The rivalry primed to save F1's post-Hamilton era

Formula 1 will wave goodbye to most of its star appeal when Lewis Hamilton leaves, and that day is only getting closer. No individual is bigger than an entire sporting spectacle, and Hamilton's exit will not kill F1 - but it could leave it severely hurt, and F1 needs a contingency plan.

The marketability of a championship and the attention of fans are not givens, they have to be earned. Trying to do that without a star asset is like taking a knife to a gun fight: yeah, you might have a chance of winning, but you're probably fighting a losing battle.

Replacing a blockbuster driver is difficult but F1's prospects are not hopeless. No one driver can have the same impact globally as Hamilton, but two drivers in particular can give F1 something Hamilton does not: a proper rivalry.

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have got their own interests to focus on, but if their battles in the Austrian and British Grands Prix are a taster of things to come then F1 should have something it has waited decades for. F1 may witness its first established rivalry since Mika Hakkinen vs Michael Schumacher, and very possibly something more explosive.

Since the McLaren and Ferrari drivers went toe-to-toe three years in a row from 1998 to 2000, F1's felt a little bit shy of a real rivalry. We're looking for something that lasts with Leclerc vs Verstappen.

The timing of Schumacher's first retirement limited any contest with Fernando Alonso to a fascinating 2006 season. Alonso vs Lewis Hamilton was explosive in 2007, but peaked quickly. Hamilton vs Felipe Massa (2008) or Alonso vs Sebastian Vettel (2012) were title-driven one-off, while Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg from 2014-'16 was contained within one utterly dominant team and, ultimately, reduced by the public perception that Rosberg was not quite on the same level.

All of the above, and more, represent different kinds of fights that were interesting in some way, with points of massive interest, but with their own drawbacks that prevented them being 'proper'. Even Schumacher vs Hakkinen had its negatives: very respectful, no real needle beyond Spa in 2000, and interrupted by Schumacher's injury in 1999.

Verstappen vs Leclerc might shun the limitations of other battles and combine the best bits: the intensity of Alonso vs Hamilton, a proper back story like Rosberg vs Hamilton, the longevity of Vettel vs Hamilton, and the advantage of it almost certainly being team vs team not intra-team, which F1 has not had since Alonso vs Vettel.

These F1 fights have produced a '1-1' scoreline so far. Austria went to Verstappen, Britain went to Leclerc

That final point might grate with fans of Hamilton vs Vettel, but their current 'rivalry' has ultimately been undermined. In truth, it developed into the most anti-climactic fight in recent years. Five-time world champion Hamilton has just been too good against Vettel for that to have evolved into an even contest. As 2018 rolled on (and turned into 2019), Vettel's run of mistakes against Hamilton became less the hallmark of a storied rivalry and more the trend of a four-time world champion being flawed in battle.

Verstappen vs Leclerc can become what Hamilton vs Vettel was meant to be. They are stunning drivers, exciting to watch, racing for different teams, with time on their side - and, at the same time, a bit history in their corner too.

YouTube videos featuring 14-year-olds sniping at people they don't like are 10 a penny these days, but in the aftermath of the Austrian GP you may have seen a clip from a 2012 WSK Euro Series kart race do the rounds. In this clip, an unseen incident between Leclerc and Verstappen triggers two very different responses from the two (very young) drivers.

In one short video you can see all that gives F1 hope: an authentic rivalry that stretches back many years.

"I get on really well with Charles," Verstappen tells Autosport ahead of F1's summer break. "We race each other really hard, and of course we had our moments in go-karting, but I think you all grow over that.

"We are both in Formula 1 now, we are both living the dream. We are both racing where we wanted to be, and when we were in go karting that was our dream. If you can be there together of course it's amazing."

Leclerc saw the "funny" side of the video, but also knows it has something more to it.

"It was completely the other way around, when I was saying it was a [racing] incident and he was saying that I pushed him off-track," he says, laughing. "Now, seven years later, the other way around, but in Formula 1, both of us driving for two top teams.

"It's great to see that. It reminds me of the road that we have done together since these times. We were kids, dreaming of one day being in Formula 1. And now we are fighting each other in Formula 1."

These F1 fights have produced a '1-1' scoreline so far. Austria went to Verstappen, Britain went to Leclerc. The 21-year-olds are the poster boys of the next generation and will be the leading men for their respective teams, Red Bull and Ferrari, for years to come. If it remains an equal fight then the pair's relationship will become even more storied.

The value of the relationship being complex cannot be understated. To call it a feud would go too far, but as this rivalry began in karts there is an underlying history that can mean tension rises to the surface quicker than in a normal fight.

The relationship is stronger than it was a few years ago but the existence of prior needle means Verstappen vs Leclerc has the requisite spice to become something truly special.

"I think we've had some tricky moments back in the karting days, but it's good," Leclerc says. "I think it's good for the show, and hopefully there will be many more of these [fights] in the future.

The Verstappen/Leclerc battle should naturally evolve into an enduring one with higher stakes. Then F1's product will sell itself

"Back in karting we were not the best friends, but it's normal, when you are young, any time something happens straight away he will become my enemy and the same for him, because we were quite young.

"We are still pretty young but we have matured quite a lot, and now things have changed."

What this means for F1 depends on certain factors that are largely uncontrollable, but these factors may be mitigated by the vision for a more even playing field from 2021.

If F1 succeeds in creating an environment where team are generally more competitive with one another then there is no reason to expect Red Bull and Ferrari - or whoever Verstappen and Leclerc end up racing for - will not stay at a similar level. As we saw in Austria and Britain, that's all we need for Verstappen and Leclerc to light up the show.

F1, like any elite sport, is meant to pitch the best against the best. But its dependency on machines means that carries a massive condition: the best against the best, if the best happen to be in the right car. That's a bad sell.

But Verstappen vs Leclerc has already shown immense potential in an era of car design that's meant to be bad for racing. If the cars become easier to follow, we should be able to sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

These two drivers will only get better, more successful and better-known. Their teams should remain competitive, and titles should be on the line. So the Verstappen/Leclerc battle should naturally evolve into an enduring one with higher stakes. Then F1's product will sell itself.

What we saw in Austria and Britain might well become the template for F1 racing from 2021 onwards. Hamilton may stick around for that new era, but he will almost certainly not define it.

Verstappen vs Leclerc just might.