How F1 has broken two of its greatest teams
McLaren and Williams are two of Formula 1's biggest success stories, but they look increasingly outgunned amid the rise of manufacturers and 'B-teams' in grand prix racing's hybrid era. BEN ANDERSON asks if these proud independent constructors can ever properly compete again, or are they now damaged beyond repair?
'Adapt or die' is a law of nature that applies perfectly to professional sport - and particularly to F1. It's easy to fall foul of this, especially when adaptation is essentially all that colossal amount of time and money is spent on doing each year. F1 is forever evolving, so its teams are too, but what to do when evolution leaves you eating dust?
There's no sadder sight in sport than the slow, public decay of a once-great competitor valiantly trying, but failing, to recapture past glories. That deep-rooted determination never to quit is at the heart of what it means to compete professionally, but at the highest level there's nowhere to hide once your reactions have faded and legs have gone.
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