Lewis Hamilton was special but unknown: Former Mechanic

Lewis Hamilton is probably the most marketable F1 drive right now and several entities chase him for endorsements but back in 2007, he was virtually an unknown driver, or so a former McLaren mechanic claims.

“I worked at McLaren when there were stories that Lewis Hamilton would be promoted. He was not yet a Formula One driver at the time and was active in GP2 [now Formula 2],” said Marc Priestly, who worked for McLaren a decade back.

It may be the norm nowadays to fast-track talented youngsters to Formula 1, with Verstappen and Stroll [though many think he is a product of his father’s money] being prime examples. But it was not usual back then.

“When we heard that he would most likely be promoted, we all thought he was not a little too young? And many people did not even know who he was,” said the former mechanic. However, the young Lewis Hamilton expelled all those doubts soon into his tenure, when he famously challenged double world champion teammate, Fernando Alonso.

“Upon arrival, it soon became clear that Lewis was a special boy. He was super young, but incredibly fast. The most extraordinary thing was that he immediately knew that he had to deal with the pressure,” added Priestly.

Lewis Hamilton did fulfill his talent in 2008, winning the title in just his second season in the top tier of motor racing but he could have created history by winning it in his first season in 2007, but blunders in the final two races prevented him from doing it.

And Priestly also highlighted those moments but ultimately remained positive about Lewis Hamilton. “Sure, a number of things did not go well, but many things did. In his second season, he was already World Champion, not many people can say that,” he said.