Lewis Hamilton has revealed the exact moment he was told he was going to be making his Formula 1 debut for McLaren.
Hamilton is arguably the greatest driver to ever grace the storied rostrum of F1.
The seven-time World Champion is statistically the most winningest driver the sport has seen with a staggering 105 wins to date.
Looking back to when it all started, the Ferrari driver revealed the exact moment when then-McLaren boss Ron Dennis told him he was going to get promoted to F1.
Hamilton was a McLaren junior driver since he was 13, and winning his GP2 (now F2) title in his rookie season in 2006 was what convinced Dennis to “give you a chance” for his F1 debut in 2007.
“My moment was Monza 2006, I’d just won the GP2 championship,” he recollected.
“It’s on the grid, Kimi [Raikkonen] was on pole and I had the privilege of going onto the grid, and I was standing in front of Kimi’s car.
“Ron put his arm around me and he told me, looking up to Turn 1, he says, “I’m going to give you a chance.”
“That was the moment. In the moment, I couldn’t quite believe it and I didn’t know if he was like, “I’m going to give you a chance”… I didn’t know what it was going to be a chance at, if it was really… That’s what I was thinking when I left. But obviously that was the moment that he had decided that he was going to give me a chance for 2007.”
Lewis Hamilton reflects on winning his maiden title
Hamilton went on to win his maiden F1 title for the Woking-based team the following year in 2008.
He then went on to sign for Mercedes in 2013 – winning six drivers’ titles and helping the Silver Arrows to eight-consecutive constructors’ titles.
Last season, his sensational move to Ferrari led to disappointment.
But with the 2026 regulations finally suiting his driving style, Hamilton has already scored two podiums for the Maranello-based team, and would be keen to get that first Ferrari F1 win under his belt.
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