Formula 1: Next big rivalry could commence as early as 2019

By Asher Fair | Nov 8, 2018

SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team C37 Ferrari on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 30, 2018 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /

Lewis Hamilton has dominated the V6 turbo hybrid era of Formula 1. But the sport’s next big rivalry could commence as early as the 2019 season.

Five of the last six Formula 1 championships have been decided prior to the season finale. Of those five, four have been won by five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, and he has won these four championships over the course of the last five seasons.

The only driver who has truly challenged him for championships since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014 season is Nico Rosberg, who was Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsports from when Hamilton arrived at the Brackley-based team ahead of the 2013 season through the 2016 season, which was Rosberg’s final season competing in Formula 1.

While Hamilton’s battles with Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, a four-time Formula 1 champion, over the past two seasons have caused many people to consider Hamilton vs. Vettel a rivalry, that is far from being the case.

Hamilton has won four championships since Vettel last won a championship, and Hamilton clinched both the 2017 and 2018 championships over Vettel in second place in the driver standings with two races remaining in each season.

Calling this a rivalry is a bit of a stretch, especially considering the fact that Vettel, who has had the car to beat Hamilton in more races than not, has blown a ton of opportunities to be a lot closer to Hamilton in terms of the driver standings in each of the last two seasons while Hamilton rarely makes mistakes.

But the next big rivalry in Formula 1 could very well commence in the very near future. In fact, it could commence in as early as the 2019 season, and it doesn’t involved Hamilton or Vettel.

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Ferrari announced in September that Alfa Romeo Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc is set to replace 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen at the Scuderia beginning in the 2019 season on a contract that extends through at least the 2022 season.

Leclerc, who won the 2016 GP3 Series championship as well as the 2017 Formula 2 championship, has had the best season for a Sauber driver since Nico Hulkenberg scored 51 points for the team as a result of his 10 top 10 finishes in the 19-race 2013 season en route to a 10th place finish in the driver standings.

Through the first 19 races of the 2018 season, Leclerc has racked up eight top 10 finishes, including a career-high sixth place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and 27 points. He sits in 15th place in the driver standings and is well within striking distance of 13th.

In the 2016 and 2017 seasons combined, Sauber drivers scored just seven points. The 21-year-old Monegasque has nearly quadrupled that total in his rookie season. Many people believe that he is a future Formula 1 champion, and no one can fault them for it.

With Leclerc set to drive for Ferrari starting next year, it would not be surprising to see him contending for race wins and possible even the championship as early as the 2019 season, especially if he can avoid being as mistake-prone as Vettel has been this season. Ferrari certainly have the speed that Leclerc needs to compete for championships, and that shouldn’t change next year.

Who will Leclerc’s rival be? Another rising star.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen just earned his fifth career Formula 1 victory by winning the Mexican Grand Prix. He won this race at the age of 21 years and 28 days, an age at which no other driver in Formula 1 history has won even one race.

It’s no secret that Red Bull Racing have not been on the level of Mercedes since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014 season, and they have not been on the level of either Mercedes or Ferrari over the past two seasons.

However, Verstappen’s most recent victory in Mexico City, Mexico, a dominant victory at that, at such a high altitude showed that strength of the Red Bull Racing chassis. With the high altitude effectively serving as the equalizer when it came to the power of the Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault engines, the 21-year-old Dutchman proved just good the chassis of the Milton Keynes-based team is.

With Red Bull Racing being set to end their 12-year relationship with Renault and switch to Honda engines ahead of the 2019 season, the team have very high hopes, as all signs currently point to Honda providing them with more powerful and more reliable engines than the engines that have been provided to them by Renault, especially as of late. In fact, they believe Verstappen can win next year’s championship.

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If Charles Leclerc can meet and perhaps exceed expectations as a Ferrari driver and Honda can improve Red Bull Racing to the point where Max Verstappen can contend to win championships, the next big rivalry in Formula 1 could very well commence in the 2019 season, and it may very well not end for more than a decade.

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