Where the drivers from Lewis Hamilton’s 2007 Canadian Grand Prix win are now including Sky pundits and Le Mans winners

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It took just six races for Lewis Hamilton to secure his first Formula 1 win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.

The then-22-year-old was afforded his chance in the pinnacle of motorsport with McLaren in 2007, partnering with reigning two-time champion Fernando Alonso. Not many knew it at the time, but Hamilton was about to embark on arguably the greatest rookie season in history.

The Brit finished on the podium in the opening nine races as he established himself as an immediate title contender. But after his heartbreaking DNF in Shanghai and mechanical issue in Sao Paulo, Hamilton missed out on the title to Kimi Raikkonen by just one point.

Despite the defeat, he had proved to everyone in the paddock that he was a serious talent. Jenson Button recalled how Hamilton produced surprise laps in qualifying from seemingly out of nowhere; he showed his strength over one lap at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver grabbed his first pole position by four tenths over teammate Alonso. In a chaotic Grand Prix that only saw 12 cars finish, Hamilton only lost his lead for three laps as he dominated the field for his first ever win in F1.

As F1 heads to Canada for the 2025 race, F1 Oversteer takes a look at the drivers that competed in the Grand Prix 18 years ago, which marked Hamilton’s first victory in the sport.

McLaren – Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton

McLaren’s 2007 driver pairing are the only two drivers still on the F1 grid today; Alonso with Aston Martin and Hamilton with Ferrari. The duo finished level on points in 2007 as a intense rivalry sparked within the team.

Going on to race for Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine, Alonso is the sport’s most experienced driver and is hoping for success with Aston Martin in 2026. Hamilton continues to hint at car trouble with Ferrari as he struggles to find performance since his move from Mercedes, where we won six world titles.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Renault – Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen

Fisichella was into his 10th season in F1 in 2007 but he struggled for top results with Renault, scoring just 21 points. The Italian left for Force India in 2008 and spent two seasons with the team before moving on to GT racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012 and 2014 in the GTE class.

Rookie Kovalainen replaced Alonso at Renault in 2007 and finished level on points with Fisichella, He swapped places with the Spaniard at McLaren, where Kovalainen claimed his only F1 win in Hungary in 2008, and has enjoyed great success in rallying since leaving F1 in 2012.

Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa

Winning the 2007 world championship by just one point, Raikkonen struggled at Ferrari for two more years before leaving F1 to pursue rallying. Returning to F1 in 2012 with Lotus, he rejoined Ferrari in 2014 and spent five seasons in Maranello before ending his illustrious career with Alfa Romeo.

Serving as Michael Schumacher’s number two the year prior, Massa began to establish himself as a title contender, narrowly missing out to Hamilton in 2008. The Brazilian never truly recovered from a serious accident in Hungary in 2009, but registered consistent finishes with Williams before retiring in 2017.

Honda – Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello

Experienced duo Button and Barrichello struggled at the back with Honda for two seasons before the team left F1 in 2009. That year, Ross Brawn bought the team for £1, with Button leading Brawn GP to the greatest underdog story in F1 history, winning the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

Button linked up with Hamilton in 2010 with McLaren and stayed with the team as they regressed to the back of the field in the turbo-hybrid era, retiring in 2016 and now races in WEC. After 322 Grand Prix, Barrichello called time on his F1 career in 2011 with Williams and now races stock cars in Brazil.

BMW – Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica

BMW propelled themselves up the field in 2007 with Heidfeld and Kubica. The former finished fifth that season but never won a race in F1 – he lost his full-time seat in 2009 before making sporadic appearances for BMW and Renault in 2010 and 2011.

Kubica suffered a horror accident at the 2007 Canadian GP, but made a stunning recovery to win his first and only race at the circuit a year later. Sadly, the Polish driver never reached his full potential due to injuries sustained in a rally crash in 2011, but still currently races for Ferrari in WEC.

Toyota – Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli

The 2007 season would be Ralf Schumacher’s last in F1, with six wins from 180 Grand Prix. Going out on a whimper with Toyota, scoring five points, the German is now regularly seen analysing F1 as a TV pundit.

Jarno Trulli spent five season with Toyota after leaving Renault in 2004, grabbing two poles and five podiums with team before joining Lotus in 2010. Struggling at the back for two years, he left F1 to set up his own team for the inaugural Formula E season in 2014/15.

Red Bull – Mark Webber and David Coulthard

Red Bull were not the high-flyers they are today in 2007, but Mark Webber was key to their success in the 2010s. He won nine races with the team as he finished third in the standings three times, before retiring in 2013 and is now the manager of 2025 championship leader Oscar Piastri.

David Coulthard spent four seasons with Red Bull from 2005 up until his retirement in 2008, scoring the team’s first podium in Monaco in 2006. With 13 wins and 62 podiums from 246 Grand Prix with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, he stands as one of the greats of the sport.

Williams – Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz

Having made his debut with Williams in 2006, Nico Rosberg spent another three years with the team before joining Mercedes. The German spent three years with Michael Schumacher before Rosberg sparked a tense rivalry with Hamilton as teammates, winning the 2016 title and immediately retiring.

Alex Wurz scored his first podium in 10 years at the 2007 Canadian GP, finishing third behind Hamilton and Heidfeld. The Austrian would not finish the season as he was replaced by Kazuki Nakajima in Brazil, but he remains a key figure in F1 as the chair of the GPDA.

Toro Rosso – Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed

In their second season in F1 after Red Bull took over Minardi in 2006, Toro Rosso struggled towards the back with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. The former lost his seat in 2008 but returned with Force India in 2009, before leaving the sport for good in 2011 after a spell with backmarkers Hispania.

Speed was sacked halfway through 2007 for up-and-coming talent Sebastian Vettel, who went on to win four world championships. The driver he replaced at Toro Rosso never returned to F1, with Speed going on to have incredible success in Rallycross.

Spyker – Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil

Dutch outfit Spyker bought out Midland in 2007, but would only last one season before they became Force India in 2008. Christijan Albers would not last the full season as he was sacked before the European GP and was replaced by Markus Winkelhock and Sakon Yamamoto.

Rookie teammate Adrian Sutil scored Spyker their only point at Fuji and spent the four seasons with Force India, showing solid signs of pace and performance. He returned to the team in 2013 after a year away before joining Sauber in 2014, where he then retired.

Super Aguri – Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson

Super Aguri were one of F1’s most popular teams in the sport in 2007, but unfortunately, financial problems meant the Japanese outfit left the sport after four rounds in 2008, bringing Sato and Davidson’s F1 careers to an end.

Sato enjoyed great success with the team in 2007, scoring their best result in Canada with sixth before going on to win the Indy 500 twice. Davidson failed to score points in 24 Grand Prix in F1, but had success in sports car racing, winning WEC in 2014 and is now a pundit on Sky Sports.