The Other Driver: The story of the second driver in F1

Formula One has always been a team game. The team consists of the management, the factory employees, trackside employees, logistics department and a plethora of many such men and women who make the circus possible. But there are two employees who happen to be the crown jewels of the team and with whom the fans resonate. To be clearer, I’m talking about the drivers. Drivers have always been the face and often the voice of the entire team. They represent the teams for their fans and their battles are cheered on the track. Every team needs to have two drivers and both the drivers are supported by their teams to win races and titles. But just like every parent with multiple kids, even teams have a secret favourite child.

Driver No.2 or 2^nd Driver?

The term “2^nd Driver” is a very common thing to hear in Formula One. There are two drivers, so obviously one will be called the 2^nd driver. But the word is not used to its literal meaning in the F1 world. The term carries a very negative or rather degrading meaning when used with a driver of a team. Heck, even teams refrain from using it for their drivers in order to not hurt feelings. But that’s a façade chosen by teams to keep drivers happy. But as said before, parents always have a favourite one.

 

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So what is this 2^nd Driver? And why do they exist in Formula 1?

2^nd Driver is a term generally given to the slower driver of the two present in a team. They tend to be the ones challenging the main star, winning once in a blue moon and often not given much importance by the team as well as the fans. They are generally in the team due to their cheaper salaries and their abilities to punch a little above their asking price. Too confusing? Let me paint you a Picasso picture. Lewis Hamilton is a 7 time World Champion who is paid an estimated $55 million whereas his teammate Valtteri Bottas (0 World Championship) is paid $11 million to be in the same car. Now Mercedes takes the holier than thou route by saying that they don’t have a “2^nd Driver”, but I hope you can see through the BS. Bottas is a good driver, but just not good enough to threat Lewis in any way. Adding the obvious that it makes the team happy as no conflicts occur.

“Now Mercedes takes the holier than thou route by saying that they don’t have a “2^nd Driver”, but I hope you can see through the BS.”

2^nd Drivers also have the trait of being compliant and they tend to keep the better of the team in mind. Rubens Barrichello fits this example quite perfectly when he was playing second fiddle to the legendary Michael Schumacher from 2000 to 2005. He was a consistent teammate, rarely threatened Schumacher on track and one time, he let Schumacher drive by at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix on orders from Ferrari.  P.S. Barrichello was leading the race, in case you didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.

Red Bull gives 2^nd Driver and wings…

2^nd Drivers don’t tend to play a majour role in leading the development aspects of the car. It’s like playing Formula 1 in single player mode where the entire team is only concerned about how nicely they can adhere to your demands alone. 2^nd Drivers also help in race strategy development and implementation where the driver can put pressure to cars in front or behind so as to shield the “favourite” car from any strategical undercuts, overcuts or simple overtakes. A “bad” example of this can be the entire Red Bull Racing Team. They have their first driver by the name of Max Verstappen. He is one of the best drivers on the grid out there. But none of their chosen 2^nd Driver has been able to deliver or cover Verstappen in any form. Neither Gasly, Albon nor Perez have been able to get on top of the Red Bull due to their lack of involvement in the development of the car. This translates to them leaving Max out to be attacked by the Mercs in whichever way they pleased.

Talent sometimes defines the 2^nd Driver

The title of “2^nd Driver” is not always a given obvious choice. When David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen became teammates, everyone thought it would be close. Both were talented drivers in a great team. But DC won only one race in 1998 and 2 races in 1999. Mika took home the World championships in both those years. Another example that comes to my mind is of Sir Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio. 1955 saw them racing for the Silver Arrows (Mercedes). Moss was considered a great driver during that time, but he got a reality check when he started racing against Fangio on the track. Fangio won 4 out of the 7 races that season, winning the championship in the process while Moss took only one victory home (which was controversial as hell because Moss thought that Fangio had let him win).

The Conclusion

These are some of the reasons why teams tend to choose a “2^nd Driver” to be their other driver. This takes a lot of brunt out of the team and allows them to control a lot more on the crazy races of Formula One. So their existence in the world of F1 was, is and will be always prominent.

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