The Driver's championship and 2 two number 1 drivers

[PlatinumZealot]

The one time McLaren really had two "number one" drivers was during the days of Hamilton and Button. They even got equal pay. With Prost/Lauda, Senna/Prost and Hamilton/Alonso it was more a case of a fast rookie next to an experienced world champion who proved to be as fast as/quicker then the old garde.

For Rosberg/Hamilton, for Mercedes Hamilton was their main focus, he got paid a lot more then Rosberg for instance. He was also contracted to make them WC. For the team and racing on track, they got equal rights, which was nice. Looks like with them you have to earn your no 1 position on track.

No.. they never got equal pay!
Lewis got about 3 million more. Button never won anything for the team how could he have gotten equal pay? I think Button got 10 to 12 million and Lewis was int he 15 million range at the time.

That as such an awkward situation. Button was Martin Whitmarsh's favourite and got better treatment even though he was the weaker driver.

[Phil]

I don't think being "number one" has anything to do with salary. Hamilton earns as much as he does, because his name offers a certain value that goes beyond simply winning races or championships. Same applies to other drivers. Some drivers/champions are better marketable or offer value that go beyond their on-track results. Unfair or not, that's just how it is. You are as much as you can sell yourself for.

I think this topic can have different meanings. Is number 1 simply a definition for "equal treatment/equal opportunity" or is it meant as a driver having contractually "preferred treatment". If it's the latter, I don't really think that is actually in any contract, not even in Vettels or anyone elses. If a team would be willing to sign something like that, they'd be effectively shooting themselves in the foot if for whatever reason the other driver performs better.

Favoritism is a way different ballpark too. For example; You could have 2 equal drivers with equal opportunity, but by nature of having one strategist, you could still influence the race as a team outside the drivers control. This may be seen as "favoritism" and may have nothing to do with the contracts that driver signed.

[Jolle]

The one time McLaren really had two "number one" drivers was during the days of Hamilton and Button. They even got equal pay. With Prost/Lauda, Senna/Prost and Hamilton/Alonso it was more a case of a fast rookie next to an experienced world champion who proved to be as fast as/quicker then the old garde.

For Rosberg/Hamilton, for Mercedes Hamilton was their main focus, he got paid a lot more then Rosberg for instance. He was also contracted to make them WC. For the team and racing on track, they got equal rights, which was nice. Looks like with them you have to earn your no 1 position on track.

No.. they never got equal pay!
Lewis got about 3 million more. Button never won anything for the team how could he have gotten equal pay? I think Button got 10 to 12 million and Lewis was int he 15 million range at the time.

That as such an awkward situation. Button was Martin Whitmarsh's favourite and got better treatment even though he was the weaker driver.

could be there was a slight difference, what I've read is that in 2011 they got 10 mln each, and in 2012 16.

Guess at the time as well, Button was McLarens first real signing again, also a bit of Vodafones favourite and Hamilton was linked to Mercedes who just sold their majority stake.

But in general, if the cars are close, you need a real #1 and a wing man, if you're far ahead (like Mercedes in 14-16 and McLaren 84-85 and 88-89), you need two competitive drivers to steal the whole show, else you get the schumacher Ferrari years. For marketing winning isn't enough, you need the fight, the competition.

Piquet or Mansell lost the championship for Williams in '86 and Hamilton or Alonso for McLaren in '07, so, from a team's perspective it's not a good thing. Sponsors want it I guess because they think more = better.

[NathanOlder]

Totally agree a 1 & 2 driver works better and will produce better results on average.
BUT as an example, lets say after 2016 Mercedes had signed Vettel to partner Lewis, would the championships for 2017 and 2018 be as close ?

Basically what I'm saying is, having 2 number 1 drivers means another team cant have them .

[Andres125sx]

Funny enough, some sensationalist media said at the day that was the only reason for McLaren to hire Alonso in 2007, so they could keep him under control and win the title with Lewis :p

I LOL after reading that obviously