Brooklands, Surrey - With the British Grand Prix fast approaching, Lewis Hamilton cast his mind back to Silverstone in 2005.
“I remember standing at the back of the McLaren garage thinking, 'One day I want to be in one of those, I want one of those drivers' seats'.”
Speaking at a Petronas function at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, once the home of the British GP, the reigning world champion admitted that his home race has had a special resonance for him ever since that day 10 years ago.
“I still particularly remember that day,” he said. “Sometimes when I'm sitting in the car in the garage, I feel that I have that view from behind, but looking at me, which is really strange.
“British GP week is special, knowing that you are going to be seeing the fans, seeing the messages on social media. I remember my first ever time there. It was a British Kart GP, when I was about eight or nine. It was a really crap race for me; I crashed into the straw bales.”
‘I KNEW IT WAS MY DAY’
But his biggest memory is of the 2008 race - a year after he made his debut in his home Grand Prix - where he dominated in the rain for McLaren and won by more than a minute.
“I remember it like yesterday. I qualified fourth but then the heavens opened and I knew it was my day. It was a great race and coming through Abbey the crowd were standing every single time I went past, in the pouring rain with their umbrellas up. That was really special.”
“In 2013 it was going well and then the tyre blew up. I won last year but I didn't get pole, so it wasn't a perfect weekend. I think this year the target has really been to dominate weekends, and really conquering the circuit, through practice, qualifying and the race.”
The Independent