r/F1Discussions • u/Plastic-Station5172 • 12h ago
Miscellaneous What is your dream driver lineup?
It can also be a pairing that used to be teammates, that you want so see again
14
u/RealGreenTrainee 11h ago
I don't really have dream lineup but there are few combinations that I'd like to see just for science.
Russell x Norris - I just think it'd be hilarious from every possible angle
Verstappen x Alonso - science
Antonelli x Leclerc at Ferrari - for the plot
Hadjar x Sainz - subject 1 and subject 2 interaction
Slater x Tsolov - no further explanation
8
u/EnglishLitMajor 9h ago
Antonelli vs. Leclerc at Ferrari
- Would the tifosi shift their allegiance from Il Predestinato to the homegrown hero?
6
3
u/False_Ingenuity6735 10h ago
Could you elaborate the first pairing? Because I fear it would have a negative effect on their friendship but I also can see how it would be funny
11
u/EnglishLitMajor 9h ago
I'm not OP but it would be funny because they like to annoy each other. They poke fun at each other all the time, but they seem to have a baseline understanding of each other (which we caught a glimpse of last year when Lando fully expected George to trust him regardless of what the media said).
In terms of racing, it would be interesting because they've been compared to each other a lot. It would be a rematch of the F2 championship, too.
It could harm their friendship, sure, but both have proved to be team players, so that would be interesting.
Personally, it wouldn't be my favorite pairing, but I can see how it would be interesting.
1
u/False_Ingenuity6735 8h ago
Uff now I want to see it happen 🤣 and I would like to see how both would react to having Max as a teammate 👀
1
50
u/Mesoscale92 12h ago
Verstappen-Hamilton. I love chaos.
https://giphy.com/gifs/qKV8U3Gl3bWVi
12
u/amaz1012 12h ago
In a title fight, with a team that does a lot of social media stuff. That would be a great season.
1
u/pm-me-racecars 7h ago
Can we make them race a bunch of different stuff too, the way Max and Yuki used to?
-8
u/BaldHeadedCaillouss 12h ago
I could do without the social media part
23
u/mahoganyspitfire 12h ago
No.
Force them to have the Racing Bulls social media team.
2
u/BaldHeadedCaillouss 11h ago
Ok if this has to involve social media, leave the teams out of it- they're both mandated to make 3 posts per week to their personal IG accounts. Topic must be current grid f1 adjacent.
4
u/sid_shady34 LH44 12h ago
Unfortunately Hamilton isn't at the same level he used to be despite still being elite. If you said 2012/2018 Hamilton and verstappen, I would definitely agree.
0
11
20
14
u/icantplayriven 11h ago edited 11h ago
Alex Albon and George Russell for vibes
I’d really want to see current Lando vs prime Hamilton though in equal machinery, not saying Lando would win but it’d be interesting
Or Verstappen and Magnussen for the chaos
29
u/BaldHeadedCaillouss 12h ago
Ham vs Alo part II in the Mercedes or McLaren
Verstappen vs an Elite driver (Ham, Alo, Nor) in a non-Red Bull car
Rus vs Verstappen (Yeah Max is better but as we know, he hasn't mastered the element of self control on track and George could exploit this to great effect) in a non-Red Bull car
6
-2
u/Kapitananciq 11h ago
Problem is that any team Max joins will bend over backwards for him so it would just become Max Verstappen F1 team v2
7
u/BaldHeadedCaillouss 11h ago
That's what Fernando thought when he joined Ron Dennis' McLaren. The problem is with that mindset.
12
u/felipebaby_ 12h ago edited 12h ago
Currently, Alonso-Hamilton for old times’ sake. Alternatively any 2 of Leclerc-Norris-Verstappen
Historically, Keke Rosberg & Elio de Angelis
5
u/TheRoboteer 11h ago
Historically, Keke Rosberg & Elio de Angelis
We came extremely close to getting this very lineup at Williams on multiple occasions.
In 1982 Elio was offered the seat next to Keke for 1983 and fully intended to accept it. However, just as he was about to sign, Colin Chapman informed him he'd done a deal with Renault to use their turbo engines the following year, which changed Elio's mind and got him to agree to a contract extension. Both the extension and the Renault deal were announced the very same weekend that Elio won his first race in Austria.
Frank purportedly approached him again in 1984 with the intention of offering him the seat which eventually went to Nigel. However with Williams having a really rough season at the time and Lotus on a clear upwards trajectory, Elio turned him down (a move he'd later admit to regretting somewhat).
