Five crazy F1 driver moves we still can’t believe actually happened

Throughout the years, there have been some questionable driver moves that have raised an eyebrow or two. With varying successes, here are five of the riskier driver team moves.

Whether it be abandoning an established race winner to join a backmarker, or taking a gamble on a brand new team, some highly successful F1 drivers have made risky team calls during their careers. Let’s revisit five such examples.

5. Lewis Hamilton joins Mercedes, 2013

In hindsight, this move has, of course, proven to be a genius one – the combination became the sport’s most successful team/driver pairing as Hamilton has won six Drivers’ Championships at the wheel of a Mercedes.

But, in late 2012, when it was announced that Hamilton would join Mercedes from McLaren, it was seen as a crazy move.

McLaren, one of F1’s most successful teams throughout its history, had had a strong 2012 season in terms of car speed, but had struggled for reliability and strength of execution.

Frustrated by this, having been unable once again to add to his maiden 2008 title, Hamilton was open to having his head turned – and that’s exactly what happened when Niki Lauda approached him for a chat, successfully courting him away from re-signing with McLaren.

“He has looked at the roulette wheel and put everything on silver,” said Paul Weaver of The Guardian in the aftermath – a succinct summation of the feeling immediately after the deal was announced.

“He has quit McLaren, a team of proven, habitual winners, and decided to take flight with the Silver Arrows of Mercedes. If he has got this one wrong, he will rue the decision for the next three peak years of his career and probably for the rest of his life.”

Respected journalist Joe Saward said: “Lewis Hamilton does not know much about racing history and so cannot learn from the mistakes of others.

“Perhaps he thinks that if it fails he will at least have the consolation of earning loads more money and being a bigger star, thanks to his hustling management that will sell his image here, there, and everywhere. That might make him an international celebrity on a bigger scale than he is, but it will not make him a racing legend.

“Perhaps Mercedes will pull it off and then Hamilton will look clever, but I fear that this will be a move similar to James Hunt joining Wolf; Emerson Fittipaldi joining Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve moving to BAR, or Niki Lauda’s ill-fated move to Brabham. History relates that you do not leave a winning team in F1 unless it is to go to another proven winner…”

The key thing to remember is that Mercedes was not yet established – the German manufacturer had bought the former Honda/BAR squad and, while respectable, was not seen as being at the level of McLaren or Ferrari – for Hamilton to turn his back on McLaren in order to join an unproven team was a huge risk.

But, as history now shows, Hamilton timed his move perfectly – 2013 allowed him to settle into the team and, with the engine regulations changing for 2014, Mercedes proved the dominant force – Hamilton easily saw teammate Nico Rosberg off to win his second title, and since added a further five to his total.

4. Fernando Alonso joins McLaren (again), 2015

Alonso’s first tenure at McLaren was something of a surprise in itself, given he put pen to paper to join Ron Dennis’ squad for 2007 just after winning the title with Renault and his own manager Flavio Briatore, as team boss, in 2005.

It led to an unusual dynamic as Alonso (successfully) defended his title in 2006, racing for a team with both sides knowing full well of their pending split and the ‘prize’ of Alonso immediately leaving with the coveted number one to join McLaren.

2007 proved a disastrous move for Alonso who, despite enjoying on-track success as the car proved, arguably, the best on the grid, struggled to cope with talented rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton and the team thus not providing a setup solely focusing on his success.

Added to that was the off-track controversy of McLaren’s involvement in ‘Spygate’, which landed the team with the largest fine in F1’s history, before Alonso and Dennis decided it was probably best to part ways – Alonso having lost out to Hamilton and eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Given the vitriol with which the Alonso/McLaren relationship ended, it was unfathomable that it could be rekindled – but that’s exactly what happened in 2014. Alonso had spent five seasons with the Scuderia and, despite coming close, couldn’t add to his two World titles with Renault.

With Dennis and Alonso’s relationship far from perfect, the team boss had handed over control of the F1 team to Martin Whitmarsh by the time the second approach was made.

“One has to recognise the first objective of any grand prix team is to win races,” Dennis said in 2013, having, by that time, moved into a non-executive role within the McLaren organisation.

