Looking Back at Lewis' McLaren Life in Horsell & Woking

As Lewis Hamilton announced his departure for Mercedes today it prompted me to look back at my memories of Lewis, McLaren and the motor racing team's home in Horsell, Woking.  It also raised the question is this a good move for the driver and his new team.

Soon after moving to Horsell I read in the local paper about a young go-kart champ signed by McLaren as a potential future F1 driver.  Lewis joined the McLaren development programme aged just 13.  I wondered then, back in 1998, if I would hear the name again.  That name, was of course,  Lewis Hamilton.  

I'm not a huge sports fan.  Tennis is the game I am most likely to watch or play.  I've been to Wimbledon a few times and was delighted to secure tickets  for the Olympic tennis championship there this summer.  I came to motor racing through my better half who has been a fan for many years and even did his own stint at kart racing and as an engineer for a racing driver friend.  I used to leave the room when the noise of twenty highly tuned racing cars invaded my lounge but over time I suppose I got used to the noise and I stayed around, albeit engaged in another activity.  I got familiar with the drivers and the teams.  I started to root for home teams and drivers.  I have never yet sat through a whole race without wandering about to do other things, reading or working on the laptop but I do find the start exciting and enjoy the stops and overtaking maneouevres. By the time we arrived in Woking I was a little bit of an F1 fan and knew the team had a headquarters in our new home.  Feeling I was in at the beginning with Lewis I have been particularly keen to follow his progress in F1.

Another lasting memory of our early days in Woking is watching Mika Hakkinnen drive his McLaren around the town after securing the world championship in 1998.  We stood near the junction of Chobham Road and Victoria Way.  As Mika approached us he revved his engine, waking our sleeping baby who howled at the shock of the noise.  It was such a pity we couldn't do the same for Lewis when he won the title ten years later.

Is a move to Mercedes a good one for Lewis?  The press seem unsure but having read this piece on BBC Sport which charts Lewis' career one key factor stood out.  Ross Brawn, former technical director at McLaren but also a previous holder of this pivotal role at Benetton and Ferrari is at Mercedes.  Could the combination of Brawn and Hamilton take Mercedes to the F1 title in the next few years?  I wouldn't rule it out.