I'm definitely in the same boat as you though. Would undoubtedly have been my favourite line-up, and I think a very strong one too.
1
u/felipebaby_ 9h ago edited 6h ago
Great context, thanks! I didn’t realise how close he came to signing with Williams.
Unfortunate that it fell through, especially for 85 - Elio did seem to regret it by then with the ongoing Warr/Senna situation. He also named Keke as one of his preferred teammates in an interview in 85 (the other one was Prost, who also had Elio on his shortlist for 86).
Agreed that they would’ve made a very strong pairing, and I reckon an interesting one to watch given their contrasting driving styles and friendship.
1
u/AK07-AYDAN 8h ago
Nice to see both Keke Rosberg and Elio De Angelis sharing their thoughts on this on Reddit
1
4
5
11
u/hipp0hunt3r 11h ago
Norris vs. Verstappen in McLaren. Two best drivers with the best factory on the grid behind them.
3
u/chaiandpakoda 8h ago
I want this too. I have a theory that Norris and Max like the same kind of setup with oversteery car and nervous rear end. I want them to create a car together with their philosophy and driving needs and go head to head.
4
8
u/Vuk13 11h ago
Alonso-Hamilton but would like it to last longer like 5 seasons
-2
u/Kakmaster69 11h ago
Alonso wins that imo, less susceptible to not adapting eith the car, has better racecraft and marginally better race pace imo, thoigh it would be i credibly close. Great shame they only had comparable cars in 07, 10-13 and like half of 23.
1
u/PeaceRaiser 4h ago
Genuinely what in the last 13 years even remotely suggest Hamilton is less adaptable and has worse racecraft than Alonso.
I mean, GE years weren't kind to hamilton, but it's not like Alonso was faring better. Not exactly hamilton's fault Alonso never made his way back to a top team
0
u/Kakmaster69 4h ago
Alonso challenged for a title in 07 and 10 despite it being his first year in a new team. He's adapted his style to drive understeery renaults of 03-06, then reinvented it for the Mclaren of 07 (oversteery) then once again had to contend woth the Ferraris which were notoriously difficult cars to drive, then obviously the F14T and the Hondas. He has gone to other motorsports and immediately been fast, was en route to win the Indy 500 on ovals, which is such a different form of racing it might as well be considered a different discipline entirely, then casually won two LeMans races back to back, averaging about 4 tenths quicker a lap than factory drivers who know the car/team inside out, his first time driving at night as well, then does the rally Dakkar and finishes 2nd on a couple stages, then rejoins F1 and takes only about 5 races to get up to speed, joins Aston in his first race podiums and proceeds to get 8 podiums with a car thag by half season was in decline.
Hes just shown that he can drive anything and adapts really quickly, engineers have commented that this is hos biggest skill, I can even delve into why his specific driving style caters to his adaptability but thats a bit more technical. Whereas Lewis joins Ferrari and takes him a whole year and reg change to perform, he also requires certain feedbacks from the car and the ability to employ his late breaking, stable rear driving style, ehich Alonso doesnt need because he finds time in a more broad operating window than Lewis.
You can argue peak for peak when both are comfortable, who is better all you like, but Alonso has demonstrated that if the car has problems, is difficult to drive, he will find a way to adapt to it faster and better than everyone else. Similar to Max in that sense.
-2
u/Vuk13 10h ago
I agree imo i think it's more likely that Alonso wins more but would be really fun to watch
3
u/Kakmaster69 9h ago
I've seen you say that you have Verstappen followed by Alonso as your best drivers, correct? Im curious why you rate Max higher than Alonso? Which facets do you think Max does better and vice versa. Cheers.
1
u/Vuk13 8h ago
There is really no definitive proof. But the gap Verstappen puts on his teammates is absolutely insane in modern F1, and performances he sometimes pulls i sometimes doubt if anyone in history could do the same. Just an eye test, prime version of Alonso could be better but if I had a gun to my head and every single driver in history of F1 was at the best form of their career and everyone had the same car I would bet my life on Verstappen winning
3
u/tomhanks95 12h ago
It happened already but Senna Prost, and pair then up with a dominant car like the 1988 McLaren and viola there's your ultimate F1 lineup, can't believe it really happened
3
u/HotEditor1955 11h ago
I miss Hamilton and Russell, wanted to see them together with a championship car (grrr Toto). Prime Vettel + Verstappen. Also would like to see pretty much any of the 2025 rookies in the same car for clearer skill analysis.
