In 2007 a rookie named Lewis Hamilton was making a name for himself. The 22-year-old was beating his teammate and reigning F1 Champion Fernando Alonso by a margin and had stepped on the podium for 9 straight races.
Being the only black driver to race in the sport, Lewis Hamilton had a lot of attention over him. And in such cases, even minor incidents can be stirred into a huge controversial row.
Hamilton got to know it up close in the 2007 European GP, only his 10th race in F1. The youngster would become the target of an illegal manoeuvre and would face his first major controversy.
What happened in the 2007 European GP?
The 2007 European GP held at Nürburgring, will be forever remembered for being an iconic disaster averted by F1. Lewis Hamilton was heading into the 10th round of the Championship by mere 2 points.
The race started in dry conditions, but rains were expected. And by the end of 1st lap, the heavens opened and the racetrack became a skating rink.
A number of cars went into the gravel outside of Turn 1 including Hamilton, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Adrian Sutil and Scott Speed. However, Hamilton managed to keep his engine running after his spin and was hoisted back on the circuit to continue.
The Briton was a lap down. But seeing the conditions worsen, the then race director Charlie Whiting red-flagged the race citing dangerous conditions to continue.
22 July 2007: European GP at the Nürburgring. Markus Winkelhock leads his first (and only) GP… in a Spyker, a rainstorm hits, Alonso wins and Walker is back on commentary. What a crazy race! #F1 pic.twitter.com/KoT4BuVEvd
— Paul McGinnes 🏁 (@PaulMcG92) July 22, 2021
Racing resumed after an hour and a half of delay. Eventually, Fernando Alonso claimed the race win, moving ahead of his teammate in the championship leaderboard.
Lewis Hamilton finished P9, and outside points for the first time in the season. But the race was far from finished as the legality of his race came into question sparking a major uproar.
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What was Lewis Hamilton allowed to renter the race?
Lewis Hamilton came under the spotlight after the legality of his finish came under question. The Brion was allowed to resume due to the external assistance of a crane that allowed him to rejoin the race.
According to Article 30.7 of the sporting regulations, “No one except the driver may touch a stopped car unless it is in the paddock, the team’s designated garage area, the pit lane or on the starting grid.”
As impressive as Hamilton’s gravel escape was, it has nothing on the 2007 European GP.
Beached in the gravel along with several others, he kept the engine running, got his car lifted out with a crane(!) and then carried on like a boss. pic.twitter.com/r6PYPv1Ie3— F1-analysis (@formula1stat) April 20, 2021
But the FIA ruled that Hamilton’s entry was legal. The explanation given was that Hamilton was beached in a vulnerable place. Due to the rain, 6 cars spun and went into the gravel in the same spot where Hamilton went off. This was a severe safety risk.
But unlike the others, Hamilton managed to keep his engine running. Hence the marshals decided to realign the $14 Million Mclaren and allowed the car to reenter the race from the back. The FIA has however clarified that such incidents will not be repeated in the future.
In a title race, a matter of a few points could decide the title. Something which would play in the coming few months as Lewis and Fernando would lose the title to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by a mere point.
