Method 1’s usually ignored softer aspect was completely captured when Lewis Hamilton was noticed providing phrases of consolation to a dejected Kimi Antonelli through the younger Italian’s troublesome weekend at Spa earlier this season. Right here was a seven-time World Champion, taking time to encourage a rookie who’d simply endured a kind of weekends each driver is aware of too properly.
It is a scene that is performed out a variety of occasions all through F1’s historical past – skilled fingers guiding the subsequent technology, sharing knowledge earned via years. These ‘huge brother’ relationships have formed a number of the sport’s best, proving that behind all of the fierce competitors and rivalries, F1 has all the time been about extra than simply crossing the end line first.
From Fangio’s fatherly steering of Moss within the Fifties to modern-day mentorships on the 2025 grid, listed here are 10 of essentially the most heartwarming examples of F1 drivers searching for each other.
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli has lengthy been observing Lewis Hamilton‘s method to success whereas he progressed via the Mercedes junior system. As soon as it was revealed that {the teenager} would change the departing seven-time champion for the 2025 season, it might have been fully comprehensible if their relationship was nothing greater than amicable.
Nevertheless, Hamilton left greater than only a legacy at his former crew – he left a handwritten notice for Antonelli in what would develop into his new driver room. Mercedes’ Race Group Co-ordinator Stephen Lord shared its contents, telling the Beyond The Grid podcast: “It was a notice to Kimi… principally welcoming him to his new room, and it was wishing him one of the best of luck, saying some very nice issues in regards to the crew and the way, if you take care of them, they’re going to look after you as a result of they’re an excellent crew.”
Forward of Antonelli’s F1 debut in Australia, Hamilton provided private recommendation – nevertheless it was a quiet gesture at Spa that basically stood out. After a troublesome Qualifying left the rookie visibly dejected, Hamilton made a shock go to to the Mercedes storage to raise his spirits. “He advised me to maintain my head up… to maintain believing,” Antonelli stated. “It was very nice.”
Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto
Lengthy earlier than Gabriel Bortoleto reached F1, the younger Brazilian struck up a friendship with none apart from Max Verstappen. Bortoleto recalled the beginnings of their friendship, telling Autosport it was throughout his Method 3 championship-winning marketing campaign.
While the pair bonded over a mutual love for gaming and sim racing, Verstappen concurrently provided recommendation and encouragement. The Dutch driver even went to the lengths of publicly advocating for his mentee within the paddock, within the hopes it might increase Bortoleto’s possibilities of a Method 1 seat in 2025.
Quick-forward to midway via his rookie season, Bortoleto has described the four-time World Champion as “a great buddy” and stated, “I see him for instance of a driver I want to develop into – when it comes to his experience in racing and all the things.”
Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher
From the second Mick Schumacher arrived in Method 1 with Haas in 2021, Sebastian Vettel was already greater than a fellow German driver — however a trusted information. “Mick is a good man,” Vettel stated on the time. “We get alongside properly, and I am completely satisfied to inform him all the things I do know.”
Their connection is clearly deeply private, with Schumacher saying to Motorsport-Magazin.com: “What my dad was to Sebastian, he’s for me: somebody that I’m near, with whom I can discuss motorsport.”
The pair had been usually seen evaluating notes on race weekends, with Vettel providing up recommendation to Schumacher – however he insisted this was not as a mentor, however as a buddy. After on-track contact between them in 2023, which may understandably trigger a rift between some drivers, neither laid blame – as a substitute selecting to debate it between themselves.
Their bond has continued regardless of Vettel’s retirement and Schumacher’s transfer to WEC, with the pair reuniting as crew mates on the 2025 Race of Champions.
Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz
As a younger boy, Carlos Sainz recounts dragging his dad away from bed to look at Fernando Alonso win F1 races, and after assembly his hero on the Spanish Grand Prix in 2005, an awestruck Sainz advised his father, “I need to be like Fernando Alonso at some point.”
Alonso not solely impressed Sainz to decide on F1 fairly than following in his father’s rally-driving footsteps – he even formed Sainz’s total method to racing. “All the pieces I do know, I needed to study from him,” Sainz as soon as advised ESPN. When he changed Alonso at McLaren in 2018, it represented a quiet handover between two pals and countrymen.
Through the years, the pair have shared post-race meals, recommendation, and even amusing – resembling when Alonso unknowingly threw Sainz’s cherished fortunate cap into the Spanish crowd throughout his rookie season. From childhood hero to dinner companion, Alonso has cemented himself as a distinguished mentor to Sainz throughout his decade within the sport.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel
The dynamic between Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel stays the gold customary of contemporary Method 1 mentorship. Like many healthful pairings within the sport, it started with younger Vettel idolising his hero. Considered one of his early karting trophies was even offered by Schumacher himself, who befriended the starstruck Vettel, encouraging him to chase his goals and goal for the highest.
After getting into Method 1, it was clear Schumacher recognised one thing of himself within the younger rookie – the drive, self-discipline, and starvation of a future champion. Over time, Schumacher provided not simply encouragement however significant life classes and confirmed him what it really meant to hold himself like a champion – a clear-cut signal of his perception in Vettel to attain greatness.
Displaying how their friendship prolonged past the confines of the F1 paddock, the pair would go on to dominate the Race of Champions collectively, successful the Nations Cup six occasions.