“Whatever obstacles sit between a team wanting to win and winning, be it engineering, fiscal or human issues, you resolve them. You never say never.”
By mid-2014, the rumours were rife that Alonso would leave Ferrari to join McLaren in what had seemed an unimaginable rekindling of a completely broken relationship. The rumours were eventually proven true with Alonso joining Jenson Button to lead the new McLaren-Honda partnership as the Woking-based squad signed with the Japanese manufacturer for its F1 return.

Unfortunately for Alonso, the McLaren-Honda relationship never worked out – to the point where Alonso opted to take a sabbatical after 2018 having spent four seasons going through toil and turmoil.

3. Damon Hill joins Arrows, 1997

Granted, this one wasn’t entirely Hill’s choice – the British driver had no contract with Williams for 1997 and, with the Grove-based squad not rating Hill particularly highly after his calamitous 1995 season, he was left with no seat at the team – an awkward position to be in as he won the title for Williams in ’96.

Williams had opted to bring in Heinz-Harald Frentzen as his replacement, to join up with Jacques Villeneuve – the inexperienced French-Canadian driver having proven a match for Hill throughout ’96, although Hill’s greater consistency secured him the title.

The timing of the decision left Hill with few options, although the solid McLaren and Benetton teams supposedly expressed interest albeit with low-money offers. This led Hill to choose the Arrows squad, a perennial low-midfield team with big aspirations.

With the established motorsport legend Tom Walkinshaw buying a majority stake in the team in 1996, he offered Hill a good deal, bringing on pay driver Pedro Diniz alongside him to help offset the cost.

Yamaha engines were chosen, an exclusive deal with Bridgestone tyres was signed, and John Barnard was brought in to design the 1997 car.

Unfortunately, the promise didn’t translate into results – Hill didn’t score a point until July, but there was to be one remarkable high point.

The ingredients came together in Hungary where, due to the heat, the Bridgestone tyres came alive – Hill qualified third, jumped Villeneuve at the start, and overtook Schumacher to take the lead by Lap 11.

Dominating the race, a hydraulic failure on Hill’s car saw him sapped of the ability to change gear and he coasted around. He was caught and passed by Villeneuve halfway around the final lap, with Hill settling for second place.

Hill was snapped up by Jordan for 1998 for what would be a two-season swansong that included a final race win in Belgium, while Arrows struggled along until 2002 before going bankrupt.

More of PlanetF1.com’s ranked lists

👉 Five one-hit wonder F1 drivers we still can’t believe won a Grand Prix

👉 Revealed: Five shocking F1 driver moves that turned out for the better

2. Emerson Fittipaldi joins Copersucar-Fittipaldi, 1976

Fittipaldi was one of F1’s dominant forces in the mid-1970s, winning the title with Lotus in 1972 and following that up as runner-up in ’73. Moving to McLaren in 1974, the Brazilian won a second title and was runner-up again in 1975 as a regular podium finisher and race-winner.

But Fittipaldi would make a particularly ill-advised career choice for 1976, mostly out of nationalistic pride and familial empathy.

Having risen through the ranks with the help and support of his elder brother, Wilson, Emerson felt compelled to join Wilson’s burgeoning F1 team as he made the step up into the sport – the only team, to this day, to have been based in Brazil.

Wilson had secured the financial support of prominent sponsor Copersucar, representing Brazil’s large sugar industry – the team essentially being a nationalistic entry with the Fittipaldi name attached.

Having already become a hero in his home country, Emerson felt the pull of national pride and opted to join the team for its second season in 1976, moving into a driver/owner/operator role as Wilson stepped back from driving entirely.

Joining Fittipaldi Automotive, the two-time F1 World Champion now had a team directly set up around him with himself in a controlling position in the development, both commercially and technically, of the outfit, which would surely benefit from his experience and wisdom as an established winner with knowledge of two leading F1 teams.

Speaking to The Times in 1975, Fittipaldi admitted: “I am aware that I will virtually have no chance of winning the World title next season.

