Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton reflected on his first pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton has the most pole positions of any other driver to grace the sport, with 104 to his name, but the first came during his maiden season at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
At the time, Hamilton was a 22-year-old rookie going up against two-time champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren, and his sixth race at the Canadian GP saw him convert pole position to a race victory for the first time in his career.
Article continues under video
Crucially, the British driver beat team-mate Alonso, not only in the race, but also leapfrogged ahead of the Spaniard in the drivers’ standings to take the lead.
F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton Ferrari contract extension details, Ricciardo back in pitlane
Hamilton: McLaren boss doubted me
Now, almost two decades later after his first pole position and win, Hamilton recounted that race weekend in 2007 in a sit-down interview for Ferrari’s social media.
“My first grand prix win in Canada will always be the one that sticks out,” Hamilton explained.
“Enter the season, being told that I would be half a second off Fernando. ‘Don’t be surprised if you’re 0.5 seconds off Fernando’. And then I was right with him at the beginning, but I was struggling a little bit, getting to grips with traction control.
“And Fernando would have always turned it to the maximum and I would always turn mine to the minimum, which was detrimental ultimately to pure performance. So it took awhile for me to get acclimatised, to utilising it.
“We also had, back then, fuel stops, and you could never stop both cars on the same lap. So, we had to separate them by two laps. And being the rookie, I always got the heavier fuel load. So I’d have two laps extra fuel every single time I would qualify, which, at that point, I was so certain that I could out-qualify Fernando. I just needed the opportunity and I’d fought for, it was only five races, but I had been fighting for it since the first race.
“And I got to Canada and they gave us equal fuel-load. I qualified on pole and won my first grand prix. It validated my belief in myself that I had what it takes to win. I proved my boss wrong, that I would be 0.5 seconds slower. And it proved to me you should always fight for what you believe in. That was a very important pivotal moment in my career.”
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton makes Ferrari contract announcement
Related