It was clear to see that Schumacher wasn’t only a mentor to Vettel, he was additionally a detailed buddy who performed a key function in Vettel turning into a record-breaking driver. Vettel has usually spoken of his immense gratitude in the direction of Schumacher and, as above, it led him to reciprocate the mentorship when Schumacher’s son, Mick, as he entered Method 1 in 2021.
Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen
The mentorship between Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen was simply as understated as the 2 Finns themselves. It was quiet, cool, and decisive.
Nearing the tip of the 2001 season, two-time champion Hakkinen introduced his plan to take a sabbatical, along with his seat at McLaren turning into vacant. There have been quite a few drivers thought of to interchange him, but Hakkinen insisted that his compatriot Raikkonen — although nonetheless a rookie — must be his successor.
His endorsement of the younger driver turned out to be pivotal, as he efficiently persuaded the crew, “If you wish to win, get the Finn”.
The pair grew to become pals shortly, even occurring holidays collectively. Raikkonen spoke to ESPN of their bond, saying: “It’s made life simpler coming to Method 1 having Mika from Finland additionally… If I’ve some issues to ask from him, he will help me”.
Although later in his profession Hakkinen grew to become a stern critic of Raikkonen’s performances, the bond they shared in these formative moments of Raikkonen’s journey nonetheless stays one of many clearest examples of utilizing senior affect and mentorship to raise the subsequent technology of drivers.
Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello
From his earliest days in F1, Rubens Barrichello was embraced by fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna who adopted a type of paternal duty for him. This was a bond that lived on even after the tragedy of Senna’s deadly crash on the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
When talking of that tragic weekend, Barrichello recalled the second he regained consciousness within the medical centre after his personal violent crash throughout follow: “The primary face I noticed was Ayrton’s. He had tears in his eyes.”
Barrichello would later mirror that Senna “taken care of me after I got here into F1,” and described him as a guardian angel whose kindness formed his early profession — regardless of all of the pranks he performed on the younger Brazilian.
These gestures – Senna checking on his fellow Brazilian following his crash and providing emotional and ethical assist with out fanfare – all spotlight a strong type of brotherly mentorship and a bond that finally noticed Barrichello develop into a pallbearer of Senna’s coffin.
Niki Lauda and Alain Prost
The partnership between Niki Lauda and Alain Prost at McLaren throughout 1984 and 1985 nonetheless stands as certainly one of Method 1’s most real “huge brother” tales.
When paying tribute to the late Lauda, Prost has usually recalled these two seasons as “one of the best in my profession” — not solely for the victories, however for the respect and mentorship Lauda provided. In distinction to many intra-team rivalries, theirs was constructed on belief. Prost overtly admitted that Lauda was the one crew mate he was completely satisfied to play quantity two to, appreciating the Austrian’s expertise and knowledge.
In an interview with AFP, Prost acknowledged how certainly one of Lauda’s best classes went past racing, by instructing him tips on how to decompress after disappointments. He recalled how, after a poor efficiency, Lauda took Prost to a nightclub, saying: “We laughed so much and he stated, ‘See, it’s a great way to overlook what occurred… from tomorrow on you by no means take into consideration what’s behind it once more.’”
That philosophy of protecting “packing containers” in life formed Prost, each on and off observe. In his personal phrases, Prost admitted, “my most splendid and sensible years had been as crew mate to Niki”, and he nonetheless refers back to the three-time World Champion as his idol.
Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart
The camaraderie of Method 1 within the Sixties was completely embodied by Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. When Stewart joined British Racing Motors (BRM) in 1965, he acknowledged that he was the “new boy on the block” to crew chief Hill, who was 10 years his senior. Stewart knew he wanted steering, admitting, “there was nobody higher to check below than Graham”.
Hill, already a World Champion, took Stewart below his wing with typical British aplomb. Their relationship prolonged far past the cockpit, with Hill instructing Stewart about life as a racer – from getting “fitted up for Savile Row fits” to understanding the social expectations of a Method 1 star. As Damon Hill remembers, his father served as each “function mannequin” and “mentor” to the bold younger Scot throughout these early life at BRM.
Hill’s mentorship proved transformative for Stewart, who credited his crew mate with instructing him the artwork of being each a champion driver and a whole gentleman. Their friendship flourished into an enthralling double act that captivated audiences. The pair repeatedly holidayed collectively and have become tv favourites, their banter completely capturing the spirit of their relationship.
Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss
The bond between Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss actually represents certainly one of Method 1’s loveliest tales of mentorship. Moss, 18 years Fangio’s junior, revered the five-time champion, famously nicknaming him ‘Maestro’ and holding a respect for him akin to that for his father.
The connection started with a second of recognition – when the younger Moss cleverly overtook Giuseppe Farina in his HWM on the 1950 non-championship Bari Grand Prix, Fangio drew alongside and “gave me a giant grin, as if to say: ‘That was a bit cheeky!'”. The Argentine immediately recognised one thing particular within the bold rookie.
With the timing of his transfer to the Mercedes-Benz crew below scrutiny, the younger Briton admitted there was just one cause for his choice: his overwhelming need to study from the grasp – a possibility he described as “immeasurable.” Fangio, then 43 and already a three-time champion, took him below his wing like an older brother.
Regardless of being the clear primary, Fangio shared his knowledge freely. Moss, in flip, adopted him relentlessly when on circuit, learning each nuance of the legend’s automotive management.
Their rivalry was rooted in deep friendship, completely captured on the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree. After Moss celebrated his maiden residence win, he without end puzzled if it was attributable to his idol graciously letting him cross — a situation that embodied the profound respect that formed their relationship.
