Legendary former Formula 1 team owner Peter Sauber has revealed that he narrowly missed out on a chance to sign Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of his career.
The Swiss saw the longstanding team that bore his name bow out of F1 in Abu Dhabi in December, and is now transitioning into the works Audi team for the 2026 season and beyond.
Sauber was known for giving a plethora of young drivers their big break in F1, including Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Nick Heidfeld, Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica.
The team also had a Michael Schumacher on its roster, the German driving for its Mercedes-backed sportscar squad prior to his F1 bow.
But Sauber has dropped a bombshell that Hamilton was close to actually making his debut with his team, rather than McLaren, in 2007, but failed to reach an agreement.
“Hardly anyone knows that, around 20 years ago, Lewis Hamilton almost drove for us,” the 82-year-old told German publication Blick.
“The Brit belonged to McLaren and they wanted to send him to Hinwil for Formula 1 training.
“So the McLaren delegation met with Lewis and his father, as well as our in-house lawyer Monisha Kaltenborn and myself, at Kloten Airport.
“The deal fell through because McLaren only wanted to loan him for one year – but we insisted on two years!”
Hamilton was of course brought through the ranks at McLaren instead, stunning everyone with four victories and narrowly missing out on the title in his maiden year, taking the first of his seven a year later.
Sauber, then under ownership of BMW, saw its drivers in 2007, Heidfeld and Kubica, finish fifth and sixth in the standings.
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