The fight to demonstrate you are the group’s main driver can be close. In some cases excessively close. That was the situation amid last Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Red Bull partners Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen impacted while tussling for a place on the platform, finishing their individual races. “I’m OK with Daniel,” said Verstappen after the race. “Me and Max love to race, that’s cool. It was on the limit. We’ve got to sit down with both drivers and make sure that this never happens again.”
It must feel like a sensation that this has happened before for Red Bull group central Christian Horner, who said the above when two of his past drivers crashed amid a race eight years prior.
In 2010, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were Red Bull colleagues yet their relationship got ugly when they crashed at the Turkish Grand Prix – driving in a straight line, as Verstappen and Ricciardo were – as a one-two complete was solidly on the cards. Horner welcomed the two drivers over to his home for a night of karaoke and guitar playing in the expectation it would convey congruity to the quarreling colleagues. Be that as it may, while an uneasy ceasefire developed, things could never be the same again.
At the time, neither had won a world title, yet as 2010 flagged a period when Red Bull would rule the game things were never going to go easily.
Their opportunity as partners arrived at an end as Prost left McLaren to Ferrari in 1990 – yet their contention proceeded and by and by the Japanese Grand Prix that year saw a meeting up between the two on the circuit. This time, Senna transformed into Prost not long after the race begin, sending the two autos rushing into the rock trap and out of the challenge. As an outcome, Senna wound up world champion. 1-1.
Maybe it was best they never verged on testing each other again. Both would guarantee one more title amid their vocations, however they will everlastingly be associated with the period toward the finish of the 1980s when they were for all intents and purposes adhered to each other.
Quick forward to 2013 and Vettel – now with three world title titles added to his repertoire – broadly overlooked the “multi 21” direction to not Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix and let the Australian win in an offer for his own crown.
Rather, the German rather said over group radio: “Check is too moderate, it would be ideal if you move him off the beaten path.” He at that point brought things into his own hands and burst his way past Webber to assert triumph.
Their opportunity as colleagues finished that year when Webber – with next to nothing and baffled – resigned from Formula 1.
