Rivalries are one part of sports that makes them more exciting and keeps fans on their toes. They birth some of the sport’s most unforgettable moments, and motorsports has its fair share of them. Lovers of motorsports will love this list of 15 rivalries that will either remind them of moments from the past or show them something new to look into.

Ayrton Senna vs. Alain Prost

Formula One was the battleground for these two former racers. Their rivalry started when they were both on the McLaren-Honda team in the 80s and crossed into the next decade after Prost left for Ferrari. As teammates, they each bagged one championship Seena in 1988 and Prost in 1989.

Niki Lauda vs. James Hunt

Lauda and Hunt may have been good friends off the track, but it was a sports battle between Austria and Britain when they hit the Formula One track. In 1976, Hunt won the championship under Mc-Lauren, with Lauda coming second. The following year, Lauda won it for Ferrari, with Hunt coming fifth.

Michael Schumacher vs. Mika Häkkinen

This pair’s rivalry peaked during the late 1990s bleeding into the early 2000 when they were both champion contenders.Häkkinen won the Macau Grand Prix in 1990 and Schumacher won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1994. Häkkinen won the F1 World Championship in 1998 and 1999, while Schumacher won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001.

Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon

Looking back at their times, you can decide on who was superior between these two legends depending on which you think is more important winning a race or winning the cup. As for races, Gordon won more—93-76—but for cups, Earnhardt shone brighter—7-4. There is even a movie about their rivalry—Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon.

Lewis Hamilton vs. Nico Rosberg

This rivalry is another clash of Europeans that began when Hamilton joined Mercedes fresh out of McLaren. Hamilton had won a championship before then and won two more before Rosberg retired. On the other hand, Rosberg had none but clinched one championship before bowing out. Hamilton still races for Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel vs. Fernando Alonso

Vettel and Alonso competed against each other every season from 2007 to 2022, except for 2019 and 2020. While the rivalry involves Vettel coming out on top 10 times, their first two seasons (2007 and 2008) and the most recent two (2021 and 2022) have Alonso with the upper hand. Vettel emerged as the champion in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Ford vs. Ferrari

When Ferrari said no to Ford’s offer to buy them, they probably expected Ford would try to get back at them, but who would have anticipated it would be on the race tracks? They aimed to beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Ferrari enjoyed dominance, and they did in 1966. Ford came first, second, and third!

Richard Petty vs. David Pearson

Petty has the most wins in NASCAR history, but that’s not the only exciting thing about his career. He and Pearson had an interesting run when they won first/second place 63 times. Pearson took the lead here, packing 33 wins and leaving 30 for Petty. Today, only two of them have over 100 NASCAR wins.

Gilles Villeneuve vs. Didier Pironi

In the five seasons—1978 to 1982—that they competed against each other, Villeneuve came out on top three times while Pironi was superior twice. The rivalry ended in tears when Villeneuve, when in a race that could boost his reputation in their rivalry, made an error that sent his car flying and caused him to meet his end.

Mark Webber vs. Sebastian Vettel

Vettel dominated in the seasons they clashed. He led six times, while Webber led only in the first season in 2007. The last four of these wins ended with Championships for Vettel. As teammates, Webber once lost a race when Vettel crashed into him. Vettel also denied Webber a win during Malaysia 2013 by disobeying a Red Bull order.

Juan Pablo Montoya vs. Michael Schumacher

Most people would say Schumacher was the better of the two. After all, he emerged from their rivalry, consistently beating Montoya and winning four championships, while Montoya got none. However, Montoya was a scary racer in his own right, and in 2005, he had his closest finish with Schumacher—fourth and third positions, respectively.

Nigel Mansell vs. Nelson Piquet

Picquet has two wins more than Mansell, and the gap remains the same when it comes to championships—3-1. All of Piquet’s championships were won during their rivalry, while Mansell picked his championship in 1992. Seeing the pair reunite for a Ford advert could be a sign that they are not cool with each other.

Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano

Both racers spent five years in the same team preceding their rivalry, which started after Logano moved elsewhere in 2013. Hamlin was the victim of a bump by Logano in 2013 and later suffered a fracture in a race against his rival. In 2019, after a collision, they even got physical.

Senna vs. Mansell

Senna and Mansell both won championships going against each other. While Senna won three (1988, 1990, and 1991), Mansell won one in 1992. Their on-track rivalry ended in 1994 after they both failed to enter the top ten at the championship, with Mansell coming 14th and Senna 35th.

Keselowski vs. Edwards

These drivers were out for each other when on the track so much that even NASCAR had to intervene to prevent further danger. In 2010, Edwards had given Keselowski a revenge hit, which sent Keselowski flying. Another revenge hit he did later in the year gave Keselowski a rib injury.