Lewis Hamilton has endured some gloomy moments throughout his Formula 1 career, so F1 Oversteer has looked into his worst races including at Chinese GP and Italian GP.
Success has often followed Hamilton since he made his F1 debut driving for McLaren at the 2007 Australian GP. He is the most successful racer the pinnacle of motorsport has ever yet seen. Hamilton boasts F1’s records for the most wins, poles, podiums and joint-most titles.
But no high is possible without some lows, and Hamilton has faced many disappointing days in his Formula 1 career. So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer has taken a look at the five worst moments from Hamilton’s storied career in Formula 1 with McLaren and Mercedes to date…
Lewis Hamilton’s rookie blunder at the 2007 Chinese GP denied him the title
Hamilton might have been a rookie in 2007 but driving for McLaren put the Stevenage-born pilot straight into title contention. The crown was even in Hamilton’s reach as F1 headed for Shanghai. But the Chinese GP instead led to one of the worst moments of Hamilton’s career.
The Chinese GP was the penultimate round of the 2007 season and Hamilton arrived with a 12-point lead on his teammate, Fernando Alonso, after winning the Japanese GP. So, he only needed to finish within a point of Alonso and six of Kimi Raikkonen to get the championship.
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It seemed like glory awaited Hamilton, too, as he controlled the early stages of the race from pole position in wet conditions. But disaster awaited when the track dried as McLaren opted to stick to their original strategy and kept Hamilton running long with his intermediate tyres.
When McLaren eventually called Hamilton in to make his pit stop on Lap 30 after Raikkonen stole the lead, his rear tyres were down to the carcass. The lack of grip at his disposal meant Hamilton slid into the gravel at pit entry, beaching his McLaren and finishing his Grand Prix.
It was one of the most unforgettable moments from the Chinese GP to date and also proved significant in the title battle. Raikkonen went on to win in Shanghai and again at the season-ending Brazilian GP to snag the title by one point after Hamilton suffered gearbox problems.
Kimi Raikkonen stole the 2007 title from Lewis Hamilton at the Brazilian GP
While the 2007 Chinese GP was a bleak day at the office for Hamilton, he still headed to Sao Paulo for the Brazilian GP leading the drivers’ championship. Raikkonen winning in Shanghai cut the Finn’s deficit to the Briton down to seven points with Alonso also separating the pair.
Hamilton arrived in Brazil with 107 points to Alonso’s 103 and Raikkonen’s 100. He also took an early advantage by sealing second place on the grid, with the Spaniard in fourth and Finn in third. But both of the Briton’s title rivals moved in front of Hamilton on the opening lap.
Raikkonen and Alonso were both faster than Hamilton around Interlagos and the Briton felt the pressure. He also locked up whilst trying to re-pass Alonso and ran in P8 upon re-joining the track. But disaster awaited when Hamilton suffered a costly gearbox problem on Lap 8.
Hamilton crawled around Interlagos as he desperately sought to reset his McLaren’s gearbox and fell to P18 before getting back up to speed. The Briton put in a valiant drive to try to still lift the title. But Hamilton finishing in P7 as Raikkonen won saw the Finn win it all by a point.
Lewis Hamilton crashed into Kimi Raikkonen at pit exit at the 2008 Canadian GP
While the 2008 season returned one of the best moments from Hamilton’s Formula 1 career by winning his first drivers’ title, it also yielded one of his worst incidents at the Canadian GP with Raikkonen. The Briton ended both of their races with a calamitous crash at the pit exit.
Hamilton had started the race from pole position but his hopes of winning a second straight Canadian GP ended ingloriously. He initially opened a lead on Robert Kubica and Raikkonen but Adrian Sutil’s Force India catching fire after a gearbox failure necessitated the safety car.
The leaders all burst for the pit lane and both, Kubica and Raikkonen, got ahead of Hamilton after refuelling. But F1’s rules at the time closed the exit of the pit line under a safety car. So, Kubica and Raikkonen sat waiting for a green light to leave but Hamilton did not see the red.
Hamilton banged into the rear of Raikkonen’s motionless Ferrari in a desperate attempt to avoid Kubica’s BMW Sauber. He realised too late that the pit exit was still closed and ended their days. But Hamilton was not alone as Nico Rosberg also hit the rear end of his McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton lost his championship advantage at the 2010 Italian GP
Winning the 2010 Belgian GP ensured Hamilton headed to the Italian GP leading the drivers’ championship by only three points to Mark Webber. But it was the Red Bull driver who left Monza with a five-point advantage after the McLaren racer’s day ended on the opening lap.
Hamilton had work to do after qualifying in fifth place and made instant progress by passing Webber. The Stevenage-born star then sensed his chance to overtake Felipe Massa, as well. But after closing in on the Ferrari driver through Curva Grande, the door was slammed shut.
Alonso covering the inside at the Variante della Roggia chicane to deny Massa a way through meant Hamilton could not attempt a lunge. Yet the Briton kept his nose in and soon came to rue it. Massa’s rear left tyre brushed his front right and snapped the McLaren’s suspension.
Rain and poor strategy derailed Lewis Hamilton’s Hungarian GP in 2011
The Hungaroring is one of Hamilton’s many playgrounds with no driver as successful as he is at the Hungarian GP. But the Briton endured a vexing visit to Budapest in 2011 as he finished the race a full 48.338 seconds behind his race-winning McLaren teammate, Jenson Button.
Hamilton had out-qualified Button to start beside pole-sitter, Sebastian Vettel, on the front row. He even opened a lead after initially staying out to make use of the clean air when Red Bull pitted the German. But Hamilton spun at Turn 8 when a brief rain shower hit the track.
McLaren gave Hamilton the choice of which tyres to fit when they stopped the Briton. But after he took a set of intermediate tyres, the track started to dry again. So, Hamilton had to pit again before receiving a drive-through penalty for forcing Paul di Resta off the circuit.
His penalty left Hamilton running down in sixth place but he overtook Massa and Webber to ultimately finish in fourth. He crossed the finish line 28.519s behind Alonso in the last of the podium positions. Vettel also sealed second place with a 3.588s gap to race-winner, Button.
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