Lewis Hamilton Recalls McLaren Contract Disaster That Almost Derailed His Rise

Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton opened up about a challenging period in his junior racing career that threatened to derail his path to Formula 1. He also mentioned his current team principal, Fred Vasseur, who played a key role in his early racing days.

Ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Hamilton recalled a particularly stressful period of his junior career when he competed in Formula 3 in 2005 for the McLaren-backed ASM Formule 3 team, which was headed by Vasseur. The seven-time world champion was eager to progress toward F1 and regularly contacted Martin Whitmarsh, then a senior McLaren figure, asking when he would get a chance to drive an F1 car.

That year was particularly difficult because Hamilton, who was 20 at the time, lost his McLaren contract while trying to move into the newly launched GP2 series. He described that as one of the most challenging periods of his life. However, he returned to F3, won his next races and ultimately regained McLaren’s backing. Speaking about the episode, he said:

“I worked with Fred (Vasseur) in Formula 3, 2005 I think it was. It was an interesting period of time for me in my life. I was obviously, as every young kid, in a rush to get to Formula 1, hoping that I could potentially get there and never know when that chance would come.

“I would call Martin Whitmarsh (then part of McLaren) every week asking him when I could get in the car. In 2005 when GP2 came out, I was pushing to go because I thought there was an opportunity to win it in the first season, being that it was a new class and we actually came out of a contract which was kind of crazy. I lost my deal with McLaren at that time which was one of the most challenging periods of my life. I managed to get to the next races in Formula 3 and then won them and got my contract back.”

Hamilton then moved to ART Grand Prix for the 2006 GP2 season, a team co-founded and run by Vasseur. This became the breakthrough season he was looking for. He won the GP2 championship in his first season in the series, putting himself firmly on McLaren’s radar for an F1 seat.

This is why Hamilton specifically remembers his first test with Vasseur at Jerez in 2006. He knew Vasseur’s assessment of his performance would be passed on to Ron Dennis, McLaren’s team principal. The young driver was being evaluated as a potential future McLaren F1 driver.

He also recalled standing alongside Ron Dennis on the F1 grid at Monza, in front of Kimi Räikkönen’s car. By then, his GP2 success had put him on the verge of an F1 breakthrough, and Hamilton described the moment as a turning point in his life. Hamilton added:

“Then in 2006 I had that year which was mega. I remember the first test with Fred in Jerez. Coming back in and seeing his reaction was obviously really positive. I knew that everything he saw would go back to Ron (Dennis). I don’t really remember much of the season, obviously Silverstone was mega. Turkey was a special race to come back from that spin. I think then just standing with Ron, I would just always remember standing with Ron in Monza on the grid in front of Kimi’s (Raikkonen) car. That was kind of the moment my life really changed.”

Hamilton then pointed out that he has yet to win an F1 race at Zandvoort, although he did dominate the 2005 Masters of Formula 3 at the circuit, taking pole, setting the fastest lap and claiming victory for ASM Formule 3. It remains to be seen whether he can finally come full circle and win at Zandvoort in F1 this weekend. Speaking about his desire to win at the circuit, he said:

“Definitely, because I don’t think I’ve won here as far as I’m aware. I’ve won at pretty much all the other tracks, but I don’t remember if I’ve won here before. I definitely want to change that. [I am] massively driven, it’s just such an incredible circuit. Great crowd, obviously. Very special, particularly for Max (Verstappen) as he comes here and has the incredible support through the weekend. They really create the atmosphere. It’s a track I’ve yet to really truly conquer, I’d say, in Formula 1. It’s definitely something I want to try and do this weekend.”