As a young motorsport enthusiast, Lewis Hamilton always wanted to get to Formula 1. When the future seven-time world champion first met the then McLaren boss Ron Dennis, he even boasted about his karting successes, however, he never believed that he would actually attain success.
In a feature for WSI Style, Hamilton explained,
“I’ve always wanted to be a driver, I’ve always dreamed of being like Ayrton Senna, I’ve always believed I could be like him. But I never thought I could become a superstar. I never thought about all the consequences that could arise from this professional choice of mine. Today I am grateful to have gotten to where I am.”
Back when Hamilton had just one a national karting championship, he was invited to an awards show that graced the likes of Dennis. On the pretext of getting his autograph and number, Hamilton bragged about his exploits and even told him he would be driving a McLaren F1 car in the future.
Ron Dennis was more than gracious and asked the Briton to give him a call in 9 years. With that, Dennis started mentoring the young boy from Stevenage.
Apart from Dennis, Hamilton also idolized McLaren champion, Ayrton Senna. He always wanted to be like the Brazilian legend, on and off the track. And the Briton’s obsession with motorsport started at a very young age; when he was just one year old.
Lewis Hamilton was born to be a racing driver
Hamilton’s mother tried her best to keep her son away from the toy cars. But she failed, and a testament to this is the fact that his favorite childhood memory was to own his first racing overalls with his name stitched on them by his father, Anthony’s partner.
Hamilton narrated,
“I received my first driving suit at Christmas, when I was seven years old. The helmet was too small, but I remember that my father’s partner sewed my name on the suit and this made us all very proud.”
The Briton revealed that he was quite a nostalgic person and has retained and kept all such items. However, according to him, the piece of paper where Ron Dennis wrote that famous ‘call me in nine years’, is his most prized possession.
In time, Ron Dennis would play an instrumental role in getting Hamilton into F1. What’s more, he went above and beyond to shape Hamilton’s career that also culminated in Hamilton winning his maiden title with McLaren in 2008.
