was not nearly humble enough for that, not even for a single season.

[SoliRossi]

Its not something that is out of the question. It has long been accepted that a champion team is better than a team of champions.

I suppose if 2 drivers performed inherintaly better when they were partnered together then they could seek employment together.

the main issue i see is that to be a F1 driver you ahve to be so self assured as to take the hits over the years. So generally they are 'individuals' when it comes to their driving.

At the end of the day it will come down to results and personalities.

I would not call Schumi/Barichello a power couple in the sense we seem to be talking about. Schumi was a clear no1 and Barichello did not get equal treatment. But to give 2 drivers open slather and equal support who both are capable is interesting concept.

Its not out of the realms of posibility at all.

[CMSMJ1]

Alonso-Hamilton had the potential to be the Stewart-Cevert of our time, but obviously the latter was not nearly humble enough for that, not even for a single season.

I am no Hamilton fan but this comparison is way too far off the mark.
Our good mate Lewis had a pedigree in lower formulae that not many had had before and so he arrived in the modern F1 (where monkeys can drive the cars - Berger) and he did not need to learn from Alonso. He knew he had the skills and the support to be able to go his own way. He did..and did very well.

Alonso is certainly no JYS for that matter..

Anyways - I see where you are coming from Conceptual - but the sport is a sport of individuals - only one man really can win. The winner is a selfish type although a gracious winner will give credit where it is due to the people who are prepared to work for him to win.

[djos]

The difference between Webber + Vettel and Lewis + Alonso is simple, the latter two both have massive egos that need to be stroked where as Webber is the most down to earth bloke in the whole of the F1 circus.

Vettel also is a down to earth character and from Webbo's comments they both get along quite well despite the "Japanese Incident" (caused mainly by the little twat Lewis being unable to follow pre-race instructions!).

[xpensive]

I beg to differ CMSMJ1, I believe the situations were at least somewhat comparable, when Cevert joined Tyrrell in 1971, Stewart was WDC (1969) and Cevert an F1 rookie with F2 experience. Hamilton was an F1 rookie in 2007, while Alonso was double WDC on the trot(2005 & 2006).
I think the point is, that McLaren as a team would most probably have been better off if Hamilton had agreed to play second fiddle.
If this would have been right or wrong to either driver is a different matter.

[Chaparral]

I like your thoughts there Conceptual - it has worked in the past that synergy you talk about but its very natural not applied - Jack Brabham/Dan Gurney, Hap Sharp/Jim Hall/Phil Hill in Can Am/Endurance etc etc - Webber Vettel is probably a similar pairing - lets hope it all works out - my only question of RBR this year is that Renault power plant Im not sure it has the goods.

[timbo]

Berger and Alesi together at Ferrari and Benetton for five seasons, great friends and perfectly matched not to win anything.

But they haven't the best cars in their days.
I think Villeneuve/Schecter pair is the prime example of how the pair can work together.