There are moments when you know that a driver is going to be special when you see them race in junior formulas on the ladder to Formula 1.
Whether it was seeing Max Verstappen put together a sublime Formula 3 season that eventually earned him an F1 drive in 2015, or Charles Leclerc’s dominant year in F2 in 2017.
In the case of Lewis Hamilton, it came twice in 2006 when he was racing in the F1 feeder series GP2 (now known as F2). The first was when he went from 19th to second after an early spin at the round in Istanbul, carving his way through the field.
The next would come at Silverstone, where Hamilton put in an impressive drive and pulled off a ludicrous overtaking move to go with it.
Reliving the race with Martin Brundle on Sky Sports F1, the former driver-turned-commentator told Hamilton that it would be the race that everyone knew he was destined to be a star.
Martin Brundle knew Lewis Hamilton was going to be a world star after GP2 race at Silverstone
Hamilton started from P8 in the second race of the weekend, having won the previous, in reverse grid order.
The Briton had an average start, but went on to overtake several cars to win the Sprint race.
Brundle: “I think this is really where you joined the world stage. Everybody absolutely knew you were heading to stardom in Formula 1.”
Hamilton: “This was such an awesome year.”
Brundle: “You won five races that year. I find this quite interesting because you didn’t choose to go up the inside of that car that was down the grass?”
Hamilton: “If you know the driver you know that you could never put it up the inside of them.”
As Hamilton made his way through the field, he would later pull off an audacious overtake on Nelson Piquet Jr and Clivio Piccione at Maggotts and Becketts.
The Briton went to the inside with both cars on his outside, with Piquet Jr being forced to take to the grass and smash through a polystyrene advertising block.
Brundle: “Now you’re getting a bit more punchy and this was the big one with Piccione and Piquet.”
Hamilton: “This was one of my favourite moments. Seeing him (Piquet) go through the (polystyrene) barrier!”
Did Lewis Hamilton win the GP2 title in 2006?
It would turn out to be a season-long title battle between Piquet Jr and Hamilton, with the race at Silverstone being his last victory of the year.
Hamilton’s consistency in the final three races of the season enabled him to edge Piquet Jr on points, with the Briton finishing the year on 114 points compared to 102 points for the Brazilian.
It was the title that would go on to earn Hamilton his first drive in F1 with McLaren in 2007, when the Briton was paired with reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso.