15 Years of Lewis Hamilton! How a McLaren Rookie Grew Into Becoming the Most Successful F1 Driver of All Time

It was March 18 of 2007 when Formula One witnessed a young British driver making his way into what is undeniably one of the greatest racing outfits. Many wondered why would McLaren make such a move for a mere rookie when there were a lot of other experienced drivers in the market? But, little did they know that the 22-year-old was going to create a history that will live for decades to come – Today marks 15 years of Sir Lewis Hamilton in F1!

The rise of Lewis Hamilton

The Briton made his Formula One debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, where he managed to shine with a P4 in qualifying followed by a podium in the main race. He then went on to set multiple records but failed to secure his first championship title as Kimi Raikkonen managed to leap the McLaren pair by 1 point.

However, that did not stop Hamilton from resetting himself and going after the title from square one again in 2008. Only this time, he managed to accomplish the task! And in doing so, he also became the youngest world champion of all-time at the age of 23 years and 300 days(later broken by Sebastian Vettel in 2010).

A quiet phase followed the breathtaking couple of years at McLaren. Not many chances to win the title amidst the dominance of Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing. But, only four years later, Hamilton made the gamble of his life. Who would move from a historic team like McLaren to a then mid-field team like Mercedes AMG? Hamilton did, and the end result could have gone either way.

However, to his luck, Mercedes managed to build the most dominant car on the grid in 2014, the dawn of the hybrid era.

Watch This Story: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020

Greatest record-breaking champion F1 has ever witnessed?

Hamilton now has a total of 288 race starts in F1, out of which he has managed to secure podiums in over half of them; 182 podiums to be precise. But that’s not even the best part!

Hamilton is the only driver in F1 to clinch over 100 race victories. As of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, the number stands at 103. The Briton also has 103 pole positions to his name, with most of them arriving post-Mercedes move.

Now, as we await the start of what will be his 16th season in F1, can the seven-time world champion clinch a record-breaking eighth title?

Read More: Lewis Hamilton’s Net Worth: Is he a billionaire?