Better think twice... Team swaps these F1 drivers should have reconsidered

For every inspired team move, there is one that can be filed under 'think again'... Here are 8 moves these drivers might wish they had the benefit of hindsight for

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On Feb 3, 2017
1

Jacques Villeneuve: From Williams to BAR

From F1 world champion to mid-fielder, Jacques Villeneuve hasty rise and steady fall was one of the more disappointing tales of F1 in the late 90s and early 2000s. Whilst admittedly Williams declining form in 1998 was the first catalyst for Villeneuve's initial slip, it was his disastrous year with the burgeoning BAR set up that blights his legacy today. Whilst the Craig Pollock-led, Reynard-engineered team had good ingredients on paper, predictions that it would win from its first race where embarrassingly wide of the mark. The car gathered pace as the year went on but reliability was woeful enough for Villeneuve to go from F1 champion to non-scorer in just two years.

2

Fernando Alonso: Renault to McLaren

Whilst Fernando Alonso's move from Renault to McLaren as back-to-back champion reaped dividends when you consider he was in the more competitive team in 2007, the fragile-turned-sour-turned-toxic relationship he forged with Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis over the course of the year dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons. With the bitter feuds and 'Spygate' controversies overshadowing McLaren as it lost out to Kimi Raikkonen for the 2007 F1 title, Alonso threw in the towel after just one year and moved back to Renault in an unprecedented move. Eight years later though, he would be back... (see below)

3

Fernando Alonso: Ferrari to McLaren

...to find a little bit of history repeating. Admittedly whilst Alonso - who is about to start his third season with the Woking squad - is seeing his perseverance recover some reward, the results attained to date in the McLaren-Honda are a far cry from the podiums and wins he was hoping (expecting) when he switched from Ferrari. Worst of all for Alonso, as the Spaniard faltered with his dismally unreliable car, Ferrari's form bounced back in the hands of his successor Sebastian Vettel. All that remains to be seen is whether Alonso can complete the full turnaround and return McLaren to the top of the podium... but it is surely taking longer than anyone expected (hoped)

4

Damon Hill: Williams to Arrows

Though this can arguably be filed under 'enforced' after Williams decided to drop its champion-elect before the end of his title-winning season, Damon Hill's decision to join Arrows was still wholly unexpected... if not as entirely random as it may have seemed. With direct rivals refusing to meet financial demands befitting of a world champion, Hill he was forced to take his #1 plate to Arrows. A team with the unfortunate distinction of being the longest-serving F1 team without a win (a title it holds to this day), it was nonetheless heading into a new era in 1997 with the respected Tom Walkinshaw Racing at the helm (replacing Footwork), decent funding (thanks to team-mate Pedro Diniz) and Yamaha providing engines. Sadly, the car was unreliable and underpowered, with Hill's title defence wilting just a couple of races into the season. A heartbreaking near-win in Hungary remains one of the F1's 'remember when' moments but while Hill earned respect for taking a punt on a privateer team, he didn't earn a lot more until his race winning turn at Jordan in 1998.

5

Emerson Fittipaldi: McLaren to Fittipaldi

Could Emerson Fittipaldi have become Brazil most successful F1 racing driver? He was certainly well on the way during the early days of his career, clinching two titles - one with Lotus and another with McLaren - and 14 wins in his first six seasons. With the pick of the drives available to him, Fittipaldi proceeded to shock the sport by revealing he would leave McLaren in favour of joining his brother Wilson Fittipaldi's eponymous effort. A startup that failed to score in its maiden 1975 campaign, Emerson brought massive star power and talent to his brother's fledgling team... but he could only take it so far. Results improved and Fittipaldi was a fairly frequent point-scorer, but he would manage just one more career podium. Disappointing results aside, Fittipaldi did show immense commitment to his family cause, sticking with it for four full seasons.

6

Nelson Piquet: Williams to Lotus

Williams has an 'interesting' track record when it comes to clinging onto its F1 champions but before Nigel Mansell defected, Alain Prost retired and Damon Hill was dropped with the #1 plates, there was Nelson Piquet. Joining Williams in 1986, Piquet enjoyed two fruitful seasons with Williams, finishing third in 1986 and clinching his third F1 title in 1987. However, Piquet became frustrated that his 'promised' number one status at Williams wasn't being honoured and thus announcing midway through his title-winning season that he would be Lotus-bound in 1988. With the same Honda engines as Williams, Lotus seemed a solid bet on paper but the team's fortunes were beginning to wane and Piquet failed to win a race in either of the two seasons he spent with the British team as his countryman Ayrton Senna began to steal his headlines.

7

Giancarlo Fisichella: Force India to Ferrari

For many, Giancarlo Fisichella's move to Ferrari during the latter stages of the 2009 F1 season (in place of the injured Felipe Massa) was a dream come true. As Italy's most successful F1 driver of the new millennium, it seems surprising that it took more than 10 years for him to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari. However, on the back of a startling result for Force India in Spa (a race Fisichella almost won despite the team having never even scored an F1 point beforehand), Ferrari offered an available seat to end the year in. Better still, Fisichella was debuting on home soil at Monza. Alas, the dream premise did not yield a fairytale ending, Fisichella struggling with the unwieldy Ferrari 056 with no preparation and failing to crack the points in any of the final five races. They would prove to be his final five in F1 too (after 231 races) as he was frozen out of Ferrari for 2010 and Force India didn't take him back. An anti-climactic end to an otherwise fine F1 career.

8

Eddie Irvine: Ferrari to Jaguar

It is easy to forget just how much of a big deal Jaguar Racing's arrival in F1 was when it was confirmed back in 1999. Backed by the huge Ford Motor Company (which had enjoyed F1 success in years gone by) and adding weight to the increasingly competitive Stewart Grand Prix team that was already using its engines, the arrival of the distinctive British racing green hues of the 'cat' was hugely anticipated. With this in mind, it is perhaps hardly a surprise Eddie Irvine was tempted by the prospect of leading an institution on the back of nearly winning the 1999 title for Ferrari. Unfortunately, the Jaguar effort chugged rather than pounced during its four years and despite Irvine's best efforts he'd never get close to the heights he'd experienced at Ferrari. Whilst one could argue that being the perennial #2 to Michael Schumacher was no way spend a career, the fact Ferrari utterly dominated for the next 4 years means he surely couldn't have helped by ponder 'what could have been'... at least a little.

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