The Biggest Driver Moves In F1 History

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Formula 1 is constantly changing and evolving, and that means the drivers are too. It is very difficult to win without a great team behind you, and the purpose of every driver is to be in the best team possible in order to succeed in the category.

Just like in soccer or basketball, top drivers don\’t change teams very often, because when they join a competitive team, they are true leaders in search of success. However, every now and then, there are a few moves that cause a stir, and leave everyone talking.

The Formula 1 market creates some of the greatest stories, and some moves capture everyone\’s attention. With that said, let\’s take a look at some of the biggest driver moves in F1 history.

1. Lewis Hamilton: McLaren To Mercedes – 2013

Lewis Hamilton belonged from an early age to McLaren\’s young driver academy, with whom he worked his way up through the lower categories until he made his debut in Formula 1. The Briton won the title in 2008, and since the change of regulations in 2009, by 2012 he had achieved numerous wins and podiums, but McLaren never had the best car again.

In September 2012, a retirement due to reliability issues at the Singapore GP was the final straw, and Hamilton made the decision to move to Mercedes for the following season. The unexpected announcement caught everyone by surprise, with many calling the move a big mistake.

Mercedes joined the category in 2010, and had scored a few podiums and a victory, but was far behind McLaren. However, with the arrival of the hybrid era, Mercedes dominated Formula 1, proving to be the best move in history, with Hamilton winning 6 titles with the Silver Arrows from 2014 to 2020, an absolute success, while McLaren dropped to the midfield.

2. Alain Prost To Ferrari – 1990

McLaren lived its golden age in Formula 1 during the 80s and 90s, while Ferrari lived in those decades a dark period, in which they did not have many successes. Despite having the best car, Alain Prost left McLaren at the end of 1989 to join Ferrari, which surprised everyone.

Since Ayrton Senna\’s arrival at McLaren in 1988, the Brazilian and the Frenchman had one of the most iconic rivalries in Formula 1 history. Senna won the title in 1988, while Prost won it in 1989, after a controversial end in which the two collided.

Two seasons were enough for the Frenchman in this tense team environment, so he decided to leave. However, his rivalry with Senna continued, and in 1990 the same scenario was repeated, but it was the Brazilian who won the title.

3. Michael Schumacher To Ferrari – 1996

Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut in 1991 with Jordan, and after that, he joined Benetton, which went from being a midfield team to having the best car in a couple of years. The German won the title in 1994 and 1995, in perfect harmony between machine and man, but decided to leave for Ferrari in 1996, even though the Scuderia had not been competitive for many years.

Neither Benetton\’s efforts nor offers from other teams such as Williams and McLaren made the Kaiser change his mind. With a contract of $25 million per year was the highest-paid driver on the grid.

Schumacher did not have immediate success with Ferrari, with 4 years fighting unsuccessfully for the championship, but with the new decade came the Scuderia\’s most golden moment in Formula 1, and the Kaiser won 5 titles in a row for the Italian team, becoming the best driver in history.

4. Ayrton Senna To Williams – 1994

After the dominating years of McLaren, Williams was the team that succeeded them, implementing new technologies in their cars that made them the fastest. Ayrton Senna, after winning 3 titles with McLaren, and seeing that they were no longer the dominators, wanted to sign for Williams in 1993, but could not as he was vetoed by Prost, who was not willing to restart their rivalry.

When Prost retired after winning the title in 1993, Senna was finally able to join Williams, leaving McLaren, the team with which he forged his legend.

1994 did not start well, with 2 retirements, and by the third race, the San Marino Grand Prix, things seemed to be going better, but the Brazilian suffered a fatal crash in the race while leading which left the whole world in shock.

5. Michael Schumacher: Retirement To Mercedes – 2010

At the end of 2009, Mercedes announced the purchase of Brawn GP, which had unexpectedly won the championship, and thus returned to Formula 1 after more than 50 years. The German manufacturer had big plans, and with the departure of Jenson Button to McLaren and Rubens Barrichello to Williams, they had to look for great drivers.

