Five recent moves which rocked the Formula One world

Here, Planet Sport’s Monica De Los Angeles gives her thoughts on Hamilton’s decision - and recalls four other jaw-dropping moves which also caused shockwaves in Formula One in recent years.

5. Daniel Ricciardo to Renault

In 2019, Daniel Ricciardo created shockwaves throughout the Formula 1 world when he announced his departure from Red Bull after over 10 years in the Red Bull family. 

The news came as tensions within the team escalated due to rookie Max Verstappen out-performing him that season. 

Ricciardo’s contract renewal seemed imminent when he announced that he’d signed a two-year contract with Renault F1 Team, a mid-field competitor. 

It’s believed that Ricciardo’s overall goal was to help develop Renault into a team capable of competing with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes, much like Hamilton did with his move to Mercedes in 2013. 

Regardless, the news came as a surprise to many who had seen his previous success with Red Bull and expected to one day see him win a championship with them. 

This move is widely regarded as “the beginning of Ricciardo’s downfall,” seeing as he made another shock move to McLaren in 2020 - a decision that left him without a seat at the end of the 2022 season.

4. Charles Leclerc to Ferrari

Another massive change that occurred during the 2019 season is the signing of then-rookie Charles Leclerc to Scuderia Ferrari. 

After an excellent rookie season in 2018 with Sauber (now Stake F1 Team), Leclerc became the second youngest driver in Ferrari’s history, taking Kimi Raikkonen’s seat alongside Sebastian Vettel. 

This decision was a radical shift in the Scuderia’s traditional reluctance to field a young and inexperienced driver. 

However, Leclerc turned heads when he won the Formula 2 championship in 2017 and made his Formula 1 debut at Sauber the following year, with a best result of sixth place at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

At the end of that same year, it was announced that he would be joining the four-time world champions for the 2019 season and Raikkonen would take Leclerc’s seat at Sauber. 

His first year at Maranello was a huge success, as Leclerc became the team’s youngest ever race winner, placed P1 at their home race at Monza, and finished 24 points ahead of his team-mate in the championship. 

Unsurprisingly, he signed a five-year contract at the end of the season, which he recently renewed with a “multi-year contract.”

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3. Guenther Steiner leaving Haas

In a shocking turn of events, in early 2024 it was announced that MoneyGram Haas Team Principal, Guenther Steiner, would be leaving his position effective immediately. 

While Haas’ performance this past season was not at the level that owner, Gene Haas, would have liked, this news came as a shock given Steiner’s long history with the team and their eighth-placed finish in 2022. 

This past season, however, Haas finished in 10th place with only 12 points in the championship thanks to Niko Hulkenburg providing the team's best finish by placing seventh in the Australian Grand Prix. 

The news of Steiner’s departure was also unexpected due to his role in the Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive, which follows each Formula 1 season with behind the scenes footage and interviews. 

In the series, Steiner was catapulted to fame for his passion for profanity, iconic quotes, and a characteristically agonized attitude during races. 

Becoming the breakout-star of DTS is widely believed to be one of the reasons the show became so popular in the US and has led to Formula 1 gaining popularity in the country. So much so, they added a third US Grand Prix in Las Vegas. 

According to Sky Sports, when asked if he saw the decision coming from Gene Haas he said: "Obviously nobody was happy with the results in 2023 but I didn't see this coming.” 

Regardless, I’m sure Drive to Survive fans around the world will miss the Italian’s distinct accent on their screens come next season.

2. Sainz to Ferrari, Vettel to Aston Martin

Ferrari strikes again. In the last few years Ferrari have made a lot of surprising moves that have left the Tifosi very confused as to where the trajectory of the team is going. 

One of these was the shocking departure of Sebastian Vettel from Ferrari, following their acquisition of Carlos Sainz from McLaren. 

Unlike Leclerc, Sainz had a few more seasons under his belt but was still very inexperienced when compared to Vettel who is a World Champion. 

Vettel had become a household name among the beloved fanbase, and his time with Ferrari alongside Kimi Raikkonen is revered by fans as one of the best periods of the Scuderia’s history. 

So why the drastic change in strategy and driver line-up? When Leclerc began out-performing Vettel, Ferrari knew they needed to make a decision about what horse they wanted to back in the race, and it might not be in the best interests of a driver like Vettel to play second fiddle to a young driver like Leclerc. 

Talks had been going on for months about what a new contract between Vettel and the team would look like but they never came to an agreement and instead, decided that a clean break would be best for both parties going forward. 

This alone was a heartbreaking revelation, but the announcement that McLaren’s Carlos Sainz would be taking Vettel’s place left fans in a frenzy of emotions, uncertain about the future of the team.

1. Hamilton to Ferrari

Last week, a cataclysmic event shook the Formula 1 community to its core when it was confirmed that Lewis Hamilton would be moving to Ferrari in 2025 after 11 years, six drivers’ championships, and eight constructors’ championships. 

It’s safe to say that no one saw this coming, as it was previously reported last year that Hamilton had signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes. 

Despite that, it has now come to light that this contract was for one year with the option for a second - an option that Hamilton has evidently denied. 

For Mercedes fans who have followed the team throughout their dominance from 2014 to 2021, this is a stupefying announcement from all parties involved. 

This move solidified Hamilton and Leclerc as their driver line-up for the 2025 season and beyond, leaving the fate of Carlos Sainz unknown heading into the 2024 season. 

There has been much speculation over the last few years about Hamilton’s future with Mercedes, following the last couple seasons which saw a lot of performance issues from the car and strategists that left Hamilton visibly frustrated. 

Fans online have begun to speculate if Hamilton grew impatient after seeing the upcoming W15 and if this is what ultimately drove him to Ferrari Team Principal, Fred Vasseur’s door. 

No matter what the reason for Hamilton’s move to Maranello, this news seems to be an incredible way to get the Tifosi back in high spirits and kick off what is sure to be an exciting 2024 season.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari move sets stage for showdown with Charles Leclerc