The beginning of a new rivalry

While the Formula One fans eagerly want to see drivers banging wheels, the clash involving Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in Baku was extraordinary because it happened under safety car conditions. The rivalry between the two, however, has well and truly been ignited.

Calm before the storm... Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton leads Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Vettel later crashed into the back of Hamilton’s Mercedes and then pulled alongside angrily and banged wheels during the second safety car period.

On an early autumn afternoon, in a wet race, a 21-year- old, in only his first full season in Formula One and driving for a midfield team, stunned the world with his maiden victory in Monza. Elated, he jumped on the podium, bringing back memories of the most successful driver in the history of the sport. The German national anthem, followed by the Italian anthem only added to the romance. And Sebastian Vettel, then driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, was tipped to carry on the Michael Schumacher legacy. The four world titles he won on the bounce from 2010 only helped cement that reputation.

Fast forward to 2017 and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Schumacher comparison is back again, albeit for the wrong reason.

During the chaotic race at the Baku City Circuit, Vettel was caught off-guard at the end of the second safety car period when Hamilton, the race leader, backed off with Vettel running into the back of the Briton’s car. The Ferrari driver, imagining that he was brake tested by Hamilton, pulled alongside him and, in a moment of stupidity, intentionally banged wheels with the Mercedes driver on purpose.

Vettel’s action drew widespread condemnation. However, what largely polarised opinions was the punishment handed down to the German for his actions. Vettel was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for ‘potentially dangerous driving’.

Hamilton’s issues with his headrest later in the race meant Vettel still managed to finish ahead and extend his lead in the championship race over the Briton by two points.

What is really tricky here is, while people eagerly want to see drivers banging wheels, in Baku it was extraordinary because it happened under safety car conditions.

While some former champions like Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button have said that it is time to move on after Vettel was penalised during the race, the serious issue here is the precedent that the four-time world champion’s action has set.

India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan is someone who knows Vettel well, with the two having a few incidents between them in 2012. The former Jordan and HRT driver minced no words while condemning Vettel’s actions which he called ‘over the top and unsportsmanlike’.

Speaking to Sportstar, Narain said, “While Vettel is a good driver, what he did was disgraceful, as Hamilton put it. He seems to think that he is invincible, and the FIA needs to clamp down on such behaviour.

“The punishment was a joke and it sends a wrong message to the young drivers around the world that they can get away with such incidents. Even if he was not black-flagged immediately, he should have at least been excluded from the results.”

With the championship battle being tight, tiny margins could determine the outcome and the 40-year-old Indian added that if Hamilton were to lose the title by two points, it would be unfair to him.

Flavio Briatore (left), the team principal of Renault, was banned for life for his role in the 2008 ‘crashgate’. The team’s technical director then Pat Symonds (right) was handed a five-year ban for the incident.

It has not helped Vettel that he had got away with a warning after he abused the race director, Charlie Whiting, in Mexico last year. And the incident in Baku has made him a repeat offender.

Two years ago, in a junior formula series, British driver Dan Ticktum overtook cars during a safety car period and purposely crashed into his rival. He was handed a two-year ban for the offence.

Formula One has shown that it is not averse to handing out stiff penalties or punishments to deviant drivers or team officials. Flavio Briatore was banned for life for his role in orchestrating the ‘crashgate’ incident in 2008, when as team principal of Renault, he asked Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in the Singapore Grand Prix.

The idea was to bring on the safety car that would have helped the other Renault driver, Fernando Alonso. The team’s then technical director Pat Symonds was given a five-year ban. A year before that, McLaren was slapped with a $100 million fine for possessing confidential details of the Ferrari team’s car and strategies.

However, the sport, at the moment, is at an inflexion point. There is a consistent drop in viewership, with the tickets highly priced and the move to pay TV precipitating matters. It did not help that there had been little competition, with Mercedes and before that Red Bull dominating the sport. However, this year has been different with Ferrari closely challenging Mercedes and Red Bull Racing not very far behind. But in the absence of real superstars — there are not many on the circuit barring Hamilton and Vettel — any stringent action by the FIA against Vettel could backfire on what is turning out to be a close title fight for the first time in many years.

The Baku incident clearly showed that the pressure of the title fight is increasing, especially on Vettel. This has come after an upturn in Mercedes’ performance. In Baku, Vettel was one second off Hamilton’s pace in qualifying.

The 2017 season has seen close racing between Mercedes and Ferrari. Of the eight races run so far, Hamilton and Vettel have won three races each, with the championship battle nicely poised. With just 14 points separating Vettel and Hamilton, the rivalry between the two has well and truly been ignited.