Ferrari vs. McLaren, healthy side of rivalry: a ‘photobombing’ duel between Zak Brown and Carlos Sainz. The rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren is giving us images of great sportsmanship, mutual respect, and admiration.

A special duel
This thrilling Formula 1 season finale is offering fans two championship battles that are unfolding in starkly contrasting ways. On one side, there’s the head-to-head for the Drivers’ title between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, which race by race seems increasingly marked by tensions, controversies, penalties, and disputes. This growing friction, despite the friendship between the two contenders, appears more and more each week like the much-discussed end of the 2021 Formula 1 season.

On the other side, there’s the battle for the Constructors’ title between the two most historic teams on the grid, Ferrari and McLaren, fierce rivals on the track for decades and finally both shining at the same time once more. However, the rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren is giving us images of great sportsmanship, mutual respect, and admiration. This is thanks to the drivers, their respective management, and the rapport between Maranello’s team principal Fred Vasseur and Woking’s CEO Zak Brown.

Friendly relations despite the title at stake
Earlier in the 2024 Formula 1 season, the two bosses had already exchanged compliments in their own way after Lando Norris’ win in Miami and Charles Leclerc’s in Monaco, ‘crashing’ each other’s celebrations in a spirit of fun. The head-to-head for the Constructors’ Championship hasn’t dampened this atmosphere of sportsmanship and friendly teasing, as we saw clearly in Mexico. After the race, during Ferrari’s victory celebrations, Zak Brown playfully ‘crashed’ the Ferrari festivities, pulling off a photobomb.

This humorous prank was ‘avenged’ in similar fashion by the winner of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard returned the gesture by photobombing McLaren’s celebrations – his former team – while they were marking Norris’ second-place finish, slipping into their group photo. It’s a lighter, more playful way of experiencing a rivalry that has shaped the history of Formula 1 and has finally returned to center stage.