It was also at the Japanese Grand Prix where the Webber vs. Vettel battle began, in rainy conditions in 2007. Vettel was driving for the Toro Rosso team, the junior team owned by Red Bull, for which Webber drove. During a safety car period, Webber had a good chance to win the race, sitting in second position, ahead of Vettel in third. But Vettel made a mistake and plowed into the back of Webber’s car, knocking both out of the race.

On television afterward, Webber called Vettel a “kid with no experience.”

In 2009, Red Bull hired Vettel to race alongside Webber. At the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, Webber was leading the race and heading for victory when Vettel, in second, decided that he would pass him, and failed, running them both off the track. Vettel’s race ended there, but Webber managed to return to the track and finish third.

At the end of that season, with Vettel third in the driver standings and Webber second, and with Alonso in the lead, Vettel won the final race and leapfrogged to the top of the series and won the first of his three titles.

The Red Bull feud reached its hot point early this season when Vettel refused to obey team orders to freeze position while Webber was leading the Malaysian Grand Prix. Webber had lowered the revs on his engine at the team’s request, but Vettel then passed him in the final laps and took the victory, with Webber unable to defend against the move.

The seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was also involved in notable feuds, first with Damon Hill and then Jacques Villeneuve, both drivers for Williams from 1994 to 1997. In the last race of 1994, Schumacher swerved his damaged car in such a manner that Hill and he collided. Hill dropped out of the race and Schumacher won the title.

In 1997, Schumacher tried to ram Villeneuve off the track to win the title. Schumacher dropped out but Villeneuve finished and scored enough points to take the title. Schumacher was disqualified from the series and lost his points for that year. He said that he had learned from the driving of Senna and Prost, and saw nothing wrong with winning at all costs.

During the 2007 season, Alonso and Hamilton raced together at McLaren and the tensions between them burst at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso accused the team of favoring Hamilton, and he held up Hamilton in the pit lane during qualifying to prevent him from turning a faster lap to take pole position. Hamilton had earlier disobeyed orders from the team to let Alonso pass. In the end, the race stewards docked Alonso five grid spots and he started sixth, while Hamilton started from pole. Alonso left the team after that one season and after he and Hamilton had finished the series equal in points, one point behind the title winner, Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.