3 F1 drivers that need to change teams

There's a time in a driver's F1 journey where he needs to take a call on his future and trust the team he's a part of. At the same time, there's a point in a driver's career where he has to take a call on whether he wants to continue racing for the team to whom he's committed his future.

Both of these calls are tricky to make, and yet the direction these calls take defines how a driver's career pans out. Arguably, one of the best career-defining calls in F1 history was when Lewis Hamilton decided that it was time to cut ties with McLaren and move to Mercedes.

He was a world champion already by then, but what he ended up doing at Mercedes was building an F1 dynasty. The driver won 6 world championships, and since then, he's grown into an icon of the sport.

Three drivers on the current grid are arguably facing the same situation in their respective careers. These drivers need to change their respective teams to achieve F1 success. Who are they? Let's take a look.

#3 Pierre Gasly(Alpine F1)

Unless Alpine is a team that's bought out by a Christian Horner-led group, Pierre Gasly needs to urgently start looking for a home away from Enstone because this team is not looking good. It seems clear as day with how Flavio Briatore has gone about driver changes that he's trying to swiftly find the best possible combination for the team that can get the best possible result and help push up the price of the team to its potential buyer.

This is not a team that has a long-term vision of growing, nor is it a team that seems to be an attractive place for talent at the moment. You add both of them, and you get a perfect recipe for a team that's not looking at a strong enough future.

There is certainly some hope that the Mercedes power unit deal helps, but even that can't be enough to stick to a squad that might be as good as a sinking boat at the moment.

#2 Max Verstappen(Red Bull)

Well, just like his former Red Bull teammate, it's about time Max Verstappen leaves the team. The man who took the team to glory is gone. Whether Verstappen had a role in it or not is a different question, but there is a reality that once Horner is gone, the Austrian squad is now going to take some time to rebuild.

The reigning F1 champion is certainly not a driver willing to spend his time on projects, and this might be the perfect trigger for him to take a leave.

#1 Charles Leclerc(Ferrari)

Well, just like Max Verstappen, it's certainly time for Charles Leclerc to look beyond Ferrari for the future. The Monegasque has been a part of the squad since 2019 and has not even once fought for the title during all this time. One could try and put some of the blame on the driver, but the reality is that the team has been in shambles ever since he joined, and instead of regrouping and getting better, it has gone from one crisis to another.

F1 drivers have not won at Ferrari since 2007, and it's not a surprise. If something doesn't work for close to a decade, it's best to call time on it and move on to better things. One would hope Charles Leclerc does that as well.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli