The 10 biggest F1 driver moves of the 2010s

 

The 2010s decade was filled with drama from title deciders to major rule changes that decade had everything and it was especially filled with star drivers on its grid who made some of the biggest moves in F1 history creating many memorable silly seasons.

So we decided we should rank the biggest of those drivers moves.But we won't be counting rookie signings in this list although we will count moves that where aggred on 2009 but where for 2010.

#10 CHARLES LECLERC FROM SAUBER TO FERRARI  

 In September of 2018 Ferrari announced that Charles Leclerc will join the team partering Sebastian Vettel for the 2019 season.Promoting Leclerc was an obvious decision having won in Formula 2 in his first year and having an impressive season with Sauber in 2018.

He was the first Ferrari academy driver to graduate to the main team with him coming to Ferrari so he can honor the legacy of his late godfather Jules Bianchi almost four years later Leclerc has asserted himself to team leader and is preparing to challenge for the championship.

#9 DANIEL RICCIARDO FROM RED BULL TO RENAULT  

Ricciardo's shock exit from Red Bull to go to Renault was a suprise to everyone even to the team principal of Red Bull Christian Horner who expected Ricciardo to stay with them.Ricciardo left Red Bull because he felt that the team was backing Max Verstappen as it's lead driver so he decided to take a gamble by going to Renault who had aspirations to fight for championships.

Despite not achieving what he hoped with Renault in the end but the move was definitely a big one and it triggered a domino effect with many drivers changing teams.

#8 MAX VERSTAPPEN FROM TORO ROSSO TO RED BULL 

Max Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull ahead of the Spanish Gp replacing the accident prone Daniil Kvyat.He impressed immediately by taking victory in just his first race with the team showing his potential.

After six years he has managed to take 17 wins with the team and clich the drivers championship becoming the second driver in the history of the team to do so proving this to be a very succesful move.

#7 NICO ROSBERG FROM WILLIAMS TO MERCEDES 

Nico Rosberg joined Mercedes after it had bought and rebranded the Brawn team he was partnered up with Michael Schumacher and in 2013 with Lewis Hamilton. He fought with him from 2014 to 16 for the championship he managed to get in 2016 on the last race and after some days he retired.

This move wasn't one of biggest in this list but it certainly was big move for Rosberg at the time and it certainly paid off.

#6 KIMI RAIKKONEN FROM RALLY TO LOTUS  

Raikkonen came back to F1 with Lotus after a break of two years with him during those years competing in WRC but in 2012 he made a comeback with Lotus in a two year deal with the team where he took two wins and several podiums carrying the team to fourth place in the standings in his first year back he managed to finish third in the championship.

A small fun fact is that there was a performance clause in his contract.He was paid 50.000€ per point that bonus alone was €19.5 million he nearly bankrupted Lotus.

#5 JENSON BUTTON FROM BRAWN TO MCLAREN  

In the of 2009 newly crowned world champion decided to move to Mclaren instead of staying with Brawn which was rebranding into Mercedes.He joined Mclaren in a three year deal creating an all british line-up there with Lewis Hamilton.

Although he did get several wins and many podiums he didn't managed to win the world championship with Mclaren coming second in 2011 he stayed with Mclaren until the end of his career in 2016.

#4 FERNANDO ALONSO FROM RENAULT TO FERRARI  

Alonso signed with Ferrari for 2010 forcing 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen to leave the team he partnered up with Massa.Alonso came to Ferrari in order to win his 3rd world championship but his time at Ferrari unfortunately coincided with the Red Bull dominance he always outdrove the cars that Ferrari gave him going to two title deciders in 2010 and 12 but each time he lost to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.

He signed a two year deal making 23 million dollars per year.In his time at Ferrari he was oustanding with 2012 perhaps being his best season in F1 despite him not winning the championship.

#3 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER FROM RETIREMENT TO MERCEDES  

Michael Schumacher was trying to find a way into F1 for the better part of 2009 when Massa had a horrific accident in the Hungarian GP he tried returning but due to a neck injury sustained in a bike test.

But in November of that year came the best opportunity with Button going to Mclaren the newly rebranded Mercedes formely known as Brawn needed a new driver so Ross Brawn convinced him to come back making it possibly the greatest comeback in F1 history.

Despite all that at the end Schumacher managed one podium with the team and he retired in 2012 but his time with the team was valuable for Mercedes with them learning a lot from the 7 time world champion that helped them become the dominant force in F1.

#2 SEBASTIAN VETTEL FROM RED BULL TO FERRARI  

Vettel had achieved 4 world championships with Red Bull but when the engines changed from V8 to V6 the Mercedes dominance began.Vettel was beaten from new teammate Daniel Ricciardo and decided to join Ferrari in 2015 in order to emulate the success of his hero Michael Schumacher.He joined the team on a three year deal earning 40 million dollars per year.

But during his six years with the team he didn't achieve the world championship that was demanded of him despite challenging for the title in both 2017 and 18 he only lost the championship due to his own and the teams errors.

#1 LEWIS HAMILTON FROM MCLAREN TO MERCEDES  

Perhaps the biggest move in all F1 history was Lewis Hamilton leaving Mclaren to join Mercedes.He decided to leave Mclaren after his retirement in the Singapore gp due to a gearbox failure when Hamilton announced the move everybody thought that he was making a mistake.

Now almost ten years later Hamilton achieved 6 championships with the team breaking many records and establishing himself as one of the greatest of all time and perhaps the greatest of his generation.

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