Former Sauber Components 1 workforce proprietor Peter Sauber has claimed that was near signing with the Swiss-based workforce round 20 years in the past.
The Briton made his F1 debut with in 2007 and secured his first championship victory a yr later in 2008, however in response to Sauber, he was near beginning his profession within the sequence along with his workforce earlier than the deal fell by attributable to contract phrases.
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“Hardly anybody is aware of that round 20 years in the past, Lewis Hamilton nearly drove for us,” Sauber instructed Swiss-German publication .
“The Briton belonged to McLaren, they usually wished to ship him to Hinwil for his Components 1 apprenticeship. So the McLaren delegation met with Lewis and his father, in addition to our in-house lawyer Monisha Kaltenborn and myself at Kloten Airport.”
Sauber defined that the deal was near being finalised however McLaren was solely ready to mortgage the now seven-time champion for a single yr.
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“The deal fell by as a result of McLaren solely wished to mortgage him for one yr – however we insisted on two!” he added.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Hamilton remained on the Woking outfit till the top of the 2012 season, earlier than he signed with from 2013. Throughout his time on the Brackley outfit, Hamilton received six of his seven championship titles and helped carry the workforce eight constructors’ championships.
The 41-year-old driver determined to make the transfer to after a 12-year stint with Mercedes. Arriving on the Maranello outfit forward of the 2025 season, Hamilton drove alongside and reunited with workforce chief Fred Vasseur, who he had labored with within the junior sequence, together with when he drove for the Frenchman’s ART Grand Prix in GP2 (now Components 2).
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Whereas the anticipation was excessive for Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari, he struggled to adapt to the workforce in 2025, along with his greatest finishes being a dash race win in China and fourth-place finishes within the Emilia-Romagna, Austrian, British and United States grands prix.
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