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Any F1 driver has two important rules that he must live by. The first is that he must be faster than his teammate because he is the only driver on the grid with the same machinery. The second is that he must not crash into his teammate under any circumstances.
This season, we have already seen an incident where two teammates, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, tangled with each other (2022 F1 British GP). However, in the history of the sport, there have been far more high-profile instances of teammates crashing into each other.
In this piece, we will take a look at five high-profile crashes between teammates! So, without further ado, let's get straight to it.
#1 Nico Rosberg - Lewis Hamilton (2016 F1 Spanish GP)
Could there be a bigger teammate collision than the race-ending crash between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at the start of the 2016 F1 Spanish GP?
To set the context, Rosberg was still reeling from two consecutive championship defeats at the hands of Lewis Hamilton. He racked up an impressive seven-race win streak while Lewis Hamilton was trailing his teammate in the championship after the first few races.
At Barcelona, Hamilton started on pole. Rosberg got the jump at the start of the race into Turn 1 and took the lead. While trying to defend his position against Hamilton into turn 2, Rosberg pushed Hamilton onto the grass.
As a result, Hamilton lost control of the car, spun, collected his teammate on the way, and crashed out of the race. The crash led to both the drivers retiring from the race and a tense sit-down with the team bosses.
#2 Alain Prost - Ayrton Senna (1989 F1 Japanese GP)
In what was a rivalry of historic magnitude, two of the best drivers on the grid, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, battled against each other in the best available machinery on the grid. The two drivers headed to the 1989 F1 Japanese GP with Prost leading the championship.
If the two drivers did not score at Suzuka, Prost would become the champion. After a poor start from Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian made his way through the grid and was right on Prost's tail in no time.
Going through 130R, Senna got closer in the slipstream and tried to lunge down the inside at the chicane. With Prost closing the door on Senna, the two drivers collided. While Prost retired on the spot, Senna was disqualified for rejoining the race against the prescribed regulations.
In the end, the moment is still considered one of the biggest flashpoints in the history of the sport.
#3 Sebastian Vettel - Mark Webber (2010 F1 Turkish GP)
The 2010 season was the first time Red Bull found itself in the position of a championship contender. Mark Webber was leading the race from Sebastian Vettel and he was the championship leader as well. Mark Webber had Sebastian Vettel behind him in the race, and the German looked quicker than his teammate.
With Vettel still immature and growing into the role of being a title contender, he lined up his teammate and got alongside him in the slipstream.
Just as he was about to complete the overtake, a slight movement towards the right from the German meant that the two cars touched. Vettel was out of the race while Webber limped home to P3.
#4 Daniel Ricciardo - Max Verstappen (2018 F1 Azerbaijan GP)
In the eyes of Daniel Ricciardo, this was the incident that led to his departure from Red Bull. Max Verstappen was still quite immature at this point in the season. He had speed, he had incredible racecraft, but he didn't know how to keep things neutral.
In a race where he was struggling with battery power issues, Verstappen held up his teammate. With no team orders in play, what followed was a to-and-fro battle between the two drivers. At one point, things got a little too close as Ricciardo lined up Verstappen for a pass into turn 1.
Due to the excessive effect of the slipstream, Ricciardo crashed into the back of Verstappen and both drivers were out of the race. After the race, the team blamed both the drivers equally, and that was what ultimately pushed Ricciardo to move to another team.
#5 Sebastian Vettel - Charles Leclerc (2019 F1 Brazilian GP)
Charles Leclerc made an instant impact at Ferrari in his debut season with the team in 2019. The driver had won a couple of races, scored numerous pole positions, and was more or less the quicker driver on the grid.
Having said that, in the 2019 F1 Brazilian GP, he started the race at the back of the grid while Vettel was on the front row.
After multiple safety car periods, Vettel and Leclerc found themselves on the same piece of tarmac, and when Leclerc tried to make a move on Vettel first, the German fought back.
However, after a few laps, Leclerc tried again, and the two Ferrari drivers were running side by side on the straight after the Senna esses, and the inevitable happened. The two drivers crashed and retired from the race. This was the second time in his F1 career that Vettel crashed with his teammate.
