The bomb caused this Thursday by the announcement of the “multi-year” signing of Lewis Hamilton by Scuderia Ferrari shook the ‘market’ with the ‘Great Circus’. The phrase ‘signing of the century’ has been recovered, but historically there have been many ‘signings of the century’ and many of them have Scuderia Ferrari as a common denominator. And every self-respecting driver, even Lewis Hamilton himself who has been denied all these years, has given up on the idea of touching the steering wheel once in his career.
1
Michael Schumacher
From Benetton to Ferrari
On August 16, 1995, the F1 paddock exploded with the announcement of the signing, then for two seasons, 1996 and 1997, of Michael Schumacher for Ferrari. He won his first Benetton title and would end 1995 renewing the crown before becoming the third highest paid athlete in 1996. The association would last 11 seasons with 5 consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004 , took four years to arrive, and 91 career earned runs.
2
Fernando Alonso
From Renault to McLaren
A similar case, although the association was not successful, is that of Fernando Alonso. The news of his signing for McLaren broke in mid-winter, on December 19, 2005, just three months after becoming the youngest champion in history with Renault. He maintained his commitment to the French firm until the end, renewing the crown in 2006 and leaving the front door of the legendary McLaren team with the title under his arm. Then the story is different from Schumacher’s.
3
Fernando Alonso
From McLaren to Ferrari
On September 29, 2009, Fernando Alonso signed for Ferrari for three seasons starting in 2010, thus ending what ‘Nano’ himself admitted years later: that he made a mistake signing with McLaren instead of Ferrari. . From the first moment things didn’t go their way at Woking, they looked for a way out – they ended their contract – and a third title almost eluded them. He also didn’t make it in his five seasons as a Ferrari player, earning 11 wins.
4
Sebastian Vettel
From Red Bull to Ferrari
The German arrived at Maranello in 2014 with four consecutive titles under his belt with Red Bull to replace Fernando Alonso. The long shadow of the success of the Ferrari of his countryman and idol Michael Schumacher hung over him, but he did not go beyond two runners-up finishes (2017 and 2018) as his best results and after six seasons he left at the back door.
5
Alain Prost
From McLaren to Ferrari
Alain Prost was the master at McLaren, two-time champion in 1985 and 1986, when they brought in the explosive Ayrton Senna as a teammate in 1988. The Brazilian shook the foundation of the team, took the crown in 1988 and spurred Prost on who stepped up and replaced him in 1989. But that internal war with Ayrton Senna led to an escape route being sought at Ferrari, where he ended up in 1990 and stayed. two seasons before needing a sabbatical.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
