F1 legend names greatest teammate pairing in history

Ex-Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan has named his number one teammate partnership in F1 history.

Whilst the World Drivers' Champion often gets the lion's share of the plaudits at the end of a season, success in F1 is largely a team effort with masses of employees at the respective factories ensuring every detail of a car is as well tuned as possible - and that is before things like strategy is even considered.

But when the cars hit the track, driver performance is the number one factor and, as has been seen with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the past two seasons, the difference in form between the two teammates can be easily seen.

Team orders can also come into play and some of the greatest teammate partnerships have seen success achieved without any flashpoints in the relationship.

But Jordan's number one partnership happens to be perhaps the most infamous rivalry in F1 history.

“I think the Prost-Senna [partnership] will probably go down as the number one because they were so brilliantly talented,” Jordan told David Coulthard on their Formula For Success podcast.

“Prost winning four world titles, of course, Senna winning a whole heap of titles too and they were unbelievably quick.”

Why Schumacher doesn't feature

Explaining why Michael Schumacher and his various teammates across his successful career did not feature, Jordan pointed to the 1999 season where the German failed to assist Eddie Irvine in winning the title having returned from a broken leg he sustained in a crash at the British Grand Prix.

“Michael did come back and told everyone that he was coming back to help Eddie Irvine win the championship. He did not do that," said Jordan.

“He did everything that he could because he didn’t want Ferrari to win a championship with a driver other than him. That’s what I believe and that’s what Irvine believes.

“When you look at the way he handled the race and Suzuka, he did nothing to help Eddie, whereas I think [Mika] Hakkinen was the champion. You’re [Coulthard] his team-mate and everyone was happy because I think he was probably the deserved champion.

“I think Michael was always a difficult team-mate because even though he had Massa, as you rightly say, and Rubens Barrichello and Irvine, all great, great wingmen but they all knew what the score was.

“I never liked that I have to tell you.”