The eternal rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren: A new chapter this season?

The two biggest brands in F1, McLaren and Ferrari, have been battling each other for decades. Ferrari weree present on the F1 grid from the very first Grand Prix, McLaren has been there since 1966. This year, the two-car manufacturers look set to battle it out for P3 in the championship, after battling it out for top positions on numerous occasions in F1 history.

1989 - 1991: The rivalry between Senna and Prost

When Ayrton Senna joined McLaren in 1988, the rivalry between the Brazilian and Alain Prost was expected. The year before, Prost finished a disappointing fourth, after two world championships in 1985 and 1986. Senna joined McLaren with his third place for Lotus and was immediately fast. He was disqualified in his first race but did win the championship that year.

In 1989, Ferrari came close to McLaren in the championship. With Nigel Mansell, victories were booked, but Gerhard Berger crashed out too often to really compete for the championship. To replace Berger, Prost was brought to Ferrari, so the rivalry between Senna and Prost continued, but they also drove for different teams. With Ferrari, Prost didn't become world champion, while Senna managed to take the title for McLaren in both seasons.

1998 - 2001: The rise of Michael Schumacher

In 1998 McLaren came to life. After two seasons of fourth place in the constructors' championship, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen suddenly made a leap in 1998. With Michael Schumacher, the results did improve for Ferrari, but not well enough to win the championship. 

In 1998 both titles went to McLaren, with Hakkinen as World Champion. In 1999, Hakkinen again took the title but Ferrari won the constructors' championship. In 2000 and 2001 Ferrari took both titles, after which Mclaren fell back and Williams became Ferrari's main challenger.

2007 - 2009: Hamilton challenges Alonso in first F1 season

Lewis Hamilton started his F1 career at McLaren in 2007 with Fernando Alonso his teammate. The two drivers are mainly concerned with each other, as Hamilton challenges Alonso throughout the season as a rookie. Besides the two drivers, Kimi Raikkonen was working for Ferrari to win the championship. He eventually won by one point over both Hamilton and Alonso.

McLaren lost the Constructors title to Ferrari. In 2008 the coin falls the other way for Hamilton. He wins the championship by a single point from Felipe Massa after overtaking Timo Glock in the last corner.

This year Ferrari also took the constructors' title, because Heikki Kovalainen rarely scored big points for McLaren. In 2009 the situation was different for McLaren and Ferrari. Where they were fighting for P1 and P2 the last two seasons, in 2009 it was for P3 and P4. The emergence of Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing caused McLaren and Ferrari to be pushed back two spots.

2020 - Present: The rise of McLaren and the recovery of Ferrari

Last season was a dramatic one for Ferrari. An engine change caused problems. Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc struggled to find pace in the car. McLaren, on the other hand, seemed to have found the pace. Two podiums in 2020 saw Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz eventually finish third in the Constructors' Championship, while Ferrari had to settle for sixth.

In 2021, however, Ferrari seems to have made a leap with a new engine. McLaren also have a new engine, namely the one from Mercedes. They switched from Renault and now drive with the strongest engine in the field. In the first Grand Prix, the upcoming rivalry between McLaren and Ferrari is confirmed by the fight between Norris and Leclerc. Both drivers have a new teammate who will be important.

Ferrari has taken Sainz away from the British rival, while McLaren has opted for the multiple race winner Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian won podiums with Renault and wants to repeat this trick for McLaren. With motivated drivers and two motivated teams, there is plenty to look forward to behind Red Bull and Mercedes this season!