In an incredible rookie year, Hamilton, then at McLaren, went into the final two rounds of China and Brazil leading the World Championship.
Ahead of China, Hamilton sat on top with 107 points, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen (90 points) and teammate Fernando Alonso (95 points).
If Hamilton had won the Chinese Grand Prix, the title would have been his. Any other point scoring result would have meant the Brit was in a great position to claim the title a round later in Brazil.
In damp conditions in China, Hamilton led the race from pole and looked comfortable in front. The chasing pack of Raikkonen, Alonso, and Massa seemed helpless to stop the Brit.
Should Lewis Hamilton have claimed the championship that year, he would have been the first rookie champion since 1950, when every driver was a rookie.
Hamilton had led for the majority of the race, aside from his first pit stop, when the rain started falling again.
Suddenly the gap to Raikkonen in the Ferrari was shrinking lap by lap. A young Lewis Hamilton was seemingly tip-toeing his way around the Shanghai International Circuit, not able to cope with the downfall as well as his Finnish rival.
Eventually at exactly the halfway mark of the race, an error from Hamilton into turn nine allowed the Ferrari driver through and into the lead.
Just three laps later, it would feel like Hamilton’s whole world would come crashing down.
Unlike the 2021 finale, this was an incident that could have been avoided by Hamilton himself, an unforced driving error, forced onto him by the slippery conditions.
In desperate need of new tyres, Hamilton made his way into the pits.
With the fresh rain hitting the track and no dry line, Hamilton skidded off into the gravel.
The rookie tried all he could to keep the wheels spinning and escape the gravel but to no avail.
That was it.
Lewis Hamilton left China with 0 points. Worse still, Raikkonen went on to win that race. Hamilton’s championship lead was down from 12 to just 4 points ahead of his teammate Alonso.
Raikkonen was just 7 points off the championship lead have been 17 points away just hours before.
Hamilton went on to finish a lowly 7th in Brazil, opening the door for a race winning Kimi Raikkonen to steal the 2007 Drivers’ Championship.
How Lewis Hamilton didn’t let China define him
Hamilton’s career has been one of multiple highs and lows, mainly highs. It is interesting to consider how he could be a ten-times World Champion had things gone ever so slightly differently for him.
Had he not gone into the gravel at China, had his engine not blown up in Malaysia in 2016, had Abu Dhabi played out differently in 2021, we would have Lewis Hamilton – Ten Time Champion of the World.
It’s a reminder of the driver Lewis Hamilton was, and perhaps still is.
Twelve months on from heartbreak, Hamilton would bounce back in even more dramatic fashion to claim his first World Drivers’ Championship in 2008.
It’s a testament to his skill, desire, and perseverance that Hamilton didn’t let that incident in Shanghai define his career.
More remarkable still that when considering how Hamilton’s career has panned out, that very little is made of that day in Shanghai.
There will always be ‘ifs’ in a drivers career, it’s a testament to Hamilton that this one has largely been forgotten in modern F1.