Why Lewis Hamilton nearly ‘exploded like a volcano’ just months after winning first F1 title at McLaren

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Lewis Hamilton was in title contention throughout his first few seasons in Formula 1 with McLaren and was one point away from becoming the sport’s first-ever rookie champion.

Following his first Drivers’ Championship in 2008 his situation became far trickier as Red Bull started to dominate.

A young Sebastian Vettel swept four consecutive crowns, leaving Hamilton to join Mercedes just as McLaren started to fall off a cliff.

Few would have predicted that he would go on to achieve six titles with the German manufacturer, who were once compared to West Ham Football Club on an episode of Top Gear at the time.

Jenson Button says Hamilton delivered surprise qualifying laps at McLaren but hasn’t done it over the last few years of his career.

It’s a worrying sign ahead of his move to Ferrari this season, as he bids to end their 17-year championship drought and add to his tally of seven crowns.

Lewis Hamilton could have ‘exploded like a volcano’ after McLaren’s poor start in 2009

Hamilton’s 2009 title defence started miserably as McLaren gave him a car that was quite far off the pace at the start of the new technical regulations.

He failed to finish higher than fourth in any of the first nine races of the year and was even disqualified at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix for lying to the stewards.

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Speaking to German publication Bild about the first few races that year, he revealed how frustrated he was with the situation.

“After the first three races, I was still extremely annoyed,” he said. “Your expectations are so high and yet no matter what you do you cannot fulfill them.

“The disappointment was enormous; I could have exploded, like a volcano, but I had to leave it inside and it ate away at me.”

Why couldn’t Hamilton win more than one F1 title with McLaren?

Hamilton didn’t feel his McLaren exit was right in 2012 after he failed to inform them of his decision face-to-face.

The Brit corrected his mistake when he went on to leave Mercedes in 2024, but he had enjoyed a lot more success by then and ended on slightly better terms.

Hamilton was in contention for two more titles in his time at McLaren in 2010 and 2012, with the former going down to the wire at the last race.

READ MORE: Jennie Gow pinpoints the attitude problem Lewis Hamilton had at McLaren before ‘extraordinary’ change

2012 is the year that always stands out the most though. They had the fastest car and should’ve won that year, but their reliability act wasn’t quite together.

Retirements at both the Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix wound up costing them, with a very different narrative about his swansong season with them possible if they had stayed on track a bit more.