OK, perhaps not in the true sense of the word ("mutually destructive"). More like civil warfare, brother against brother — although, again, there’s nothing much brotherly about two individuals thrown together in the same team, each expected to beat the other. More like contestants in a Reality TV show…

But I digress. This year Formula 1 will see more battles between drivers in teams at the sharp end of the field than ever in the history of the sport.

In the '50s and '60s team-mates generally did not regard each other as arch enemies. It was a time of few professionals and little money. Even in the '70s it was not unheard of for drivers to socialise with each other, although the advent of sponsorships and television coverage began to change that.

Really it was only in the '80s, when the stakes got higher, that drivers became more self-centred with the inevitable result that team-mates began to see each other as greatest rivals.

However, when these team-mate battles did occur, they were invariably between those in the few teams battling for title honours. And by the '80s generally a single team — two at most — dominated. Think of Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet at Williams in 1986 and ’87, or Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at McLaren in ’88 and ‘89, or Mansell and Prost at Ferrari in 1990.

These battles resulted in fascinating, if predictable, spectacles.

In the '90s few of these team-mate battles were the norm, again because mostly a single team dominated. Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at Williams did not provide any sparks (mostly Michael Schumacher and Hill did, or Schumacher and Villeneuve, driving for rival teams), although Eddie Irvine did have some unflattering things to say about Schumacher after the Ulsterman’s departure from Ferrari following the 1999 season…

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Team-mate battles didn't feature on Formula 1’s radar screen during this time because of Ferrari’s dominance. Nobody took much notice of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya at Williams (they couldn’t stand each other), or Raikkonen and Montoya at McLaren (there was no relationship between them, not even a bad one).

In 2007, however, things will be different. This time team-mate battles between drivers of at least three teams will be in the spotlight. And they can turn into open warfare.

At Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen, widely acknowledged as the fastest driver in Formula 1, takes on Felipe Massa and the intense rivalry between the two is already clear to see, because both have a theoretical chance of taking their first title.

The battle began during winter testing when generally Felipe proved faster, but could Kimi have been sand-bagging? Possible, but I doubt it, as teams have carefully planned testing programmes the drivers must stick to and Raikkonen would have genuinely taken his time in coming to terms with the characteristics of the car and its Bridgestone tyres.

Be it as it may, in Melbourne the Finn’s speed in the F2007 undoubtedly made Felipe sit up and take notice. He may have been relatively confident before the start of the season, but now he knows for sure it ain’t gonna be easy.

However, I don’t buy the view expressed in a rival column that Raikkonen had been able to out-psyche Massa to such a degree that the Brazilian caused his own gearbox to break during Melbourne Qualifying. Felipe has never struck me as the kind of driver who would overreact like that, and the look on his face while Kimi was setting his pole time probably had more to do with frustration at not being in the fray than being “paralysed with shock”.

I can't see Felipe wilting like a dehydrated lily after just one race and expect him to be back. We are in for intense warfare between the Ferrari lads this season, but I don’t believe the rivalry between the two will develop into open hatred. However, who knows what will happen when Ferrari team orders come into play…

As pointed out in last week’s column, I am not convinced Ferrari’s advantage over McLaren-Mercedes is as large as it appeared to be post-Melbourne. Ron Dennis’ team will win races this year, courtesy of strong development potential and, of course, the fight between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso is arguably the most complete driver in the field, able to calmly judge what pace to run at — which is exactly what he did in Melbourne. If he is not in a position to win, he only does what is necessary to minimise the loss. As he and his team become more comfortable with the Bridgestone rubber they will catch Ferrari.

And Hamilton will play his part. He is an instinctive racer — as demonstrated so amply at Albert Park — and his potential will be honed as the season progresses. Lewis certainly made Fernando sit up and take notice too and the Spanish world champion will be pushed to his limits, if not occasionally passed, all season long.

Again, open hatred between them is unlikely, but the easy relationship will likely turn decidedly frosty. The point where Dennis imposes team orders is going to be far further down the road than over at Ferrari.

These four drivers are going to raise the level of competitiveness in the sport to where it has not been for a very long time.

But wait, there’s more!

The arrival of Robert Kubica at BMW last year was a wake-up call for Nick Heidfeld and in Melbourne the situation developed further. The Pole’s savvy would have seen him beat his German teammate, were it not for the fragile new seamless-shift carbon fibre ‘box.

These two will continue with their battle and in the process they will also push each other and the team forward — to such a degree that they may begin to worry the four front-runners. If Hinwil and Munich can sort out the troublesome gearbox the F1.07 has enough potential to remain third fastest and on early form it seems foolish to bet against a few podium finishes for both drivers.

Nick is quick, but quiet and reserved. Robert, well, let’s say he’s got more fire in his belly. If any team-mate battle can develop into something more than intense rivalry, this is the one.

All of this does not mean intra-team battles will not rage elsewhere too. In fact, if Renault gets its act together Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen may well join in the fun.

But who really cares about Webber and Coulthard at Red Bull, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli at Toyota, or Button and Barrichello at Honda?

No, it’s the battles among the front-runners that for the first time in many a year will really grab the imagination — because not only will they be fascinating, they will also be unpredictable.

What a mouth-watering prospect.