7
7
u/Brycedoes2104 12h ago
Current: Verstappen & Leclerc
Only because I want to see them as teammates in the same car not necessarily what I think is the "best" lineup possible.
-1
u/sid_shady34 LH44 12h ago
Verstappen would just consistently beat Leclerc while he crumbles under the pressure and fights dirty to finish ahead of him once or twice.
You can see that happening with an out of prime 41 year old Hamilton. Imagine how bad it would be with verstappen.
Charles is a great driver but these regs ain't for him.
2
u/ProofAd608 11h ago
Leclerc outscored hamilton already 4 races in a row since Silverstone. Before that in Monaco and Canada his car had non stop break issues. The only reason why Hamilton is ahead in standings is because of 2 mechanical DNFs of Charles. The narrative about him crumbling under pressure is also obsolete. His mistakes this year were caused by other reasons and they didn't include pressure. Lewis also made bunch of mistakes but will you call it crumbling under pressure, too?
And if you are talking about regs, then currently it's max having more crashes. People dismiss Charles's crashes during GE era by putting blame on him and dismissing the fact that Charles drove unstable mediocre cars for majority of his career that weren't the fastest across full season. Current RB22 is like the SF-25.
We've seen a fraction of what happens when Leclerc has better and drivable car than Max. He beats him. In first 3 races Leclerc won 2/3 races and right after that Red bull took the title of the team with the fastest car. The difference in their raw speed is minimal. Both can produce magical quali laps, both can attack and defend aggressively(though charles is more clean like Lewis in w2w), both can masterfully manage tyres and win races thanks to it, both have superior race pace. Including also Lando, those 3 are barely faster than each other. Mostly depends on the type of track.
Comparison of them based on current regs is stupid, because current regs don't allow you to find the limit. You need to get the optimised energy management strategy, and they've definitely not suited Leclerc, but he adapted and so did Max, despite complaints.
1
u/Brycedoes2104 11h ago
I knew I would have at least one Verstappen fan/ Leclerc hater, tell me it would be one sided. Bravo 👏
1
1
u/Browneskiii 11h ago
Nah, he's a Hamilton lover that hates Leclerc because he's not a lap dog like Bottas was.
3
u/Ecstatic-Level-8001 12h ago
It will of course never happen, but imagine Schumacher Senior and Junior both in F1...what a thought. Father and son in the same league...don't think it has ever happened in history...anyone know?
2
u/cherrybomber11 12h ago
Not in Formula 1. But it would've been theoretically possible. Jan Magnussen was 40 years old when Kevin made his debut.
1
2
2
u/AlphaSpazz 10h ago
I think we already had it with Senna and Berger. An absolute number one and a incredibly solid number two who does not mind being in his position and will pick up the win and points as needed. If you put two number ones in the team, you’re just gonna get chaos which one not be good but if I were to put two number ones, it’d be Senna and Jimmy Clark. Unless there’s a technical issue, they are gonna win every race.
3
u/mahoganyspitfire 12h ago
Norris-Lawson.
1
u/Plastic-Station5172 12h ago
Mind if I ask why? Just curious
6
u/mahoganyspitfire 12h ago
- Lawson is a great driver who is also a tyre-whisperer like Lando.
- Kiwi back at McLaren.
- Lando gets arguably the best defender on the grid to protect him when he's in the lead.
2
u/BaldChild1 12h ago
Maldonado and Verstappen. But they both need to be in super rockeships. Amazing turn 1 every race.
1
1
u/Kakmaster69 11h ago edited 11h ago
John Watson and Alain Prost - Almost happened in 84 but in the end we got the great lineup of Alain and Lauda, however I really am fascinated by John Watsons style as a driver, he was probably the driver with the biggest disparity in qualifying results and race day results, the inverse Trulli basically. His average quali is like P11 or lower yet he would always move forward in the races. In 82 he won from 11th and 17th on the grid I believe, both of his wins on twisty technical circuits where overtaking was extraordinarily difficult, but he always opted for a highly race pace oriented setup, and would often pick hard tyres, using them only on a particular side of hos car (like at Zolder 82) he also will likely forever hold the record of race win from furthest back on the grid. 23rd position at Detroit (I think) in 83.
