Lewis Hamilton started his professional Formula One career in 2007, driving for McLaren. He won his first title in 2008 with the team to become the then-youngest champion in the history of the sport. After four more seasons with McLaren, Hamilton moved to Mercedes, with whom he has won a further six titles in 2014, 2015 and from 2017–2020.

In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton partnered defending double World Champion Fernando Alonso who had joined McLaren after leaving Renault. On his debut at the Australian Grand Prix, he finished third, becoming the 13th driver to finish on the podium on his debut.^{[note 2]} Triple World Champion Niki Lauda, hailed Hamilton as the best rookie he had ever seen.^[4] At the next two rounds in Bahrain and Barcelona, Hamilton finished second behind Felipe Massa to take the lead in the Drivers' Championship,^[5] to become the youngest driver ever to lead the World Championship.^[6] After finishing second behind Alonso at Monaco, Hamilton suggested he was prevented from racing his teammate, but the FIA cleared McLaren following an investigation. Hamilton achieved both his first pole position and first victory of his Formula One career in the Canadian Grand Prix.^[7] A week later Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix, becoming the first Briton since John Watson in 1983 to win a Formula One race in the US