Do Formula One teams have the right to give their best drivers’special treatment’?

Teams in Formula One frequently use team orders among st members, and car improvements are sometimes determined by performance. Is this, however, fair?

Even though Formula One is a team sport, the drivers frequently receive the most praise from the millions of spectators.

Since the Constructors’ rankings determine which drivers receive competition incentives and prize money, the drivers have an obligation to give their all to support the team’s endeavors.

However, depending on the competitor’s background, hierarchies have assigned certain drivers a higher order than their teammates in a number of instances throughout F1 history.

Team orders frequently result in one driver receiving preferential treatment on the racetrack through position swaps or other techniques, which causes controversy on social media.

Is that fair, though?

Does receiving special treatment make sense?

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner addressed the matter in an interview with the Secrets of Success podcast, addressing his drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

“I would have assumed that in any sport, it is inevitable. Max is a world champion now; he came to us as a teenager,” Horner remarked.

“Lewis Hamilton, who is currently the most successful driver of all time, will likely have more influence within his squad than his colleague because of his far higher value to the group.

Possible problems?

Although receiving special treatment at the end of the season is common, early-season favors carry much greater danger.

With the possibility of outside influences sabotaging things, it would be silly for a team to put all of their eggs in one basket with one driver. What would happen if a mechanical issue forced the preferred driver to retire? Or what if they became engaged in several first-corner incidents?

In order to maximize the possibility of outperforming competitors, the team may decide to implement team orders if a driver falls out of championship contention in the later stages of the season. Other than this, though, giving someone special treatment might lower morale among the staff members on their side of the garage as well as the “second driver.”

As always, in Formula One, team management frequently boils down to razor-thin margins, and treating teammates fairly is no different.