Lewis Hamilton had already made headlines in the midst of the 2006 season when he signed a contract with McLaren for the upcoming campaign. Since the team from Woking believed they had signed someone very special, they decided to provide Hamilton with a $22 million worth simulator to train six months ahead of his debut. McLaren did so to ensure that the young Briton received everything he needed to shine as a rookie in 2007.
And Hamilton did not disappoint. He produced arguably the best rookie season in F1 history as he finished second in the championship. In his biography, Lewis Hamilton: Triple World Champion – The Biography, it is explained how big of a gamble McLaren CEO Ron Dennis took at the time to sign him.
“After nine years, Big Ron decided the time was right for Lewis to come out to play with the big boys. On Saturday 30 September 2006, just before the Chinese Grand Prix, he (Hamilton) was invited to his house“, read an excerpt of the biography.
The biography then also mentioned Hamilton’s reaction, who felt “overwhelmed“. While Hamilton may have had his nerves when presented in front of the media, he did not seem to show any when he got behind the wheel of the car.
The young Briton was outstanding right from the start. He clinched nine consecutive podiums to kickstart his F1 career, a run that also included two victories.
With a total of four wins and 109 points in total by the end, he finished level on points with his double-world champion teammate Fernando Alonso. Moreover, Hamilton finished just a point behind eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen. However, Hamilton’s rise didn’t seem to sit well with the Spaniard as the two seemingly had a toxic rivalry.
What led to the tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso?
The obvious reason for the tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were that both were in the hunt for the title in the 2007 season. Moreover, what made life more difficult for the Spaniard was that he was up against a driver, who was impressing in just his rookie season.
As a result, Alonso felt the pressure at McLaren and wanted to ensure that he was still the number one driver in the team. Since Hamilton did not back down from a fight with Alonso despite the team on multiple occasions instructing him to stay put, it infuriated the double-world champion.
#OnThisDay in 2006 McLaren announced Lewis Hamilton as a 2007 #F1 driver. “Lewis is going to find it tough in the first few races,” said Ron Dennis. “This will be a challenge & I know there’ll be a lot of attention on me,” said Hamilton. I think you came through OK, champ. pic.twitter.com/9sp99vZSAr
— Matt Bishop ️ (@TheBishF1) November 24, 2023
Alonso on multiple occasions brought it to McLaren’s notice that Hamilton was not adhering to team orders, and as a result, he had no choice but to disobey them as well. McLaren’s race engineer Steve Hallam gave an interview to motorsportmagazine.com earlier this year where he explained one such moment of tension between the two.
During the 2007 Monaco GP, Hallam had instructed Alonso to turn his engine down when he was leading the race. Hallam had told Alonso that Hamilton, who was in second at the time, had been instructed to do the same. So, Alonso obliged but Hamilton refused to do so, leaving the former furious.
Hallam then recalled Alonso’s reaction by stating, “Fernando said to me ‘I’ll turn mine down when he turns his down.’ Ron then told Lewis’s team to reduce his power, and I think he then actually got on the radio himself“.
McLaren ultimately decided to part ways with Fernando Alonso
Since it seemed clear that having Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton as teammates was going to be difficult to manage, Mclaren decided to part ways with the former. Alonso left the team on mutual terms and returned to Renault, the team with whom he won his two titles.
Since Hamilton was now the number one driver at McLaren, he achieved success instantly. The Briton won his maiden championship in 2008 by beating Felipe Massa by just one point.
Once Hamilton hit the ground running, he never looked back. While he failed to win any more titles with McLaren, he has seemed unstoppable ever since he moved to Mercedes in 2013.
In his very second season, the Briton won his second title before going on to add another five to his tally. Hamilton now hopes to win a record eighth that will see him pass the legendary Michael Schumacher for the most number of championships in F1 history.
