Biggest F1 moves in History

[F1Brits_90]

where does Lewis Hamilton To Ferrari in these moves on the ricther scale in the History of F1. the 3 biggest to me in my time of F1 before yesterday

• Schumacher return that never was
• Hamilton to Mercedes
• Vettel to Ferrari

but if im guessing from before my time that the last we had news of this scale. wouldve been Senna to Williams. with the then highest profile driver at the time joining the best team on the grid. was schumacher to ferrari as big or where there bigger or as big in 60s/ 70s /80s

 

[cider_and_toast]

Some big front page news type moves that come to mind, and I'll leave it for others to rank:

Graham Hill - Joins Lotus for 1967
Niki Lauda - Joins McLaren in 1982
Ayrton Senna - Joins McLaren in 1988
Alain Prost - Joins Ferrari in 1990
Schumacher - Joins Benetton 1991
Mansell - Joins McLaren 1995
Schumacher - Joins Mercedes 2010
Hamilton - Joins Ferrari 2025

 

[F1Brits_90]

Ayrton Senna - Joins McLaren in 1988
Alain Prost - Joins Ferrari in 1990
Schumacher - Joins Benetton 1991

for the recent 1 of the 3, i wouldve been 1yr old. so i dont know if its hindsight. but wouldnt those have been expected.

senna wouldve demanded the best car

the relationship had gone far beyond repair. so 1 of prost/ senna had leave

wasnt schumacher on a 1 race deal & team with more money was always going to snap him up, benetton were challenging for podiums & jordan had only just finished pre-qualifying

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Mansell - Joins McLaren 1995

The ironic thing was, when he got in the car he couldn’t move.

 

[FB]

Alain Prost joining McLaren in 1984 was quite a shock. Having been runner up to Piquet in 1983 it was assumed he would be seriously challenging for the title at the Regie in 1984, Renault sacked him quite suddenly and he popped up at McLaren replacing John Watson.

 

[cider_and_toast]

That's a great shout FB. I'd forgotten that one.

In terms of shock moves Emerson Fittipaldi joining his brothers team in 1976 as a two time world champion and runner up in 1975 was a massively shock move

 

[The Artist.....]

Alain Prost joining McLaren in 1984 was quite a shock. Having been runner up to Piquet in 1983 it was assumed he would be seriously challenging for the title at the Regie in 1984, Renault sacked him quite suddenly and he popped up at McLaren replacing John Watson.

What was particularly surprising is that Prost left McLaren in 1980 having savaged the team - for creating a car that was trying to kill him

 

[Il_leone]

Big moves that shook the F1 drivers market

Fittipaldi leaving Mclaren for his own team 1975 - what might have been for Emmo and mors titles If he stayed - no one saw this coming off course it meant a certain driver James Hunt was suddenly hired after Hesketh March were unable to continue if you have seen the film 'Rush'


Prost -Mclaren 1984 the fact it changed both teams fortunes proved that Renault really dud threw away 1983 but chose to blame Prost

Alonso - Mclaren 2007 the timing was announced in 2005 so Renault ironically had a whole season to deal with this as reigning champs also created a scramble at Mclaren, Ferrari and Renault

Schumacher-Ferrari 1996 All 4 top teams were vying for his services at the asking price of £16m a year . To most people 's amazement he chose Ferrari given their lack of success and internal warfare it did seem like a daft decision at his peak. Queue also the decline of Benetton with it.

Hamilton-Ferrari 2025 suddenly there is another potential top seat available for desperate drivers like Alonso and Ricciardo to go for

Montoya to Mclaren 2005- Happened in 2003 and main reason was his salary was only a fraction of Ralf's but instigated by a race he thought he ought to have won France 2003 but for team play. This actually accelerated Williams decision into trying to get Button back which started one of the longest contract wrangles

Piquet to Lotus 1988 - I say this because he got found out and sulked at Williams and chose money and position to go to Lotus instead of possibly Mclaren. His reputation plummeted then making some derogatory remarks about Senna

Senna to Mclaren 1988 - this created his legacy whilst seemingly downplaying anything Prost and Piquet did achieve before

 

[JuanSenna]

Alonso to Renault in 2008