Hamilton Didn’t Feel Supported at McLaren in 2007

Lewis Hamilton has reopened an old wound. The Briton recalled his first season in Formula 1 alongside Fernando Alonso at McLaren and confessed that he did not feel the necessary support to compete on equal terms with the two-time Spanish world champion.

"I didn't feel I had the right support at McLaren in 2007, the team was nice, but they didn't allow me to stay stable, it was quite intense," declared the seven-time champion after the Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton's reflection came after seeing how Toto Wolff allowed Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to fight for the win on track without any kind of message dictating what actions to take other than not crashing into each other, a freedom that the Briton claims he did not have in his pre-Mercedes stage.

"I came to Formula 1 and being a rookie against a world champion was tough, you know, Fernando was very talented and very fast, but I'm very competitive, so instead of thinking 'I'm a rookie, I have to settle for finishing second', I could never accept that," Hamilton stated.

The driver explained that he always felt he had to make an extra effort to beat his teammate, especially when it came to fuel strategies: "I remember that in the first five races, naturally, on the fuel issue they always gave Fernando a lighter load, separating the cars by two laps, so I always felt I had to work twice as hard, or more, because Fernando was very fast, I always had to be at least a tenth faster than him, or even more, a tenth and a bit, to be ahead" concluded the Briton.

Despite the difficulties, Hamilton has fond memories of Ron Dennis, the McLaren boss who bet on him when he was still an unknown: "My moment was Monza 2006, I had just won the GP2 championship, I was on the grid, Kimi had taken pole and I had the privilege of being there, in front of his car, then Ron Dennis put his arm around me and said, looking towards turn 1: 'I'm going to give you a chance," the driver recalled with emotion.

The rivalry between Hamilton and Alonso in 2007 was one of the most intense in recent Formula 1 history. Both arrived at the last race with title hopes, but ultimately it was Kimi Räikkönen who was crowned champion; the Spaniard had won two world titles with Renault, and the Briton was a rookie who had dominated the junior categories. The mix was explosive.