Lewis Hamilton achieved his first Formula 1 victory on June 10, 2007, during his rookie season at the Canadian Grand Prix. F1 journalist David Tremayne witnessed the momentous occasion, noting that despite Hamilton’s sensational first corner in Melbourne and six podium finishes in his first six races, the circumstances of his first victory were harrowing for those close to him, especially his father Anthony who had worried about the start. Hamilton’s teammate Fernando Alonso was also forced to work hard to keep up with the competition. Ultimately, Hamilton built a comfortable lead of nearly 20 seconds and went on to win, with Alonso finishing in third place. The victory marked the beginning of Hamilton’s long and successful career in Formula 1.
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Saturday June 10, 2007, exactly 16 years ago, was the day Lewis Hamilton entered the Formula 1 winner’s circle for the first time, at the Canadian Grand Prix in his rookie season. F1 Hall of Fame journalist David Tremayne was there to see it happen…
It was never rocket science to predict that Lewis Hamilton would win a Grand Prix, not after that sensational first corner in Melbourne on his debut in 2007 when the first person he passed in F1 was his teammate Fernando Alonso… Not after six podiums in his first six races and, back in Canada, his first pole position.
But the circumstances of the first of what turned out to be so many Formula 1 victories could hardly have been more harrowing for those close to him, especially his spectator father Anthony…
He had worried about the start as he was momentarily delayed and Alonso drove a good race, both of whom were forced to work hard to hold off a fast starting Nick Heidfeld in a very competitive BMW Sauber.
Fernando then went flying on the outside, but just when Lewis thought he would lose the lead, Fernando went straight into the corner, cutting in front of him at the start before being passed. It was the Spaniard’s first mistake and it set a trend for the rest of an embarrassing afternoon as it dropped him to third place.
Soon, Lewis built a comfortable lead of nearly 20 seconds as his first pit stop approached on lap 22.
As Fernando proved unable to overtake Nick, I initially assumed he must have some brake issues after he went wide again at turn one on lap 15 and fell behind the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella, then repeated that on the lap 19, staying behind Felipe. Massa’s Ferrari. But the brakes were fine; I was just pushing too hard.
Another disaster befell him on lap 23, after Adrian Sutil parked his Spyker into the wall at the back of the circuit. Both Fernando and Williams’ Nico Rosberg were forced to pit for fuel when the safety car was deployed as the stewards cleared debris from Sutil, and both would be penalized 10 seconds for pitting while pit lane was still open. officially closed.
WATCH: 5 dramatic Canadian Grand Prix moments from the F1 archive
Up front, Lewis had retaken the lead from Felipe during his own (legal) pit stop, but as soon as the track turned green again at the end of lap 26, Robert Kubica had his fearsome left-hand corner accident. . -hander on the approach to the hairpin after puncturing the right rear wheel of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota.
The BMW Sauber veered off the road to the right at a constant speed, around 300km/h, crashed head-on into the outside wall and then rolled down the track to the outside of the hairpin bend.
From Crash Terror to Victory: Robert Kubica’s Canadian GP Redemption
I remember the deathly silence in the press room, because he seemed like one of those really bad ones, but thankfully Robert was largely unscathed. The safety car was now left out until lap 32, and when Fernando and Nico served their penalties four laps later, they dropped to 14th and 17th respectively.
By lap 40 Lewis was looking increasingly likely to take his first win, with Nick an equally secure second. Two laps later, Fernando was back in the points with eighth on lap 42.
READ MORE: Strategic masterstrokes: How BMW Sauber sacrificed Heidfeld for Kubica’s big win
Lewis’ final pit stop went smoothly on lap 48, but shortly after Christijan rejoined Albers caused another Safety Car display after missing the rear chicane, bouncing on the grass and depositing the mangled front wing of his Spyker in the middle of the track.
