Before making his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2007, Lewis Hamilton went through extensive training at the Woking-based outfit. Hamilton achieved the vast majority of his milestones after joining Mercedes in 2013. However, six years before joining the Silver Arrows, he credited McLaren for making him the driver he became.
With seven world championship titles, 103 race wins and 104 pole positions, Lewis Hamilton has etched his name in the F1 history books as arguably the greatest driver of all time. He has been one of the most impressive drivers on the grid, since joining the sport.
Up until last year, Hamilton had the record of winning a race in every single F1 season that he participated in. Sadly, that streak broke in 2022, when Mercedes took a hit in their performance because of the regulation changes. Still, at the age of 38, Hamilton remains one of the most complete drivers on the grid.
Lewis Hamilton made full use of McLaren’s training program
Lewis Hamilton was picked up by the McLaren Driver Development Program during his karting days. The team backed him all the way and gave him the opportunity to showcase his skills in F1 in 2007. Overall, they invested $6,800,000 in Hamilton’s future. As per a Hamilton biography by Frank Worrall, before the British Grand Prix in 2007, Hamilton admitted that he would not have gotten where he was without the help of McLaren’s training program.
Hamilton said, “I don’t think you get to this position without working hard, as they’ve said. I was given an opportunity, I remember Ron [Dennis] said, ‘You have the opportunity. But I want you to be the fittest guy out there.”
Hamilton made his mark on the sport in his debut year itself, as he missed out on the World Championship by just a single point. He made up for it the very next year by winning his first World Championship title with McLaren. However, a slump in performance from McLaren’s side forced him to switch allegiances. He signed with Mercedes in 2013 and only added to his legacy with the Brackley-based outfit.
Hamilton’s rise to the top of F1
Hamilton stayed with McLaren for five years, but it took him only two to win the championship. Things went off to a similar start for him in Mercedes, with him winning the title in 2014, a year after he moved to the German team.
From there on, Hamilton went on to win give more world championships, equaling the record of Michael Schumacher. This truly helped him establish himself as one of the greatest of all time. However, as Hamilton agreed in his younger days, things could have gone very differently had McLaren not believed in him.
