‘It will be a dream to go to the McLaren second team’: Lewis Hamilton predicts McLaren stint in 2007 while being compared to Nico Rosberg

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton discusses his potential move to McLaren after winning the Nurburgring in 2006

Lewis Hamilton had a great introduction to the world of F1. In his debut season he finished second in the Drivers’ Championship just one point behind Kimi Raikkonen.

In the 2006 GP2 series season, Hamilton faced Nelson Piquet Jr and Timo Glock who would also join the Briton in their dream Formula 1 careers.

As they say, the rest is history. Lewis Hamilton has currently won seven world championships during his F1 career. However, let’s go back to an interview where he predicted joining a lower-tier team instead of McLaren in 2006.

The Drive that impressed McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh

Lewis Hamilton drove a memorable race at the Nürburgring. He took his first GP2 series win after also overcoming a driving penalty.

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Martin Whitmarsh, who worked for McLaren at the time, described the Briton’s driving as truly stunning. The current CEO of Aston Martin Technologies was amazed by Hamilton’s performance.

Rumors placed the then-rookie Hamilton as McLaren’s new number 2 driver. Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya left McLaren for his NASCAR trip and Kimi Raikkonen joined Ferrari.

✨ @LewisHamilton at the Nurburgring…

2006: First victory in GP2
2020: Could tie the record for most #F1 won#EifelGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/uds27RUew5

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 11, 2020

Lewis Hamilton in Spyker Ferrari or Super Aguri Honda?

Speaking to the media after the race, Hamilton described the victory as a “fantastic achievement”. He recognized the team’s efforts by winning both Nurburgring Grand Prix.

The Stevenage lad was speculated to be ahead of Pedro De La Rosa and Gary Paffett for the seat at McLaren. Despite the strong showing, Hamilton always predicted he wouldn’t go straight to McLaren. Explaining this, he said: “I don’t expect to jump straight into McLaren. I would have thought that I would go to a lower team.

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Asked about his association with McLaren and his plan regarding F1, Hamilton intelligently replied: “At the moment my plan is to focus on GP2 racing. McLaren have given me fantastic support over the years, I hope that will continue.

The interviewer mentioned Hamilton’s friend Nico Rosberg at the end of the interview. “The last man to win the GP2 double was Nico Rosberg. We all know the kind of progress he is making now,” the interviewer concluded.

#Today in 2006, @McLarenF1 announced that they would place a recruit @LewisHamilton in their car for the 2007 season.

The rest is history. pic.twitter.com/c3vQkDOw2a

— WTF1 (@wtf1official) November 24, 2020