The five best F1 driver moves from the last 10 years including Max Verstappen to Red Bull

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Hiring and firing the correct drivers is one of the toughest jobs that every team principal and owner in the Formula 1 paddock has to do.

Over the past 10 years, plenty of drivers have entered the sport only to see their chances of staying on the grid quickly dwindle. For some drivers like Logan Sargeant and Jack Doohan, starting a season has also proven that there are no guarantees they will also finish the year.

Williams initially retained Sargeant after his rookie season in 2023, but the American failed to improve in 2024 and he was released that summer. As for Doohan, Alpine gave him an early debut in F1 during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but he was sacked six races into 2025.

Sargeant crashing in practice at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix was the final straw for Williams, who handed his seat to Franco Colapinto for the rest of the year, having also already signed Carlos Sainz after his release by Ferrari to replace the American from the 2025 campaign.

Colapinto took Doohan’s seat at Alpine in 2025 after just six races, having joined the Enstone outfit on a multi-year loan deal from Williams over the winter. The Argentine’s arrival at Alpine immediately put Doohan under pressure to retain his seat, which ultimately did not survive.

But while some drivers like Doohan and Sargeant sink, others swim after joining teams. With that in mind, F1 Oversteer looks at the five best F1 driver market moves from the last decade.

Red Bull replaced Daniil Kvyat with Max Verstappen in 2016

The Red Bull Racing merry-go-round was in full force in the mid-2010s, as plenty of drivers switched between the works team and junior outfit Toro Rosso (who later became AlphaTauri and then Racing Bulls).

Red Bull particularly wasted no time in 2016 to make a change, as Daniil Kvyat was given just four races before he was demoted back to Toro Rosso and Max Verstappen stepped up from that year’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The move could not have paid off any faster for Red Bull, as Verstappen scored his maiden Grand Prix win on debut for the works team in Barcelona after Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took each other out on Lap 1.

Verstappen has since gone on to become one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, and even won the F1 drivers’ championship four years in a row with Red Bull from 2021 to 2024. He also finished just two points shy of winning a fifth consecutive title in 2025.

After plenty of failed attempts to promote from within, former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and motorsport adviser Helmut Marko very much got this one right.

Valtteri Bottas replaced Nico Rosberg at Mercedes in 2017

Mercedes were forced to dip into the F1 driver market straight after the 2016 season, as Rosberg stunned the world by retiring immediately after he won his first and only title.

Toto Wolff turned to Williams for Mercedes’ solution and struck a deal for Valtteri Bottas to join Hamilton in Brackley, which in turn saw the Grove squad convince Felipe Massa to come straight back out of retirement for one more year on the grid.

Recruiting the right second driver at a top team is a surprisingly difficult job, but Mercedes nailed it by signing Bottas as Rosberg’s replacement. While the Silver Arrows dominated in 2016, the relationship between Hamilton and Rosberg quickly deteriorated.

Bottas was rapid in qualifying, which meant he was always in a position to support Hamilton as he went on to win the drivers’ title in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. He secured a total of 20 pole positions, as well as 10 Grand Prix wins, with the Brackley outfit.

Mercedes finally moved on from Bottas after the 2021 season when Verstappen pipped Hamilton to the title. The Finn kept the seat warm perfectly as George Russell continued to develop at Williams, before the Briton took over.

Ferrari placed Charles Leclerc at Sauber for his F1 debut in 2018

There were only two rookies to get excited about when the 2018 F1 season rolled around, after Pierre Gasly and Brandon Hartley debuted at the end of the previous year.

One rookie was Sergey Sirotkin, who Williams brought in to partner Lance Stroll. The other new driver was Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc, who Sauber agreed to replace Pascal Wehrlein with.

Leclerc completely outraced his more experienced teammate at Sauber, Marcus Ericsson – who had been in Formula 1 since 2014.

Part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Leclerc made the jump from F2 to Formula 1 look very simple after winning the GP3 and F2 titles back-to-back in his rookie campaigns in 2016 and 2017.

Ferrari decided that they could not hang around after Leclerc scored 39 of Sauber’s 48 points, so they immediately promoted him into their works team to replace Kimi Raikkonen.

However, without Sauber giving him his opportunity, his career may have never taken off as it did.

McLaren stole Oscar Piastri from Alpine to replace Daniel Ricciardo in 2023

McLaren completed one of the greatest raids on a rival Formula 1 team in recent years when they stole Oscar Piastri from Alpine, as the Woking outfit sought to replace Daniel Ricciardo ahead of the 2023 season.

Alpine initially announced that Piastri would be driving for them in 2023, after Fernando Alonso jumped ship to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. But Piastri quickly destroyed Alpine’s plan, having already signed a contract with McLaren.

Piastri and his manager Mark Webber agreed to join McLaren after seeing no future at Alpine, who had benched the Melbourne native after he won the 2021 F3 and 2022 F2 titles as a rookie. And Piastri’s arrival very much proved to be McLaren’s gain and Alpine’s loss.

McLaren starting the 2023 season on the back foot gave Piastri time to grow into his rookie F1 season, before he immediately proved his potential upon receiving a major upgrade package at that year’s British Grand Prix.

Piastri qualified P3 for the 2023 British GP, and he was on course for a podium at Silverstone before a safety car gifted Hamilton a cheap pit stop to steal P3.

Piastri ultimately scored his maiden F1 podium with P3 in the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, before also taking P2 in that year’s Qatar GP.

McLaren even saw Piastri score pole and win the F1 Sprint at the 2023 Qatar GP, before he secured his maiden Grand Prix win at the 2024 Hungarian GP – which team orders overshadowed after teammate Lando Norris profited through the pit stops.

Piastri scored his first F1 Grand Prix pole position at the 2025 Chinese GP, which he won en route to emerging as a title contender for the first time. The Melbourne native even led the F1 drivers’ standings longer than anyone in 2025, but ultimately finished third.

Haas brought Nico Hulkenberg back to the F1 grid in 2023

Nico Hulkenberg built a reputation as F1’s nearly-man after debuting in 2010, as he failed to capitalise on his chances to reach the podium with Williams, Sauber, Force India and Renault before he was left on the sidelines in 2020.

Racing Point ultimately called on Hulkenberg three times in 2020 as a stand-in driver when Sergio Perez and Stroll tested positive for Covid-19. But the German did not race in 2021, and he only featured twice in 2022 for Aston Martin after Vettel contracted coronavirus.

Yet Haas brought Hulkenberg back to the grid full-time in 2023, as the American outfit sought to replace Mick Schumacher with an experienced partner for Kevin Magnussen. Hulkenberg would lead Haas’ efforts in 2023, as well, with nine of their 12 points.

The 2024 season then saw Hulkenberg regularly at his best, as the German scored 41 points for his best return since he scored 69 in 2018. Hulkenberg even qualified P4 for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix during one of his 11 Q3 appearances that year, compared to Magnussen’s mere three.

Audi saw what Hulkenberg was offering Haas and signed the German to a multi-year factory contract to join Sauber from the 2025 season, ahead of the brand’s debut in 2026.