Lewis Hamilton's Best And Worst Moments In Formula 1

Recently, Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 30th birthday, so to mark the occasion, here is a look back at his Formula 1 career so far

Jack Leslie

07 Jan 2015

Lewis Hamilton's Best And Worst Moments In Formula 1

Recently-crowned 2014 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton turned 30 yesterday. To celebrate his birthday, here are his best and worst moments in F1:

Hamilton moved up to F1 with McLaren in 2007 after winning the GP2 title - he had been on the team’s driver development programme since 1998. A brave opening lap during his first race in Australia saw him move from fifth to third, and he surprised many by maintaining that position to become only the 13th F1 driver to score a podium on their debut.

It took him just six races to take his maiden F1 victory, after dominating the disrupted 2007 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

It was such a promising debut season, with four victories and eight further podiums. However, it didn’t end so well. McLaren were excluded from the constructors’ championship earlier in the year due to ‘spygate’ - the team was found to have been in possession of technical information from Ferrari - and tensions were high after a fall-out with Fernando Alonso.

At the penultimate race in China, McLaren kept Hamilton out too long and when he arrived at the pit entry on worn tyres he slid into the gravel trap and out of the race, losing a potential win.

The finale took place in Brazil. On the ninth lap Hamilton slowed after a gearbox issue, but got going again. He lost a considerable amount of time and could only recover to seventh, missing out on the title by one point. He finished tied on points with his team-mate Alonso, with Kimi Raikkonen taking the championship crown.

2008 started strongly with wins in Australia and Monaco. However, undoubtedly one of his biggest mistakes took place one year on from his first F1 victory in Canada. Exiting the pit lane, a clear lapse of concentration - he failed to see Raikkonen waiting for the green light - caused him to crash into the Finn, forcing both to retire. Oops.

Hamilton was involved in a close fight with Ferrari driver Felipe Massa for the 2008 title. However, at the Belgian Grand Prix it was his team-mate Raikkonen who was battling the Englishman to finish first. We witnessed an epic scrap in the final few laps, with Hamilton eventually winning after Raikkonen crashed out. However, he was later penalised for gaining an advantage during the fight and the victory was handed to Massa.

Who can forget the final lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix? Hamilton passed the struggling Timo Glock in the final sector to move up to fifth place and take his first F1 title. You can’t get more last-minute than that.

A tough year

McLaren’s 2009 car was a complete disaster at the start of the season. Hamilton was disqualified in Australia after he was found to have given “misleading evidence” to stewards during an investigation about whether Jarno Trulli had overtaken him for third under during the late safety car period.

After some tough races and minor points finishes, major upgrades turned McLaren’s fortunes around. He won in Hungary and Singapore, scoring a few more podiums to finish fifth in the standings.

2010 was more successful than the previous season, but it was another mixed campaign. He was joined at McLaren by Jenson Button, and the two drivers were involved in some great battles - such as in Turkey, after the Red Bulls came together. He won in Canada, Turkey and Belgium, but was involved in a few controversies (such as weaving in Malaysia and passing the safety car in Valencia, as well as collisions in Italy and Singapore).

2011 was a tough year, and Hamilton admitted that he had lost his positive bubble. He won three times, but was best-known throughout the season for his collisions and more negative attitude - such as his “maybe it’s because I’m black” response to a penalty given to him by the stewards in Monaco.

Flying the nest

2012 yielded four wins, and proved to be Hamilton’s final season at McLaren. He announced after the Singapore Grand Prix that he would be leaving the team for Mercedes, which many said at the time was a big mistake. He certainly proved the doubters wrong…

Hamilton quickly settled into life at Mercedes. It was a decent but far from stand-out first year at the team, winning one race and scoring four further podiums. However, the move was made with 2014’s regulation changes in mind.

He did suffer a bit of brain fade in Malaysia, hilariously pitting in the McLaren box, before moving on to his awaiting Mercedes mechanics. Awkward.

Hamilton and his team-mate Nico Rosberg dominated 2014. The Mercedes W05 was by far the best car, and the team’s two drivers were involved in some great battles - including a close fight for the lead in Bahrain.