An ex-McLaren mechanic revealed how engineers fought among themselves to refrain from helping Lewis Hamilton with his car in 2007.
Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007, partnering up with reigning and two time World Champion Fernando Alonso. While many expected the rookie to struggle behind his already legendary teammate, Hamilton took hold of the challenge firmly.
Not many go into their debut season expecting to compete for the Title. Hamilton however, came agonizingly close to winning it, losing by just one point to eventual Champion Kimi Raikkonen. He finished P2, just a point behind the Finn.
The 2007 season however, was marred by controversy within the McLaren team. An ex-mechanic of the team, recently revealed that the team never gave Hamilton much chance at the beginning. In fact, the engineers argued among themselves because they all wanted to work with Alonso.
This revelation didn’t sit right with many F1 fans, in particular Hamilton’s. It’s an open indicator of the bias that exists within the sport and more often than not, within a team.
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Hamilton entered F1 as one of the most promising talents in the sport. Since then, he’s gone on to smash all records. Today, he has the most number of pole positions, fastest laps and race wins. With seven World Titles to his name, he’s tied as the driver with the most alongside the legendary Michael Schumacher.
However, he faced a lot of discrimination from his McLaren team members if we are to believe the mechanic who revealed this. Some have tied this down to racism, with Hamilton being the only black driver on the grid.
Others however, feel that this is simply down to the fact that Alonso was a two-time reining Champion, who earned everyone’s confidence and trust on track.
In spite of his troubled first year in Surrey, Hamilton went on to win the Drivers’ Championship in 2008. Alonso meanwhile, left McLaren after 2007 rejoining Renault.
