Hamilton: "It was one of the pivotal moments in my career"

Lewis Hamilton has made history in conquering his seventh world title and the end does not yet seem to be in sight. In conversation with Formula1.com, he reflected back on his young years in motorsport and he describes a crucial moment in his career, which has led to where he is today.

Termination or contract

In 2005 McLaren tore up his contract, so the driver had to look for a sponsor together with his father to help him further. An important turning point, because if he had not succeeded Hamilton would have had to take a different path and he might not even have made it to Formula 1 .

In the end, the cooperation with McLaren was restored and the chance he got was the only one to really show what he could do. An all or nothing situation, which Hamilton obviously took advantage of. "When I think about 2006, oh man," Hamilton said with a smile, Formula1.com writes. "People may or may not know, I remember the year before my contract was ripped up with McLaren towards the end of the year.

“I then came back into contract and we entered GP2 the next year in 2006. I know I was in the F1 circuit, I knew the bosses would be watching, including the most important one, Ron [Dennis]. I put so much pressure on myself. Most championships I did, they said we do two years in each - a year of learning and a year to win it.

"And if you don't win it by your second year, you're not good enough. That was always the thinking," said Hamilton. "So I put an unbelievable amount of pressure on myself."

Don't give up

"In that race [in Turkey] there were multiple obstacles. I had that spin and I remember that feeling I had, holding the clutch, making sure I didn't finish, letting go and not hitting car that came by. Then not just giving up, and pushing like never before, and coming second."

Hamilton had a stunning race in Turkey and he describes it as a "pivtol" moment for him.

"It was one of the pivotal moments in my career. People thought 'he's the real deal'."