“It will be a very difficult beginning, but I am very enthusiastic and I am certain that with everybody’s effort, we will have the first positive results in the second half of next year. I think that in the medium term of one or two years, Brazil will have one of the best Formula One teams in the world.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be – being based in Brazil meant the team was too far away to work closely with its engine and gearbox suppliers in the UK, and the initial cars, designed by Richard Divila, proved uncompetitive – Copersucar pulled its sponsorship after just two seasons, resulting in the team being renamed Fittipaldi Automotive.

A later design for 1978, the F5A, was made by Giacomo Caliri and returned Fittipaldi to the podium with a second-place finish at his home race, but it was the only high point of another poor season. The increased dependency on ground effect for 1979 flummoxed designer Ralph Bellamy, and Fittipaldi netted just a solitary point.

The 1980 car was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite and included Adrian Newey as a very young and inexperienced aerodynamicist – the car scored a podium apiece in the hands of Fittipaldi and teammate Keke Rosberg, but Fittipaldi had lost the love for F1 and opted to retire after the season. He would later admit to being very unhappy towards the end of his time with the team, having neglected his family and romantic life in the quest to pull Fittipaldi Automotive forward.

The team would struggle on for another two seasons, but would only score a single championship point, courtesy of Chico Serra in 1982, before the team folded after running out of money.

1. Jacques Villeneuve joins BAR, 1999

Like Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve had the racing world at his feet through the mid-1990s. A CART Champion and Indy 500 winner, Villeneuve was snapped up by Williams for 1996 and immediately proved a threat to established teammate and World Champion Damon Hill.

Villeneuve ultimately fell short of winning the title at his first attempt but, going up against Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in 1997, prevailed after a tense season which resulted in a now infamous showdown at Jerez.

An F1 World Champion after just two seasons, the major regulation change for 1998 saw Williams’ performance take a hit as McLaren stepped forward to lead the way ahead of Ferrari, but Villeneuve still had a clear edge over teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Villeneuve’s head was turned by a similar challenge as Fittipaldi, with a fledgling team aiming to land his services for 1999. British American Tobacco (BAT) had bought the Tyrrell team in 1997, having been convinced by businessman (and Villeneuve’s manager) Craig Pollock to do so.

Entering F1 in 1999, Pollock convinced Villeneuve that the financial backing of BAT would prove fruitful and would give the French-Canadian more command of the direction of the team’s marketing and technical development, as well as providing him with a healthy paycheque.

Based in Brackley, BAR enlisted the services of Adrian Reynard’s eponymous company to design and build its cars, with Reynard having built the Team Green chassis with which Villeneuve won the Indy 500.

The ingredients, on paper, were there, although BAR didn’t win over many fans early on as it boasted of winning races in its first season and challenging the FIA’s livery rules as it attempted to present its two cars in different paint jobs to showcase brands Lucky Strike and 555. Faced with arbitration, Pollock backed down, resulting in a frightening-looking car running a split livery ‘held together’ with a zip down the middle of the chassis.

Keen to be a leading figure in the fledgling upstart team, 1999 couldn’t have gone much worse for the team threatening wins – Villeneuve retired from 12 of the 16 races as the BAR-Supertec proved incredibly fragile, although the outright performance of the car wasn’t entirely dreadful, with flashes of speed on occasion proven by the 1997 World Champion.

It was a humiliating year for all involved and, over the next few years, BAR would become a more mature and solid performer as Honda’s influence grew. 20 points in 2000 between Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta moved the team from last to fifth overall, and Villeneuve even returned to the podium in 2001 as the team consolidated its position in the midfield.

But outright success would never come for Villeneuve, and the arrival of David Richards as team boss threatened Villeneuve’s security as a particularly highly-paid employee. Uneasy paired with Jenson Button in 2003, the British driver proved the better performer over the season and, before the Japanese GP, Richards opted to let Villeneuve go.

BAR evolved into Honda, then Brawn, and the now highly successful behemoth Mercedes, while Villeneuve managed to resurface with drives at Renault and Sauber between 2004 and ’06. But the highs of his pre-BAR days were never revisited – just what might the 1997 F1 World Champion have achieved had he decided against BAR?

Read Next: Five one-hit flops: F1 drivers we still can’t believe only won a single Grand Prix