Trust me, I know what I'm doing! F1's most inspired team swaps!

It didn't take long for Michael Schumacher to prove just how sublime a talent he was when he hooked up with Benetton after just a single race in 1991. Two world titles in 1994 and 1995 later, however, and he was already getting itchy feet, with plenty of other teams keen to get their hands on the young German. Even so, many were surprised to see him choose Ferrari which - for all of its iconography - hadn't won a constructors' title since 1979 and was in the midst of a performance slump. His Scuderia debut in 1996 was a tough introduction with the ungainly F310, but he still won 3 races in a car referred to as the 'bathtub'. Nonetheless, once he had his dream team of Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn around him, Schumacher never looked back with 5 dominant titles between 2000 and 2004. Benetton never mounted another threat without him until 2005, by which time it was operating as Renault.

Signed by McLaren at a young age and nurtured carefully through karting and the junior ranks, Lewis Hamilton was always being groomed for super stardom under the British team's guidance. Clinching the world championship together in 2008, Hamilton won 21 races during his six seasons with the constructor, a loyalty and success that initially served to make his 2013 move to Mercedes all the more surprising. Hamilton even struggled for form initially, but Mercedes had convinced the Briton to play a waiting game and focus on understanding the new-for-2014 regulations instead. When Mercedes demonstrated dominant pace out of the box in 2014, Hamilton's long-sighted decision was vindicated and he has since notched up a further 31 wins. McLaren, on the other hand, hasn't won a race since his departure...

The poster boy for Renault's F1 efforts in the early 1980s, Alain Prost enjoyed plenty of success with the manufacturer during his three seasons there... but it hadn't delivered the world title both craved and expected. By the end of 1983, relationships had soured significantly enough for Renault to fire Prost as punishment for publicly criticising the team. Opting for a move to McLaren, some questioned the wisdom of a switch to a team in the midst of a lean spell 10 years on from its last title. Instead, the move proved to be inspired, Prost claiming seven race wins en route to the runners-up spot behind team-mate Niki Lauda, earning McLaren a return to constructors' glory. Prost went on to win the drivers' title for McLaren in three of the ensuing five seasons. Renault, on the other hand, endured two more win-less seasons for quitting in 1985..

Though this can perhaps be filed under 'nothing to lose' after Honda's sudden decision to quit F1 in the winter of 2008, few really expected to see Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to reap rewards from their decision to take a punt on the Brawn project it subsequently morphed into at the last minute. Of course, Button went on to become the dominant title winner in 2009 and Barrichello enjoyed something of a career revival himself... can you imagine how they would have reacted had either decided not to trust in the project? Then again, Honda can probably relate.

It took something of a leap of faith for Alan Jones to trust in Williams right at the beginning of its F1 endeavour. The Australian had enjoyed a race winning season with Shadow - only his second full year in F1 - when he decided to join the all-new Williams F1 team. Driving their single-car entry, Jones out-performed his former Shadow team from start in 1978. Wins followed in 1979 before going on to claim the title with the team in 1980... the same year Shadow folded mid-season.

Though few wished to see Felipe Massa leave the sport altogether after the 2013 season when his long tenure with Ferrari finally came to a natural conclusion, many feared his switch to Williams would simply see him making up the numbers anyway as the former dominant team reeled from a run of dismal seasons, not least its worst-ever campaign in 2013. And yet, under the new regulations, Williams and Massa bounced right back into contention, the Mercedes-powered car FW36 being steered to the podium on nine occasions in 2014. Better still, Ferrari managed just two podiums... Fernando, Felipe is faster than you!

One can only imagine what Didier Pironi would have been capable of with Ferrari had he not suffered the devastating injuries that ended his F1 career within sight of winning the 1982 world title. Even so, as famous Ferrari may be, Pironi was still taking a chance on joining the Scuderia in 1981 from Ligier. Whereas Ligier ended the 1980 season second in the constructors' standings, Ferrari languished in 10th and despite it improving to fifth in 1981 with Pironi at the helm, it was still placed behind the privateer French team. Come 1982 though and Ferrari was back on the up and - despite the tragic death of Gilles Villeneuve - seemed on course for title glory with Pironi. Sadly, it was not to be...

Sometimes inspired team swaps need only be considered such because it simply fostered a more welcoming environment for the driver. Heinz-Harald Frentzen is one such example... the German was touted as Williams' answer to Michael Schumacher when he bumped title-winner Damon Hill from the team in 1997, but he struggled to make his mark and claimed only a single win as team-mate Jacques Villeneuve swept to the title. As Williams' form suffered in 1998, Frentzen found himself out of favour, prompting him to switch to Jordan for 1999 as Ralf Schumacher went the other way. Ironically, both benefited from their direct swap as both teams nurtured their new signings. Frentzen won 3 races with privateers Jordan en route to remarkable third overall, while Schumacher would go on to win multiple races at Williams in the ensuing seasons.

The mid-90s were a frustrating period for McLaren as it lost the star drivers of its golden late-80/early-90s era and flitted between engine suppliers. Eventually securing a high profile engine deal with Mercedes, it wasn't the easiest transition period for the team and it suffered three solid but win-less seasons between 1994 and 1996, during which time it had picked up ex-Williams driver David Coulthard. Though it took until 1998 for Coulthard to rediscover his winning mojo, by this time the Adrian Newey-penned McLaren 'silver arrow' was a formidable contender at a time when Williams' results were beginning to slump. With 12 of his 13 career F1 wins coming with McLaren, Coulthard would enjoy the last laugh.

Could F1 have been a very different place had Red Bull not poached Sebastian Vettel from BMW? The young hotshot was supported by both companies coming through the junior ranks, with the German manufacturer giving the then-19 year-old his F1 debut in the 2007 US Grand Prix as a sub for the injured Robert Kubica. Scoring a point on his debut, Vettel had demonstrated his skills on the biggest stage and was in high demand, but only Red Bull had short-term seat availability via its Toro Rosso team. Four races later, Vettel had cut all ties with BMW and was now racing in F1 with Toro Rosso. Though choosing a Red Bull 'B team' instead of waiting for a potential deal at the more competitive BMW raised eyebrows, Vettel capitalised on his shot by winning a race with minnows Toro Rosso in 2008, before joining Red Bull and sweeping to four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013. BMW remained competitive without Vettel but exited the sport at the end of 2009... would it have stayed had it been able to retain him?