Collision course: F1’s most heated rivalries

Lauda v Hunt

The 1976 season was the apex of the long-running battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The fire of the Briton contrasted with the ice of the Austrian. Lauda, the reigning champion, led comfortably with seven races to go, but almost died in an August accident at the Nurburgring. Severely burned and with lung damage, he returned to the wheel six weeks later, his face covered in bandages. In his absence, Hunt had closed the gap and trailed by three points going into the final race at Fuji in Japan. As torrential rain fell, Lauda decided to retire after two laps considering the conditions too dangerous. Hunt kept racing and, despite a puncture, grabbed third to take the only title of his career by one point.

Prost v Senna

The rivalry between the Frenchman and the Brazilian is the most celebrated in F1 history. As team-mates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989, they engaged in a thrilling battle for the title, which team boss Ron Dennis tried to referee. In 1989, Prost clinched the title at Suzuka when the governing body disqualified Senna, who had finished first. Senna said the FIA, chaired by another Frenchman, Jean-Marie Balestre, was helping Prost.

“He doesn’t want to beat me, he wants to destroy me,” Prost replied. In 1990, Senna clinched the title in Suzuka after driving into Prost’s Ferrari at the start, taking both cars out. They reconciled after Prost’s retirement only a few months before Senna’s death at Imola in 1994.

Villeneuve vs Schumacher

In 1997, Michael Schumacher entered the season-ending European GP at Imola, one point ahead of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve of Williams-Renault. Three years earlier, Schumacher, in a Benetton had clinched his first title after hitting Damon Hill, who was trying to overtake, during the final race in Australia. In Jerez, a similar incident turned out less well for the German, now with Ferrari. With 12 laps to go and Schumacher leading, Villeneuve tried to overtake. Schumacher turned into him, but suffered more serious damage. Schumacher retired and Villeneuve limped home to claim the world title. The FIA stripped Schumacher of second-place and ordered him to take part in a road-safety campaign.