McLaren has been a breeding ground for talent. Names such as Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, and Alain Prost spring to mind when ruminating about the success McLaren has garnered in Formula 1. Back in 2007, a young Lewis Hamilton followed the same footsteps and declared “I’m not here for the money.”.

In an interview back in 2007, Hamilton, who made his debut with McLaren the same year, rationalized his decision to race for the team. According to Hamilton, he had always been “very passionate about driving a Formula One car.”

Hamilton was just 13 when he was offered his very first McLaren contract for their young driver programme, by then team boss Ron Dennis. 9 years later he was offered a full-time driving role, where he shined quite well.

A self-less drive by Lewis Hamilton to success

But what motivated him to sign up for McLaren?

“If (team principal) Ron (Dennis) had come up to me last year and said ‘I’ll give you the drive, but you are not going to get paid,’ any driver would have jumped at it.”

“I believe that. Sure every driver has his value and you want to be respected, and at some point you have to be paid your value. But again it’s not something that drives me.”.

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It seems not even a multi-million dollar Ferrari deal could have swayed Hamilton away from the Woking outfit, such was his passion for the sport and love for the team. At 22, money did not drive young Lewis Hamilton. It was the passion for the sport and the hunger to become a world-beater.

As a Formula 1 driver, you cannot run away from the money. Even though he did not pine for it, with his success came a lot of financial exploits for Hamilton. Currently, has a net worth of $285 million whilst churning an annual paycheck of around $42 million.

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His grit and determination at a young age to run purely behind success have led him to become one of the most recognizable sports personalities in the entire world. McLaren may not be where they were when Hamilton signed up. However, they can still pull the world’s greatest driving talents towards them.