Lewis Hamilton reveals Fernando Alonso fuel disparity before 2007 Canadian GP win

Lewis Hamilton claimed his very first Formula 1 victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007. It was a win which carried a deeper backstory than initially thought.

Hamilton revealed that his reigning two-time world champion teammate for that season, Fernando Alonso, was “naturally” given a lighter fuel load, but Hamilton pushed for that to change in Canada. McLaren obliged, and Hamilton delivered his first of 105 career victories.

Lewis Hamilton explains Fernando Alonso fuel battle at McLaren

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Hamilton burst onto the scene as an F1 rookie with McLaren in 2007. Contending for the championship in his very first season, Hamilton opened his now record victory account with a maiden win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.

In his rookie year, Hamilton was teammates with Fernando Alonso, who had joined McLaren off the back of winning back-to-back titles with Renault.

This turned into a volatile driver pairing, as F1’s established top dog Alonso looked to see off the impressive newcomer Hamilton.

Almost two decades on from that milestone first win, Hamilton stands as the most successful F1 driver of all-time, with a record-equalling seven world championships, and outright records such as most wins (105) and pole positions (104).

Hamilton won the first of those titles with McLaren in 2008.

Ahead of the 2026 Canadian GP – an event which Hamilton has now won seven times – he was asked to reflect on why that Canada ’07 win was so important to his career.

Hamilton revealed that he could “never accept” being second as the rookie, but until that event, he was at a fuel handicap versus Alonso.

His calls for parity were heard in Montreal, and back-to-back wins at the Canadian and United States GPs followed.

“Jeez, it was only my sixth race in Formula 1. And I think there was a couple of bits about it,” Hamilton began as he harked back to Canada 2007.

“One, first time coming to Montreal, a track that I’d watched on TV and enjoyed watching over the years. I got to Formula 1 and being a rookie to a world champion was tough, you know. Fernando being so talented and so fast.

“But I’m so competitive, so rather than thinking, ‘I’m a rookie, just be happy finishing second,’ I could never accept it. And I’d always want to be pushing myself, I want to be competing. I wanted to win, and that was an overpowering feeling.

“And I remember the first five races, naturally, in the fuel area, they would always give Fernando the lighter fuel load, separating the cars by two laps. And so, it always felt to me that I had to do the work twice as hard, if not more, because Fernando was so quick. I always had to be at least a tenth quicker than him or more, tenth and a bit, to be able to be ahead of him.

“And I had pushed so hard to get equal fuel. I was like, ‘Just give me the chance and I’ll show you what I can do.’ And they gave us equal fuel in this race, and I qualified pole and then I won. And they did it for this one and Indianapolis afterwards.

“So, I think it was a real special moment for me because I fought for something I truly believed in and when they gave us the opportunity, I affirmed that belief. And then the rest was history.”

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Alonso left McLaren after one season to return to Renault. His subsequent time with Ferrari yielded 11 wins, before a return to McLaren and third stint with ‘Team Enstone’, Renault known as Alpine by this point.

Alonso continues to race with Aston Martin as Formula 1’s most experienced driver.

Hamilton remained with McLaren until his shock move to Mercedes in 2013. It was a switch which paid off, as Hamilton collected six titles during Mercedes’ record-breaking run of dominance.

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.

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