Lewis Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007, racing for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix. The rookie immediately showed his pace by finishing third at Albert Park, behind Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton had joined McLaren's young-driver programme in 1998 and progressed through karting and junior single-seater championships. Before reaching F1, he won the 2005 GP2 Series title, which helped secure his promotion to McLaren's race seat alongside reigning world champion Alonso.
His debut season was extraordinary: Hamilton scored points in his first nine races and finished third in the championship, just one point behind Alonso. He won his first Grand Prix in Canada in 2007, then claimed his first World Drivers' Championship in 2008. The 2007 season is sometimes confused with 2008 because 2008 was his title-winning year, not his debut year.