Relishing Rivalries - Vettel vs Alonso

Formula 1 always provides us with immense excitement and enjoyment. And what all fans crave for the most, is a close finish. When two people battle it out with full enthusiasm for the final spot, the competition gets even better. Always providing us such enthralling competition, has been the legacy of Formula 1. Nail biting finishes and endings decided by a margin of a cat’s whisker, is what Formula 1 always promises to deliver.

When the close finishes are cherished, a close rivalry is praised even more. Giving their best out there, striving for the grand ovation from the grand stand for a grand victory, is what the drivers of Formula 1 thrive for. A rivalry just adds to the flavour of the victory.

Such rivalry is often relished, especially when the drivers are Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Hailed as the best drivers of this generation, both have what it takes to be the best Formula 1 driver on the track. Both have claimed the “youngest world champion” title, with Vettel bettering Alonso finally, but that doesn’t take away anything from Alonso’s track record. On one side we have the Spanish legend and on the other, we have the German powerhouse. Delivering their best always has been their speciality. Whether it snows or pours cats and dogs, backing out has never been in their genes. And thus, when two great racers are on the track, the rivalry is bound to take place and thus, comes the excitement.

The rivalry started in the season of 2010. Just after claiming a great racing year of 2009, Vettel’s performance just increased and so did his desires. In the meantime, striving for his 3rd Championship tittle, was the bookie’s favourite, Alonso. When Vettel registered 10 podium finishes, including 5 wins, Alonso was also not behind, with equal number of podium finishes and wins. Their new rivalry was providing the racing fraternity with all the required excitement. They were performing always at par with each other for the entire season. In the final race at the picturesque location of Abu Dabhi, there was a “win-the-race-win-the-championship” aura. Even with the chances of Alonso winning this race almost certain, God had different plans for him. A last minute strategic fallout handed all the odds in Vettel’s favour and right from under the nose of Alonso, Vettel snatched his maiden Championship tittle, thus putting the rivalry a step further and pushing the adrenaline rush a bar up.

Then came the season of 2011, a payback time for Vettel for all the trouble Alonso gave him in the previous season. This season, Vettel was in his top form, pushing the RB 7 to its limit. Vettel registered 11 wins out of the 19 races and did not give even a chance to his fellow rival to come close to him.

Then came the season 2012. Alonso was not someone to take it without a fight. When Vettel registered 10 podium finishes this season, including 5 wins, Alonso registered 13 podiums finishes, including 3 wins. And like earlier times, the rivalry was back on track in the final race. 2010 was going to be repeated. This time, it was Brazil to hold the final race. And just when Vettel had things going his way, an accident made his car take a full spin, damaging his car body. But this German warrior was not the one to give up. And just when things were going right for Alonso, Vettel’s pushing back on the track made all his hopes vanish. But the Spanish warrior wasn’t going to give up easily. A historic race was witnessed by the entire audience. While Alonso was trying hard to push Vettel back, Vettel was equally stubborn so as to not let the championship get out of his reach. At the end, though Alonso finished second and Vettel won the title finishing 6th, what pleased the crowd most was the intense drama, action, emotion, commitment and above all, dedication of these two rivals who never left any stone unturned in their battle to glory.

And as we close in towards the 2013 season, more action is about to be delivered by these two racing legends, more challenges have to be fought before being crowned victors and above all, more passion is to be seen by us from these two epic racers and our very own, “Relishing Rivals”.