Lewis Hamilton’s talent in motorsport was made incredibly apparent before he had stepped into Formula 1 in 2007.
Ron Dennis would be able to attest to this when a then-10-year-old Hamilton told the McLaren boss that he would be driving one of his cars in the future. 12 years later, he would be doing exactly that, but not before racking up numerous junior talents.
He won the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship in 2003, before winning the Formula 3 Euro Series and the Masters of Formula 3 in 2005.
In 2006, he moved up to GP2, the next step below F1, with ART Grand Prix. He would be working alongside Fred Vasseur, a man he would get to know very closely over the years.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur knew Lewis Hamilton was ‘magic’ in his GP2 days
As Vasseur described on the Pirelli YouTube channel, Hamilton initially struggled to adapt. However, he soon started to find his feet and excelled in GP2, winning the 2006 championship.
With five wins, seven fastest laps and 14 podiums in 21 races, Hamilton displayed remarkable talent. At one particular race in Turkey, he climbed his way from 19th in the field to finish P2.
Shown a picture from that race, Vasseur detailed how Hamilton was ‘magic’ during the 2006 season: “This year was for sure in terms of results, mega, but was also a good lesson because he struggled at the beginning.
“There was a huge step between F3 and F2 with not so many test days and the first races were difficult for Lewis. Valencia, he had a port start, then Imola, he overtook the safety car.
“And then he started to win and he had a very good recovery, won the championship in Monza. But it was a good lesson because he struggled a little bit at the beginning and he was magic at the end.”
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Hamilton moved up to F1 in 2007 with McLaren, winning his maiden title in 2008. He made the switch to Mercedes in 2013 and went on to win six more championships and become the most successful driver of all time.
Meanwhile, Vasseur did not come to F1 until 2016 with Renault, and a year later, he found himself at Sauber, later Alfa Romeo. The Frenchman joined Ferrari in 2023 and took them to within 14 points of winning the constructors’ championship in 2024.
Vasseur signed Hamilton in 2025, expecting it to be a partnership that wins Ferrari their first title since 2007. However, the 41-year-old failed to score a podium and finished seventh in the standings.
The season was so frustrating that Hamilton even said he should be replaced midway through. He will be desperate to see improvements in 2026.
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