In the early stages of the 2006 GP2 season, it looked like Hamilton was streaking to the title, but some bad races and a strong run of form from Nelson Piquet Jr closed things right up. Off the back of three consecutive wins, Piquet had all the momentum and Hamilton was on the back foot heading into the sprint race at Istanbul Park. Lewis decided to take a gamble on a low downforce setup, hoping it would help him make up places.
It didn’t work – well, not as planned, anyway. On the second lap he spun, dropping down to 16th, and it looked like he was about to take another crucial hit in the points. Hamilton, however, had other ideas and began one of the greatest comeback drives you’ll ever see.
In the 23-lap race, he managed to charge back through to second place. Had he not struggled to pass Timo Glock (he’d have no problem with that later in his career!) he’d surely have won easily – his fastest lap was almost a second quicker than anybody else’s that day.
Off the back of that drive he was able to clinch the title in the next race at Monza before moving up to F1 the following season. He’s done alright since then, hasn’t he?
