18th March 2007: The Debut That Announced a Champion

On 18 March 2007, Formula One witnessed one of the most remarkable debuts in its history.At the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, a young Lewis Hamilton announced himself to the world with a stunning podium finish on his very first start — going wheel-to-wheel with double world champion Fernando Alonso and showing immediately that he belonged at the very front of the sport.At the same time, Kimi Räikkönen delivered a perfect debut of his own for Ferrari, taking victory in the first race of the post-Schumacher era and laying the foundations for a championship-winning season.In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit that pivotal race and the beginning of one of Formula One’s most dramatic seasons.We also look back at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix, which opened a year of unprecedented unpredictability, and celebrate the careers of Timo Glock and Larry Perkins.Cover image: By Jose Maria Miñarro Vivancos - Formula One's 2007 Australian Grand Prix's start., CC BY 2.0, LinkSend us Fan MailMusic by #Mubert Music Rendering