The first confirmed driver was Nico Rosberg, and soon there were rumors about a possible return of Michael Schumacher to Formula 1, as the Kaiser retired at the end of 2006 from the category and had tried unsuccessfully to return with Ferrari the previous year.

Thus, before Christmas 2009, Michael Schumacher\’s return to F1 was officially confirmed with Mercedes, as project leader. The German spent 3 years with the Silver Arrows, and although it was not the ideal comeback, we could still see glimpses of the former Kaiser.

6. Nigel Mansell: Ferrari (back) To Williams – 1991

Mansell drove for Williams between 1985 and 1988, twice being runner-up. With the departure of the powerful Honda engines at the end of 1987, the team declined, and the Briton signed for Ferrari in 1989 in search of a winning car.

However, at Ferrari, he had to deal with Prost being the de facto number one driver, and with the turn of the decade, Williams began to resurge, thanks to the great Adrian Newey and the innovations they began to introduce, such as active suspension, traction control, and semi-automatic transmission.

Thus, after two seasons at Ferrari, Mansell decided to return to Williams in 1991, being the best decision of his career, as the following year he made one of the most dominating seasons in history, winning the championship after winning 9 out of 16 races.

7. Sebastian Vettel: Red Bull To Ferrari – 2015

Sebastian Vettel dominated Formula 1 with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, winning together four consecutive drivers\’ and four consecutive constructors\’ titles. However, with the arrival of the hybrid era in 2014, Mercedes succeeded them as the new dominant team.

That, along with the arrival of the young Daniel Ricciardo to the team made Vettel leave for Ferrari in 2015, which after a disastrous 2014 campaign was undergoing restructuring. Thus, the German had the ambition to emulate his idol Michael Schumacher and his successes at Ferrari, although it didn\’t end up being the case.

Vettel was a great leader at Ferrari that helped its restructuring and good atmosphere, but he did not win any titles. In 6 seasons with Ferrari, the German was twice runner-up and achieved 14 victories, but never threatened the title. At the end of 2020, he announced his departure from the team to join Aston Martin in search of new challenges.

8. Kimi Räikkönen: McLaren To Ferrari – 2007

After a great debut in 2001 with Sauber, Kimi Räikkönen received offers from Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams, and the Finn finally chose the British team. In 5 seasons with McLaren, Räikkönen established himself as one of the best drivers of the new generation, being runner-up in 2003 and 2005, and not being able to win the title due to the unreliability of his cars.

However, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula 1 in mid-2006, and Ferrari again offered a seat to Räikkönen to replace him, whom this time accepted. In his first year in red, the Finn succeeded and won the title by just one point ahead of the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, after 6 wins and 5 more podiums.

Two more seasons and Räikkönen took a break in his F1 career before returning again. To this day, the Finn remains Ferrari\’s last champion.

9. Emerson Fittipaldi: Lotus to McLaren – 1974

Emerson Fittipaldi made the jump to Formula 1 with Lotus in 1970. In only his fourth race he became the first Brazilian winner, and two years later he won the world championship, becoming, at the age of 25, the youngest driver to win the title.

In 1973, however, the Brazilian was no match for Jackie Stewart, and after finishing runner-up he moved to McLaren in 1974, which announced the lucrative new sponsorship of Marlboro. In his first season at McLaren, Fittipaldi won his second title, beating Clay Regazzoni\’s Ferrari after an intense season.

One more season with McLaren, in which he was runner-up, and the Brazilian left the team to join his brother\’s Formula 1 project, the Fittipaldi Automotive team.

10. Fernando Alonso: Renault To McLaren – 2007

Fernando Alonso won two consecutive titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, becoming the image par excellence of the new generation of drivers. However, before the end of the 2005 season, the Spaniard announced that he would be driving for McLaren in 2007, one of the earliest announcements in history, which was somewhat strange and surprising.

