While the F1 driver market gets described as "silly season", it really has nothing on the F1 Esports world.
That was proved yet again today as two-time Drivers' Champion Brendon Leigh left Mercedes for the scarlet of Ferrari.
Leigh makes drastic change
Leigh won the inaugural F1 Esports season in 2017, before the teams were involved. He then joined Mercedes and helped deliver a double-championship season in 2018 with the Silver Arrows.
However, as the F1 esports world has expanded, Leigh has found himself somewhat off the pace. In 2019 and 2020 he wasn't really a title contender, and while he found himself at the front from time to time it was never really with any consistency.
Dream team?
Ferrari, under the banner of FDA Hublot, were the final F1 team to get into the esports championship. They arrived with a bang however, drafting David Tonizza #1 in 2019 and watching him earn the Drivers' Championship.
They came second to Red Bull in the all-important Teams' Championship however, which is where the prize money gets decided.
Since the end of the 2019 season we have seen the evolution of teams into units focusing on the Teams' Championship.
Alfa Romeo paired Jarno Opmeer with Leigh's former teammate Dani Bereznay to try and dethrone Red Bull, and now Ferrari are putting out a lineup with more championships than anyone else. A classic Ferrari move!
Bright future at Mercedes
This move doesn't exactly leave Mercedes without any hope, however. While Leigh is taking his talents to Maranello, the Brackley team has Bono Huis on their books already, and drafted up Bari Boroumand last year.
Otherwise known as Speed Bari, Boroumound didn't see any action in the 2020 season but is a remarkably talented sim racer with the pace to compete in the F1 Esports field.
This is the first major move of the 2021 year in F1 Esports, but it likely won't be the last.
With the Virtual GPs coming up we could see the Italian dream team in action right away. Can they get the Prancing Horse to the top?