On Lewis Hamilton’s 41st birthday, there’s no shortage of stories to tell. Peter Sauber, the former owner of Sauber, revealed that he almost signed the seven-time world champion at the very start of his career.
Sauber has given opportunities to many young drivers, among the most famous being Kimi Räikkönen and Robert Kubica. Apparently, Lewis Hamilton was also on that list, but he ultimately made his debut with McLaren.
The deal that didn’t happen
“Almost no one knows that, about 20 years ago, Lewis Hamilton was about to race for us,” the 82-year-old told Blick.
“The British driver was under contract with McLaren, and they wanted to send him to Hinwil to gain experience in Formula 1. So a McLaren delegation met Lewis and his father, along with our in-house lawyer Monisha Kaltenborn and myself, at Kloten airport.”
“The deal fell through because McLaren only wanted to loan him to us for one year, while we demanded two,” he explained.
So in 2007, Hamilton made his debut with the Woking-based team. The Brit narrowly missed the championship in his rookie year but won it the following season. After six years with McLaren and just one drivers’ title, he began his long chapter at Mercedes.
There, Hamilton secured six more world championships over twelve years, until 2025, the year he decided to move to Scuderia Ferrari. His first year with Ferrari proved to be the most challenging of his career, but new seasons await him.
Happy birthday again, Lewis! Enjoy the celebrations and return to the track stronger than ever.
This fascinating revelation by Peter Sauber highlights how small contractual details can alter the course of Formula 1 history. Had the two-year agreement been signed, Hamilton’s legendary trajectory might have looked very different, but his eventual path led him to become the most successful driver the sport has ever seen.
Leave a Reply