Alonso\’s teammate at McLaren was Lewis Hamilton, who was making his Formula 1 debut that season. McLaren built the best car, but Alonso and Hamilton started a tough rivalry that ended up being self-destructive for the team.

Both wanted to be the number one driver and win the title, and neither gave in, so the team had to intervene. Finally, both were tied, and Kimi Räikkönen \”stole\” the title by just one point. Faced with this scenario, the Spaniard returned to Renault in 2008.

11. Niki Lauda: Retirement To McLaren – 1982

Niki Lauda was a double world champion when he retired from Formula 1 for the first time in 1979. The Austrian had won two championships with Ferrari, being one of the best drivers in history, and after two uncompetitive years with Brabham, he decided to hang up his helmet.

However, Lauda received an offer from McLaren in 1982 that the Austrian could not refuse, eager to return to the old successful days. After two difficult seasons, the Austrian won his third title in 1984, an intense season in which he won by only half a point over his teammate, the young Alain Prost.

In 1985, it was the Frenchman who won the title, after which Lauda retired from Formula 1 for good.

12. Jenson Button: Brawn GP To McLaren – 2010

After Honda\’s departure from Formula 1, the team was put up for auction, and in the absence of buyers, Ross Brawn, who had been its CEO, bought the team for the modest price of one pound, renaming it Brawn GP.

Against all odds, Brawn GP, and its star driver, Jenson Button, dominated the 2009 season, due to the car\’s innovative double diffuser. Mercedes announced the purchase of Brawn GP to transform it into its own team in 2010, and Button then decided to move to McLaren.

McLaren was the last team of his sporting career, where he drove until 2016. The Briton had competitive cars during the first years, achieving some wins and numerous podiums, although he never had a truly winning car, being his best season 2011, in which he was runner-up.

However, the team went into decline, especially with the advent of the hybrid era and Honda engines, and Button never had a winning car again.

13. Eddie Irvine: Jordan To Ferrari – 1996

With Michael Schumacher\’s arrival at Ferrari in 1996, there was much expectation about who would be his new teammate. Eddie Irvine, who drove for Jordan, was not one of the favorites to fill that seat, as the Briton had been announced by the team for 1996.

However, Eddie Jordan himself proposed Irvine to Ferrari, thinking that it would be a beneficial leap in his racing career, claiming that he would be a good teammate for Schumacher. This convinced Ferrari, who finally negotiated with Jordan to buy Irvine for $5 million, which was a very high figure for a driver of those characteristics. Jordan was the biggest beneficiary of this move.

Irvine spent 4 seasons at Ferrari, being his best in 1999 when he took over the leadership of the team after Schumacher\’s serious crash to fight for the title, losing in the final round to Mika Häkkinen.

14. Emerson Fittipaldi: McLaren To Fittipaldi Automotive – 1976

After his time at McLaren, Emerson Fittipaldi signed in 1976 for Fittipaldi Automotive, a team founded by his younger brother Wilson, which had debuted in Formula 1 in 1975. The team could hardly fight for points and was not competitive at all.

In 5 seasons, Fittipaldi only obtained 2 podiums, finishing tenth in the 1978 championship as his best result. After that, the Brazilian had enough and retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 1980 season.

15. Fernando Alonso: Ferrari (back) To McLaren – 2015

Fernando Alonso spent 5 years with Ferrari trying to win the title, but the Scuderia never built a truly winning car, and the Spaniard always had to outperform his cars to compete with the fastest teams.

After a disastrous 2014 campaign, the Spaniard had enough, and at the end of the year he made a surprising announcement: he would be joining McLaren for 2015. The British team was starting in 2015 an alliance with Honda, with whom they had achieved so many successes during the 80s and 90s, and there were great expectations.

Alonso healed his ties with the team and Ron Dennis and returned to McLaren to lead the project. However, the alliance with Honda was an absolute failure, and the team spent 3 seasons in the backfield, with Alonso and Jenson Button barely being able to fight for points, before switching to Renault engines.

