The news of Christian Horner’s sudden forced departure from Red Bull Racing has caught the entire motor world by surprise, if not for the act itself, but the timing. With no definitive reason given by either Red Bull or Horner, many different possible causes have been mentioned to explain their course of action.
One of which is the need to keep Max Verstappen happy in the event his contract clauses become actionable. Whether or not having Horner at the helm of Red Bull Racing was something Verstappen and his camp wanted remains to be seen. But there’s no doubt that George Russell’s comments on Verstappen’s discussions with Mercedes prior to the Austrian Grand Prix poured fuel on the fire of rumours of Verstappen’s unhappiness.
If Red Bull’s move was all in vain, and Verstappen manages to not only trigger but activate his exit clauses to make a break for Mercedes in 2026, what does the past say about former World Champions being successful at their new manufacturers? We look at the drivers who have won world championships since 2000 and then taken their talents to new teams.
Lewis Hamilton (Part 1)-
World Champion 2014-15 and 2017-2020
Departed Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025
The very person who created the spot for Verstappen to potentially move to Mercedes, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes to join Formula 1’s most famous team in 2025. However, a big difference between the two situations is the amount of time Hamilton gave Mercedes to turn things around.
Last winning in 2020, Hamilton was runner-up in 2021 (the less said about Abu Dhabi, the better), which was followed by 6th in 2022, 3rd in 2023, 7th in 2024 and he currently sits 6th, 131 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
After 8 wins and 17 podiums in 2021, 2022-24 saw a barren period for Hamilton, with 0 wins in 2022-23 and only 2 in 2024, and 20 podiums in the same three-year period. This can be compared to Verstappen’s “down” year – he has the same number of wins as Hamilton has in four years (2) and 5 podiums.
Hamilton decided that there was more of chance of Ferrari making the leap to championship contender than Mercedes. Ferrari has finished 2021 in third, 2022 in 2nd, 2023 in 3rd and 2024 in 2nd and currently sit 2nd behind the dominant McLaren team. Whilst time will tell, it appears unlikely Hamilton will achieve that coveted eighth world title.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari (Photo by JIN Cheng/Paddocker/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Nico Rosberg
World Champion 2016
Nico Rosberg retired after winning the world championship.
Sebastian Vettel
World Champion 2010-2013
Departed Red Bull Racing to Ferrari in 2015
If the Verstappen story sounds familiar to Red Bull Racing fans, it is because it is following the same pattern as their last world champion. Sebastian Vettel had also won four-straight World Championships, and had set a then-record 9 straight wins, which was only topped by Verstappen in his dominant 2023 season.
Formula 1 had just introduced a new set of regulations which Red Bull never managed to adapt to, but Mercedes did, going on to win 8 straight drivers’ championships. Whilst teammate Daniel Riccardo was able to win his maiden Grand Prix as well as two other races, Vettel’s best finish was 2nd in Singapore along with three third places to go along with three DNFs. Vettel became the first world championship since Jacques Villeneuve in 1998. Despite having a year to go on his contract, Vettel signed with Ferrari for 2015. In his six years at Ferrari, he finished second twice (2017-18), third in 2015 and fourth (2016), fifth (2019) and thirteenth (2020). Vettel would finish his career at Aston Martin, with his last race win coming in Singapore in 2019.
Jensen Button
World Champion 2009
Departed Brawn for McLaren in 2010
Riding the power of a double diffuser, Button won six of the first seven races for Brawn before the other teams started to use a similar design on their car. Finishing second and third once for the rest of the year, his six wins and one third from the first seven races were enough for him to take the title. Unhappy with the commitment for 2010, Button sought a new challenge at McLaren. He would spend the next eight years there, which got off to a good start with two fifth places and a second in 2011 to Vettel. He would win 8 times between 2010-2012 with 25 podiums. 2013-16 would be much harder, with no wins and 1 podium over this time and a best finish of 8th in the drivers championship. He would drive 1 race at Monaco, which ended in retirement, before leaving McLaren to pursue other racing ventures.
Lewis Hamilton (Part 2)
World Champion 2008
Departed McLaren for Mercedes in 2013
In a sign of things to come, Hamilton’s first two years at McLaren set all kinds of records. He would win his first world championship in just his second year of Formula 1 after finishing second in his debut season. He won 5 races and had 10 podiums in his title-winning season. His next four seasons with McLaren saw two fourth and two fifth places, winning 12 times and standing atop the podium 27 times. To the surprise of many, he announced in 2012 that he would be joining Mercedes for the 2013 season.
His first season with Mercedes was nothing spectacular, finishing fourth with 5 podiums and only one race win. What was spectacular was the 6 world titles that would follow, broken up only by teammate Rosberg’s 2016 title. Of all the drivers on the list, Hamilton is the only driver on the list to win a world championship with his new team.
Kimi Raikkonen
World Champion 2007
Departed Ferrari in 2009 (retired)
Quite possibly the most unique driver in recent Formula 1 history, “The Iceman” had been runner-up twice in 2003 to Michael Schumacher and in 2005 to Fernando Alonso. He won his only world championship in his first year with Ferrari, having departed McLaren at the end of 2006, by 1 point from both drivers (Hamilton and Alonso) from his former team. He would win six races with 12 podiums. In 2008, Räikkönen would finish third with two wins and nine podiums, dropping to one win and five podiums on the way to sixth in the drivers’ championship.
Unlike the other names on the list, Ferrari made the choice to part ways with Raikkonen to make way for two-time champion Fernando Alonso. Despite talks with other manufacturers, Raikkonen retired from Formula 1 to race in the World Rally Championship and NASCAR. He would return to Formula 1 in 2012 with Lotus, moving back to Ferrari in 2014 before finishing with Alpha Romeo (now known as Sauber) in 2021. He would win three more races and take 41 podiums, finishing third in 2012 with Lotus and in 2018 with Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso
World Champion 2005-06
Departed Renault for McLaren in 2007
Fernando Alonso would be the one who would end the dominance of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, with 14 wins and 29 podiums. He would negotiate with McLaren owner Ron Dennis to join the team for 2007. He finished tied for second with teammate Hamilton, who finished second on a countback, having finished second more often, relegating Alonso to second.
He would return to Renault after only one year of his original three-year contract due to tensions with Hamilton. In a career that is set to continue into 2026, Alonso went on to drive for Ferrari, finishing second in 2010, 2012 and 2013. He would drive for McLaren, Alpine (Renault) and Aston Martin for 17 wins, the last in Spain in 2013, and 69 podiums, including 8 for Aston Martin in 2023.
Michael Schumacher
World Champion 2000-2004
Retired 2006
With the cutoff for this list being 2000, Michael Schumacher could have appeared again, having won two titles with Benetton. He would then dominate Formula 1, taking five consecutive world titles, 48 race wins (which would rank 6th all time), and 66 podiums.
Schumacher would finish third and second in 2005 and 2006 to Alonso, winning 8 more races and achieving 17 podiums before retiring.
He would come out of retirement in 2010 to drive for Mercedes, which proved to be an unfortunate end to his illustrious career as he would add only a single podium in 2012.
