Top 20 moments of 2014, #3: Ferrari in upheaval, loses Alonso and gains Vettel

Race fans witnessed some Commedia dell’arte at Ferrari this past year. The entire team has been restructured and familiar names ousted in favor of fresh blood. One thing that was not part of Maranello's plan was losing their star driver, Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari Commedia dell'arte

The team has gone through three team principals since the start of the year. They started with Stefano Domenicali, who held the position since 2008. He was replaced by Marco Mattiacci, who also lost the position at the conclusion of the season in favor of Maurizio Arrivabene.

Some of the following names willingly left the team, others were effectively sacked, but it gives you a feel for all the change happening at the home of the prancing horses. Luca di Montezemolo, Pedro de la Rosa, Pat Fry, Nicolas Tombazis, and Hirohide Hamashima are a few of the notables no longer part of the organization.

Where is he going?

Alonso, reportedly tired of Ferrari's promises, decided to leave on his own. It was was quite a saga though. Rumors swirled around the superstar and were non-stop, ranging from joining Red Bull, McLaren, buying Caterham/Marussia/Lotus, sitting out for a year and going to Le Mans, Audi ending their WEC program and starting a F1 project with Alonso. Some even declared he would quit F1 altogether and focus on cycling. Yes, it got pretty silly.

Vettel splits from Red Bull

The bombshell news took place on the now infamous weekend in Suzuka, remembered for Jules Bianchi's tragic accident and the typhoon that bared down on the race track. What some forget is that it is also when Sebastian Vettel suddenly revealed he would leave Red Bull after four consecutive titles with the team. It quickly became known that he would replace Alonso at Ferrari, but all parties remained tight-lipped as a legal chess match took place between the Spaniard and Maranello. 

McLaren continues the saga

After Ferrari finally made it official, all eyes turned to McLaren, who also did their best to drag out this saga as long as possible. It wasn't until deep into December that we learned Kevin Magnussen would lose his seat to Alonso, now teamed up with fellow World Champion Jenson Button.

The 2014/2015 Formula One Silly Season was certainly one to be remembered.