16. Jacques Villeneuve: Williams To BAR – 1999

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, son of the legendary Gilles, had a meteoric debut in Formula 1, finishing runner-up in his rookie season and winning the title only the following year.

However, after a less competitive 1998 season with Williams, the Canadian decided to join the new British American Racing project in 1999. The team had a big budget behind it and built the project around Villeneuve, who was promised great things.

Despite the expectations for the new team, BAR was a failure, and in 1999 Villeneuve could only finish four races, without scoring any points. The following years were somewhat better, but the team was not competitive, and the Canadian could only manage 2 podiums in 4 seasons.

17. Damon Hill: Williams To Arrows – 1997

After finishing third in 1993 and runner-up in 1994 and 1995, Damon Hill was finally able to win the long-awaited title in 1996 with Williams, emulating his father Graham and becoming the first father and son to win the Formula 1 championship.

Despite this success, Hill did not continue with Williams in 1997. It is said that the Briton was asking for a salary increase, five times what he had in 1995, and that team boss Frank Williams refused, even though he initially wanted to renew Hill.

Renewal negotiations failed, and Williams finally signed Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Hill was called by other teams such as McLaren and Jordan, but finally joined Arrows. His 1997 season was a failure, obtaining only a second place as the best result, and barely being able to fight for points, so in 1998, Hill left for Jordan.

18. Nigel Mansell: Williams To McLaren – 1995

Nigel Mansell won the 1992 championship with Williams, in what was one of the most dominant seasons in Formula 1 history. However, renewal negotiations with the team were a failure, and Mansell retired from Formula 1 to join the Indy Car World Series in 1993, where he enjoyed some success.

In 1994, after the death of Ayrton Senna, the Briton returned to race for Williams in 4 rounds, achieving a pole position and a win. Mansell had hopes to race with the British team in 1995, but Frank Williams decided to choose the promising young David Coulthard to accompany Hill for the next season.

Thus, Mansell, who received offers from more teams, finally joined McLaren for 1995. The Briton missed the first two races, as he didn\’t fit into the car, and when he was finally able to race, he retired from Formula 1 for good after two races, as he was unhappy with the handling of the car.

19. Daniel Ricciardo: Red Bull To Renault – 2019

Daniel Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull in 2014, and the Australian soon became the team\’s leader, beating Sebastian Vettel in his first season and performing well.

By mid-2018, the Australian had scored 7 wins for the team, and his contract was running out, so everyone expected him to renew, as Red Bull was offering a huge amount of money and there were no places available in other top teams.

However, since the arrival of Max Verstappen in 2016, the Australian felt that the team had leaned towards the young Dutchman after some clashes they had, and he had doubts about the Honda engine that the team was going to use from 2019. As a result, Ricciardo decided to sign for Renault for 2019, scoring two podiums for the French team in 2020 as his best results.

The significance of this move was more important than it seems. With Ricciardo\’s departure from Red Bull, the energy drinks team was left without a solid contender to fill the Australian\’s seat, entering a driver crisis, as neither Pierre Gasly nor Alexander Albon made the grade in the following years.

20. Sergio Pérez: Racing Point To Red Bull – 2021

Sergio Pérez drove for Force India, later renamed Racing Point, from 2014 to 2020. The Mexican had transformed the team into a solid midfield team, achieving occasional podiums and performing at a high level.

However, by mid-2020 the Mexican was without a team for the following season, as Sebastian Vettel would take his seat in 2021 as a result of the restructuring that Lawrence Stroll was doing after buying the team.

Things were not looking too good for Pérez, but a magnificent victory in the penultimate race of 2021, the Sakhir Grand Prix, was the icing on the cake that made Red Bull call him in 2021 to be the second driver. Since then, the Mexican has established himself as a great second driver, ending Red Bull\’s driver crisis.