You Can Go Home Again: 12 F1 Racers Who Returned to Former Team

Fernando Alonso’s career has included two stints at McLaren and three at Renault/Alpine.

Alonso’s first McLaren spell lasted only one year in 2007 amid a fallout with senior management before he returned across 2015-18, a phase marred by woefully uncompetitive machinery and dismal power units.

Alonso’s two world titles came with Renault, in 2005-06, and he returned for 2008-09 for a less successful spell after his McLaren divorce.

After two years out of Formula 1 Alonso and the now-Alpine team rekindled their partnership for a third spell, covering 2021-22, though it led to only one podium with Alpine entrenched in the midfield.

Kimi Räikkönen secured a high-profile move to Ferrari in 2007, winning the world title, but he left after 2009 to compete in rallying when Ferrari recruited Alonso.

Räikkönen returned to Formula 1 in 2012, with Lotus, and two years later made a comeback to Ferrari. There was no title bid but podiums flowed and Räikkönen scooped one more win in red, in Austin, in 2018.

Räikkönen also had separate spells at Sauber to bookend his career. He spent his rookie season with the team in 2001 and returned in 2019, before retiring at the end of 2021.

Nigel Mansell earned a legion of fans racing for Williams in the 1980s but after two runner-up positions upped sticks and joined Ferrari for 1989.

That lasted only two years and for 1991 Mansell returned to Williams and was in the right place when the iconic FW14B arrived in 1992.

Mansell obliterated the opposition, winning eight of the opening 10 races, to seal the title five Grands Prix before the end of the season.

After a stint in Indy cars, Mansell returned for a handful of races with Williams after Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994, adding one more win in Australia.

Alain Prost debuted in 1980 with McLaren but departed at the end of the year to spearhead Renault’s Formula 1 project.

He returned to McLaren for 1984, kick-starting a hugely successful six-year spell, which concluded amid the height of his rivalry with Ayrton Senna.

Prost won three of his four world titles with McLaren and his least lucrative year of 1987 still yielded a trio of victories and fourth in the standings.

Pierre Gasly debuted with Toro Rosso in late 2017 and was drafted into Red Bull’s senior team for 2019 in place of Renault-bound Ricciardo.

But Gasly struggled alongside Max Verstappen and mid-season Red Bull wielded the axe.

Gasly was shuffled back to Toro Rosso and thrived, taking a podium in Brazil, before pulling off a stunning win for the rebranded AlphaTauri team in Italy in 2020. Another podium followed in 2021 before he moved to Alpine for 2023.

Nico Hulkenberg is now a full-time Haas racer but had an on-off relationship with ‘Team Silverstone’ that stretched over a decade.

Hulkenberg spent 2012 with Force India, leading a rain-hit Brazil race before a collision thwarted his prospects, but moved to fellow midfield team Sauber for 2013.

Hulkenberg returned to Force India for 2014, a move which worked well, as Force India remained a solid midfield outfit while Sauber’s form nosedived.

Hulkenberg moved to Renault for 2017-19 but after losing his seat in 2020 was drafted back by his former team, now called Racing Point, as a substitute driver for three events. That also extended to two outings in 2022, for the Covid-benched Sebastian Vettel, under its Aston Martin guise.

The popular Herbert began his Formula 1 career with Benetton in 1989 just a few months after suffering life-changing foot injuries in a terrible Formula 3000 accident. He scored points but was dropped after just six races, before returning at the end of 1994.

He was kept on for 1995 as team-mate to champion Michael Schumacher and enjoyed his most fruitful season, taking two victories, including a popular and emotional triumph on home soil.

Daniil Kvyat had three spells with Toro Rosso across a rollercoaster career.

Kvyat debuted in 2014 with Toro Rosso but was promoted to Red Bull for 2015, in place of Sebastian Vettel. However he was demoted back to Toro Rosso after four rounds of 2016 when Red Bull felt a rising star called Max Verstappen was worth evaluating.

Kvyat struggled in his second stint and towards the end of 2017 left the Red Bull family altogether, instead spending 2018 as a Ferrari development driver.

When Toro Rosso needed a driver for 2019 it gave Kvyat a call and he answered, delivering a shock podium in wet conditions in Germany. Kvyat stayed on with the renamed AlphaTauri for 2020 before leaving for good at the end of the year.

Gerhard Berger had two spells with both Ferrari and Benetton.

Berger spent 1987-89 with Ferrari before returning in 1993 for a two-year stint. He claimed five wins across the two phases.

Berger had claimed his and Benetton’s maiden win in 1986, in Mexico, and returned in 1996 during the twilight of his career.In one of Formula 1’s more curious achievements he also took both his and Benetton’s final victory, in 1997, before retiring at the end of the season.

Magnussen found career stability at Haas after being chewed up by both McLaren and Renault in his nascent years in Formula 1.

Magnussen spent four years in the midfield with Haas but was let go after 2020 amid Haas’ decline and decision to take on two rookies for 2021.

But when Nikita Mazepin was dropped prior to the 2022 season Haas reached out to Magnussen, who was happy to oblige, and secured a stunning fifth on his comeback race.

Better was to come in São Paulo when Magnussen starred in a rain-affected qualifying session to secure a shock maiden pole position for himself and Haas.

Nick Heidfeld spent 2001-03 with Sauber, taking a maiden podium, before stints with Jordan and Williams.

After BMW’s investment Heidfeld returned to Sauber in 2006, and was an occasional podium contender, before leaving when the German marque withdrew its support after 2009.

There was one final flourish in 2010 when Heidfeld returned to Sauber for the final five rounds of the year but he took only a handful of points in sub-par machinery.

Giancarlo Fisichella’s career was mainly spent with Team Silverstone and Team Enstone.

His first full season, in 1997, was with Jordan, before four years at Benetton, prior to a return to Jordan in 2002.A shock maiden win followed in a crazy rain-hit Brazil race in 2003, before his only full season elsewhere, with Sauber, in 2004.

Fisichella returned to the now-Renault team in 2005, taking two wins in three years, before slipping back to his erstwhile employers, now called Force India, in 2008.

Fisichella’s career ended as a substitute for Ferrari in late 2009, but his 19 podiums and three wins all came with the two teams he flitted between.