The BBC is reportedly preparing a documentary about the legendary 2007 Formula 1 season. A campaign defined by an explosive internal rivalry at McLaren between rookie Lewis Hamilton and two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, the infamous ‘Spygate’ industrial espionage scandal, and a dramatic Interlagos finale that ultimately allowed Kimi Raikkonen to snatch both titles for Ferrari.
Let’s turn back the clock to two decades ago. The year is 2007. A young GP2 reigning champion rises to the ranks of Formula 1. His name is Lewis Hamilton, and his arrival on the F1 grid will shake up an established champion, Fernando Alonso. Joining the McLaren team alongside the two-time defending champion, Lewis Hamilton will race what is arguably one of the best seasons in the discipline’s history. Meanwhile, an ice-cold anti-hero was lurking in the dark and seized the opportunity to secure the crown in a dramatic title-deciding finale: Kimi Raikkonen. A tale told by the BBC in an upcoming documentary shedding light on the 61st season of Formula 1.
Tensions boiling over between Hamilton and Alonso
First, let’s rewind back to the start of the campaign. As Lewis Hamilton joined McLaren for his rookie season, Fernando Alonso had made a high-profile switch from Renault to Ron Dennis’ team, entering as the only World Champion on the grid after Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher had retired.
Though tensions had already brewed earlier in the season, namely at the Monaco Grand Prix, where the Briton was forced to lift off to allow for the Spaniard’s victory in the interest of the team, they culminated in Hungary.
Hamilton arrived at Round 11 leading the standings, with Alonso just two points behind. The first controversial incident of that weekend took place during qualifying, when Alonso prevented Hamilton from completing his final flying lap by holding him up in the pits. It was a successful sabotage, as the future star couldn’t cross the line in time to begin his final push lap. Alonso was subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix, while McLaren was rendered ineligible to score Constructors’ points for the event.
As if this weren’t enough, reports emerged claiming Alonso then threatened team principal Ron Dennis, warning he would reveal compromising evidence to the FIA regarding ‘Spygate’ if the team didn’t deliberately starve Hamilton of fuel…
Industrial espionage
This battle for supremacy and the escalating tensions inside the McLaren garage unfolded against the backdrop of an even bigger crisis involving the Woking-based outfit. Commonly known as ‘Spygate’, the infamous industrial espionage case centred around 780 pages of confidential Ferrari technical documents supplied by former Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney. Found guilty, McLaren was excluded from the Constructors’ Championship and hit with the largest fine in sporting history, $100 million, though they ultimately paid $31 million after prize-money adjustments.
Hamilton misses out on title in dramatic Brazil finale
Nevertheless, the drivers’ points were spared to preserve a thrilling title fight. Leading Alonso by 12 points and Räikkönen by 17 heading into the penultimate round in China, Lewis Hamilton was on the brink of history. However, a costly strategic misstep by McLaren kept him out on heavily worn intermediate tyres on a drying track. Sliding into the wet pit-entry gravel, the rookie beached his car, recording the very first retirement of his F1 career.
Heading into the season finale at Interlagos, the top three were separated by just seven points, with Hamilton leading teammate Alonso and Räikkönen. But at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, everything flipped. Finishing P7 after an early gearbox issue, Hamilton missed out on his first World Championship by just two positions as Kimi Raikkonen took victory.
Having entered the final round sitting third in the standings, the Ferrari driver left Brazil as World Champion. McLaren appealed to protest the legality of several rival cars, but the Finn was officially confirmed as champion in mid-November.
This marked the first time since 1986 that three drivers stood a chance of winning the title at the final race, and the first time since Giuseppe Farina in F1’s inaugural 1950 season that a driver sitting third prior to the finale went on to snatch the crown.
Hamilton’s 12-point lead coming into the final race had evaporated, leaving him short of the world title by a single point. He secured P2 in the standings, tied on 109 points with Alonso but ahead on countback due to having five second-place finishes compared to Alonso’s four.
McLaren had accumulated 218 points on track, but their Constructors’ disqualification handed Ferrari a 15th Constructors’ crown with 204 points. Crucially, it also remains the last Drivers’ World Championship won by a Ferrari driver to date.
The 2007 season also marked the final year of traction control. Moreover, it introduced another future superstar alongside Hamilton: Sebastian Vettel, who scored points on debut for BMW Sauber before replacing Scott Speed at Toro Rosso. Finally, it represented the closing chapter of the historic Concorde Agreement era between the teams and Bernie Ecclestone.
Insiders weigh in on the upcoming documentary
Though the British broadcaster has yet to officially confirm the project, former Formula 1 Spanish commentator and SoyMotor co-director Antonio Lobato revealed he was approached to participate, an offer he chose to decline.
“It’s definitely going to be told, for sure. The question is… what is going to be told? Because I know the BBC is preparing a documentary,” Lobato revealed.
“They invited me to participate, and I declined the invitation. I don’t want to get involved in those stories. I know what I lived through, I know what happened, perhaps from my point of view, which might also be a bit distorted, and when the documentary comes out, I’ll enjoy watching it,” he stated.
“I know there are other fellow journalists who were there that year who will do it, who will be there and will tell part of what happened, and we’ll see how they handle it, how it’s done, and how that story is presented and told,” Lobato concluded.
While no release date has been confirmed, any deep dive into one of the most dramatic years in Formula 1 history promises to be essential viewing.
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