The 2007 Canadian GP: Where the world took notice of Lewis Hamilton

Regarded today as arguably one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 (F1) history, Lewis Hamilton has indeed come a long way since his first Grand Prix win 14 years ago. In the 2021 season, the British driver is racing to win a record-breaking eighth F1 championship title, which might as well establish him as the greatest F1 driver of all time. Of course, the journey has not been easy and the Brit has had to overcome several obstacles over the years. His perseverance and skill stand testament to why he has been so overwhelmingly dominant in the past decade in the sport. He might currently be behind Max Verstappen in the driver’s championship table this season, but knowing Hamilton, he is almost certain to take the top spot.

THE WORLD TAKES NOTICE

Rewinding the clock as far back as 2007, Hamilton was a 22-year-old driver making inroads into the F1 community. Still relatively unknown, the Brit made his presence felt across the racing community when he shocked the world in Montreal. At the time, Hamilton was a driver for McLaren-Mercedes, and his teammate was none other than the great Fernando Alonso. Alonso was riding high on confidence on the back of two championship victories and looked to get his third. Many would have perhaps seen Hamilton as Alonso’s apprentice or sidekick of sorts.

However, since the beginning of that season, the Brit started to put in awe-inspiring performances, race in race out and was quickly becoming a rather skilled driver to deal with for his opponents, including Alonso. Hamilton was already being considered an exciting prospect by the time the Canadian GP came around. What was incredible is that he had already finished ahead of his teammate and defending champion Fernando Alonso twice. Fans were certainly rooting for Hamilton but nobody quite expected him to win a race just yet.

QUALIFYING MASTERCLASS

A common trend amongst casual and irregular F1 watchers is that they do not pay much heed to the results of the qualifying race. It is often treated as a practice rather than a crucial event to this day. However, those who knew the importance of a qualifying race could have probably guessed that Hamilton was going to be the next big thing.

The British driver took pole position for the first time in his still-nascent career at the Candian GP qualifying, which meant that he would be at the top of the grid at the main race. It was not like Hamilton had too difficult a time defending his position throughout the race. It was not exactly a dominating victory either, but it was fairly comfortable.

Hamilton’s Q3 time of 1:15.707 was almost half a second faster than teammate and title favorite Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard might have been a bit upset over finishing behind someone who was supposed to be his number 2, but he did not really let that be known to the public. It could also be true that Alonso was genuinely happy for his teammate grabbing pole position.

However, that was qualifying. The main race is a whole different ball game. Drivers do congratulate each other after the race but when they are behind the wheel, the only objective is finishing amongst the top three of the pack. For someone as skilled as Alonso, anything apart from first place would have probably satisfied him.

THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

That Sunday afternoon, June 11, 2007, the world witnessed history. What it also witnessed was one of the most incident-laden F1 races in recent history. As the race began, it was certain that Alonso would go for overtaking his teammate and take the first position early. He did exactly that, however, Hamilton had him scouted. Alonso tried to overtake Hamilton at the first turn and ran wide. This allowed BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld to sneak through and damage the defending champion’s car in the process. As it would turn out, it would be a fatal mistake on part of the Spaniard.

Hamilton did not have that much trouble keeping the BMW at bay, but it would be important to note some of the more significant events that occurred throughout the race. Spyker’s Adrian Sutil had already crashed and a safety car was deployed to remove the vehicle. It was at this time that Heidfeld’s partner, Robert Kubica, made contact with Jarno Trulli’s Toyota on the run down to the hairpin on Lap 26. The BMW, as a result, was flung into a concrete wall and rolled several; times across the track.

A DOMINATING VICTORY

The race was halted, and after a further seven laps under the safety car, it was restarted. By this time, not only was Hamilton comfortably leading, he was moving further away from the rest of the pack. People might have expected the Brit to win but very few expected him to do it with a large margin. The initial damage to Alonso’s car came back to haunt the Spaniard as he could only manage a seventh-place finish.

In the end, Lewis Hamilton finished the race in the first position, a whopping four seconds ahead of second-placed Heidfeld. Alexander Wurz finished in third place, earning the first podium finish of his career.

The Canadian GP could definitely be considered as the initial launching pad for Hamilton to the masterful racer that he is today. Actually, the 2007 season turned out to be quite a one to remember for the Brit. He finished in second place in the driver’s championship table, behind only Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. He was only one point behind the Finnish, and level on points with the former world champion, and teammate Fernando Alonso.