Before Joining McLaren, Fernando Alonso Put Forth a Stipulation That Ended Up Benefitting Lewis Hamilton

Following his second consecutive championship win with Renault in 2006, Fernando Alonso opted to join the McLaren team as the reigning world champion for 2007. Given his stature in the sport, Alonso demanded something very specific before he would join the Woking-based team. However, as revealed in Frank Worrall’s book, ‘Lewis Hamilton: Triple World Champion- The Biography,’ the Asturian’s demand ended up benefiting a rookie Lewis Hamilton more than Alonso.

“It was mooted the car had been specifically designed for the arrival of double champion Alonso at the start of the 2007 campaign but it would be Lewis who felt most at ease with it.”

While Alonso expected to easily blow past the rest of the grid in a car tailor-made to his needs, Hamilton’s prowess in the car was something no one expected. The two-time defending world champion faced tough competition from his teammate, who ended the season on equal points (109) with him and secured P2 in the drivers’ standings, only a point behind championship winner Kimi Raikkonen. With four race wins and a further eight podiums, Hamilton recorded one of the greatest rookie seasons in the history of F1.

 

The world took immediate note of the skill of Hamilton, and while everyone once considered Alonso to be the no. 1 man at McLaren, the 2008 season became a tale of two equally matched drivers driving for McLaren. The new dynamic even gave way to severe tension between the two drivers, glimpses of which are visible even today.

McLaren knew they had a gem in the hands and decided to invest heavily in the young Briton’s development, allegedly even taking their attention off of Alonso. The team wanted to do everything in their power to turn Hamilton into a race-winning machine and even went to the extent of availing the services of a neuroscientist to ensure Hamilton’s mentality was in line with the McLaren project.

McLaren did everything in their power to hone a champion in Lewis Hamilton

McLaren first took note of Hamilton in his karting days and quickly picked him for their driver development program. The team supported him through every phase and brought a young Briton to the big leagues by signing him as their F1 driver for the 2007 season. Overall, the team invested about $6.8 million in Hamilton’s future in F1. The investments well and truly paid off for McLaren as Hamilton historically broke onto the scene. After one of the most iconic rookie seasons, the now 38-year-old would one-up his performance from 2007 and secure the drivers’ championship in 2008.

While Hamilton continued to secure race wins and bring in valuable points for his team, a regulation change in 2009 meant McLaren was no longer strong enough to compete for the title. Till 2012, the struggles of Hamilton continued with McLaren, after which he jumped ships and joined Mercedes. While most people questioned the decision, Hamilton kept his head down and worked hard to prove them wrong. Justifying his talents, the Stevenage-born driver would go on to win six more world championships while also helping his team secure eight consecutive constructors’ championships.