Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 season has put a McLaren star to shame according to one former driver.

Over nearly two decades in F1, the seven-time champion has had plenty of success to celebrate, whether that was equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of world titles, or his first championship win in 2008.

Following his dominant years at Mercedes, it is easy to forget just how impressive Hamilton was when he first burst onto the F1 scene with McLaren in 2007, teaming up with two-time champion Fernando Alonso and instantly taking the title fight to the Spaniard.

Hamilton finished his rookie F1 season runner-up in the drivers’ standings, scoring nine consecutive podiums in his first nine races, two of which were back-to-back wins in Canada and the USA.

After the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, and with two rounds left remaining of the season, Hamilton led the championship by 12 points over team-mate Alonso; but his title lead was slashed at the subsequent race in China after he slid into the gravel in the pit-lane and then retired.

A gearbox failure in the season-ending Brazilian GP saw Kimi Raikkonen take the title by just one point, with Alonso in third on an equal 109 points to Hamilton, but the British driver was placed ahead on count-back.

F1 HEADLINES: Aston Martin star handed dozen penalties, team swap put on hold

Nelson Piquet Jr: F1 drivers today fail to reach Hamilton’s level

Speaking on Brazilian podcast Pelas Pistas, where Brazilian racing drivers such as Rubens Barrichello, Nelson Piquet Jr, Christian Fittipaldi, Atila Abreu and Rafael Suzuki discussed all things F1, Piquet Jr compared Hamilton’s rookie season with the younger drivers on the grid today.

Piquet Jr – son of three-time champion Nelson Piquet and brother of Max Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet – raced in Formula 1 at the same time as young Hamilton, in 2008 and 2009.

The Brazilian was highly complimentary of the seven-time champion, while dismissive of some of the younger drivers on the grid, describing McLaren star and F1 champion Lando Norris as ‘nothing special’.

“The most impressive thing [about Hamilton] we always talk about here was his first season,” Piquet Jr said.

“That mad dash he pulled off against Alonso was just insane. Whether he had the team’s favour, I don’t know, that sort of thing – but regardless of that, his first season was far more impressive than the championships he won with his foot on the brake, in a very good car.

“Because we see nowadays that what Oscar Piastri did in his first season against Lando [Norris], who wasn’t anything special, he got thrashed pretty badly.

“[Look at] what Kimi Antonelli did in his first-season against George Russell. Then you take what Lewis did in the first season against Alonso.

“I think only we, the people who are in the industry, will be in a position to analyse that, right? The confidence he [Hamilton] had in his first year was just crazy.”

READ MORE: How Toto Wolff ‘fired’ Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes

Related