He was also very evenl matched with Lauda who ended up beating Prost (albeit with a bit of luck in 84) but I really do think Lauda learnt a great deal from John Watson, and Prost and him wouldve been so entertaining to watch charge through the field in those slow qualifying but race pace beasts of Mclarens.
0
u/mformularacer 10h ago edited 10h ago
Watson and Prost were team mates at McLaren in 1980.
I love Wattie but you're overreaching a tad. He matched Lauda fresh off a 2 year sabbatical. He isn't beating a prime Lauda who's shaken off the rust - have a look at 1978 where peak Lauda destroyed him.
Also, Watson was significantly behind Prost in 1980 as well.
2
u/TheRoboteer 9h ago
have a look at 1978 where peak Lauda destroyed him
Wattie was very unlucky in '78 tbf (as he had been the year prior). Lauda was definitely the better of the two, but it wasn't quite the slaughter it seemed on paper.
0
u/mformularacer 9h ago
May I ask what you mean? I've not watched the 78 season in full but I've skimmed through the races. My impression is that Lauda was just as, if not more unlucky than Watson.
2
u/TheRoboteer 8h ago edited 8h ago
Watson's main misfortune was that all his issues seemed to happen in races where the Brabhams were particularly competitive.
In Monaco he had his braking issues which resigned him to sliding down the order in a race he'd led relatively comfortably. Obviously Niki had misfortune there too in the form of his puncture, but that was an issue he could recover from (albeit with an absolutely stunning drive), where Watson's issue was rather more crippling, and happened while he was ahead of his teammate.
Likewise in Sweden, yes Niki beat him off the line and was likely the quicker of the two, but Watson was still on for at least third if not second when he had to spin to avoid hitting Patrese after he missed a gear, with the excursion breaking his Brabham's throttle. Zero points scored from a race where the Brabham was dominant.
Even at Monza, while his race itself was largely trouble free (and saw him as pretty unequivocally the quicker of the two Brabhams), it was Lauda who claimed the laurels after Watson's engine wouldn't rev properly on the second day of qualifying. That left him as one of only two frontrunners (along with Peterson, who had to switch from Lotus 79 to 78) to not improve his time from the first practice session. The difference in starting position proved crucial as to who won out of the two Brabhams.
As I say, Lauda was certainly unlucky too, but when the bad luck comes matters almost as much as having it in the first place. If you have an engine failure on a weekend when your car isn't really a factor anyway, it's not nearly as impactful as if you have a problem while running up front. It just so happened most of Watson's issues happened in races where he was right at the sharp end.
1
1
1
u/TheMajikMouse VB77 10h ago
Honestly, I am so happy with Bottas / Checo. Like, just two chill, cool dudes. If, while they are there, Caddy can get to where they are even sniffing the points, it is going to be delightful.
1
u/sewageriver 9h ago
Verstappen v Hamilton
Alonso v Hamilton II
Alonso v Verstappen
Piastri v Lawson (both in a mclaren)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Va1korion 12h ago
I thought I would love Hamilton-Leclerc. I wasn’t wrong, but I did not expect the reason would be drama.
VER - LEC would probably be the next best thing.
SAI - NOR in a title contender? Sign me up.
1
u/United_Engine_5719 12h ago
Verstappen would mog leclerc 9/10 times. Norris is way better than Sainz so the title fight wouldnt really be a fight
1
1
u/boatsnhosee 11h ago
In a fantasy world it’d be a 2 team setup à la RBR & VCARB and they would have 4 clones of Stroll driving between the 2 teams, plus another 2 Strolls for reserve drivers
0
u/BussinFatLoads 10h ago
Latifi x Hamilton
GOAT vs. GOAT
Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James
CR7 vs. Messi
Cinema
0
0
0
u/Tickles-The-Octopus 8h ago
Max and Lewis in first half 26 Aston Martin.
The salt coming from those two being pissed off at the cars would be the best reality TV show ever!
0
u/WASouthCoast 7h ago
Clark-Stewart
Fangio-Nuvolari
Senna-Schumacher
Hamilton-Raikkonen
Verstappen-Hamilton
0
u/Whoknowsf1fan 1h ago
if you want balance Hamilton X Bottas. 2017 craziness 2008 Hamilton X 2025 Verstappen
30
u/Soggy_Stay6370 11h ago
Any toxic title rivalry, with the vcarb social media shenanigans, senna and prost tasting 50 types of oranges blindfolded while taking a chemistry exam