Memorable F1 moments: Lewis Hamilton scores his first Formula 1 victory in the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton’s first Formula 1 victory is another in a series of the most memorable moments the queen of motorsport has to offer in its rich history. The British driver did it in Canada, and as we all know by now, he didn’t just stop there.

The 2007 season was the first ever in Formula One for the then-young Hamilton. The British driver had just signed a rookie contract with McLaren for 2007, having dominated the GP2 category (today’s F2 – ed.) the year before.

The McLaren-Mercedes team had a very strong driver pairing at the time. On the one hand, the two-time world champion from 2005 and 2006 Fernando Alonso, on the other, the predatory Hamilton, today the holder of seven championship titles.

After just a few races it was clear that for Hamilton it was appropriate to ask not if, but when he would win his first career race.

Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco – in these five races Hamilton has finished on the podium every time. Except for the opening race in Australia, it’s been second place every time.

And then came the sixth race of the season – the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton started this race from pole position and after a sequence of corners, he still held the lead. And then for much of the race.

He kept a cool head and a steady performance during the race itself. And thanks to that, he was able to celebrate his first career victory on 10 June 2007. He finally finished on the top step of the podium ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Alexander Wurz (Williams).

He repeated his feat at the following US Grand Prix and then twice more during the season – at the Hungaroring in Hungary and Suzuka in Japan. Hamilton thus achieved four victories and twelve podiums in 2007.

109 points and second place in the drivers’ championship, one point behind world champion Kimi Räikkönen – a truly impressive feat for an F1 rookie.

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