Now Lewis led from Mark Webber’s Red Bull and Nick, while further back Kimi Raikkonen struggled to keep his Ferrari ahead of Fernando’s McLaren. The Spaniard overtook the Finn at their final stops, when they came out of the pits side by side on lap 53.
However, three laps later, Fernando made another mistake at Turn 1, dropping to sixth. Then came the fourth and final Safety Car period when Tonio Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso scraped Champion’s Wall on the exit of the final corner.
At the end of lap 60, Lewis set about rebuilding his lead once more, with Nick pushing hard, frankly in awe of the performance of his BMW Sauber.
In superb driving, aided when Super Aguri teammate Anthony Davidson had struggled with his supersoft Bridgestone tires and advised the team to run on soft, Takuma Sato was flying.
He passed Ralf Schumacher for seventh on lap 66 and then, to the amazement of the observers, he started behind Fernando who was struggling on the supersofts. On lap 68 the impossible happened, as a Super Aguri forced a McLaren to yield on the entry to the final corner, and Taku took sixth place.
The day, however, went to Lewis Hamilton, who delivered on all his obvious promise with sublime driving that ensured what we were already certain then would be the first of many victories. We just couldn’t tell how many…
Having taken the checkered flag, having won in such devastating style, there was a moving scene just before the podium ceremony, which showed just how fleeting fame can be. In his own way, he symbolized the air of change we could feel sweeping through the sport.
WATCH: Top 10 moments of Lewis Hamilton’s brilliance
As supporters surged into the pit lane and spectators cheered vigorously, awaiting the arrival of the new winner on the podium, Michael Schumacher stood, alone but with only one companion, on the pit wall in Ferrari, almost ignored.
The old order had changed with the retirement of the man who, for that moment at least, had become just another face in the crowd.
Lewis described his race as “pretty simple apart from the restarts” and said the Safety Cars made it “a bit boring” but while he sounded realistic about regaining the world championship lead, you could see it. almost vibrating with joy.
“This has been a fantastic day, this is history. Coming here for my first time in Canada and winning… We had already had five podium finishes, and I’ve been ready for quite some time for victory, it was just a matter of when and where.
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“During the last few laps I started counting them. I’m the type of person who likes to push to the end, but this is a tricky course, and a mistake would put you on the marbles that were offline and on the wall, so I calmed it down.
“I just tried to control myself, but I really wanted to stop the car, jump out and start flipping! It is extremely emotional to get my first pole position and my first victory. Did I also get the fastest lap?
That was the only thing Fernando took home, after his curiously less than stellar performance.
“I’m definitely on a different planet, it’s really hard to comprehend everything,” Lewis continued. “It just keeps getting better and better. When I came here this weekend, I really thought it was my time.
“Of course now my next dream is to win a championship, but we have to be realistic. I always have to keep in mind that I’m still a rookie and this is my first season.”
I remember how he spoke so seriously about “living the dream”, and was irritated when a cynical colleague criticized that comment, considering it somehow rude or insincere.
But one only had to look at the tears in Anthony Hamilton’s eyes and the pride on his face as he looked at his boy on the podium to understand that that was exactly what both Hamiltons were doing. And now, on the biggest day yet in their campaign of love, father and son were celebrating after all the heartbreak and toil that had brought them here.
“There will be some difficult moments, but what we have achieved so far is down to the team and myself, coming from a very well-established family,” Lewis said.
LOOK: Anthony Hamilton’s moving tribute to his son Lewis, as he wins the seventh world title
“I want to dedicate this success to my dad, because without him all this would not be possible. You would not believe the amount of work he has put in, coming from nothing and now seeing his family succeed must be a real treat for him.”
Truth be told, Anthony wasn’t the only tearful boy to hear all this, on a very special day when we saw the latest British F1 star take that magical first step towards the destiny that awaited him.
Lewis Hamilton’s first victory in F1
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.the-first-win-david-tremayne-remembers-the-magical-day-in-montreal-when.7LcPipB3rPKUuGSqNVYF1U.html
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