The forgotten story of Hamilton's first race against a Verstappen

If you think the paddock in Melbourne for the opening race of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship was the first time a Hamilton, Verstappen and Magnussen were getting suited-and-booted and ready to race together, you’d be wrong. In January 1996, at Autosport International in the halls of the NEC, those three names were on the entry list.

At that time Kevin Magnussen was just three years old, and Max Verstappen was still a twinkle in his dad’s eye. This, instead, was 11-year-old Lewis Hamilton versus Jos Verstappen and Jan Magnussen. The event was a pro-media kart race, and the stars came out. You may think it was fun, but give a pro driver a go-kart and a helmet and the competition genes step forward without prompting. But that event also showed that there was someone special in among the stars of the day.

First of all, some background. The pro-media kart race rules were simple. You were allowed three members of staff from each publication, and one pro driver. Autosport had its team, with newly crowned McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Jonny Kane as the pro. There were teams from national and local newspapers as well as Autosport’s rivals, all pulling in a pro driver to boost their enthusiastic and keen staff members.

A soon-to-be-launched new title also entered a team late in the day: Autosport’s sister magazine, F1 Racing (now GP Racing). The thing is, at the time, F1 Racing didn’t have any staff. So, as we have seen so much in the 2021 F1 battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, the team manager (yours truly) saw a loophole to be exploited.

F1 Racing’s pro driver was Dario Franchitti (complete with Autosport-badged overalls). The two members of staff were F1 Racing ‘columnists’ Allan McNish (an F1 test driver at the time) and Jos Verstappen (then racing in F1). Why not? The word ‘ringers’ was heard often, and alarm bells rang in the Birmingham area.

It’s amazing to think of it now, but F1 driver Verstappen, about to be confirmed for Footwork for 1996, flew to Birmingham that morning, purely for this kart race. When he landed he was met at the airport and changed into his plain red overalls in the back of the cab. There were no stage appearances or interviews at the show, just indoor kart racing, and he flew home straight afterwards.

Verstappen (in the red suit, third from left) was a Footwork F1 driver when he was signed up for the F1 Racing kart team

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Meanwhile, the little-known Vauxhall Sport News had an ace up its sleeve too in the form of Hamilton, who at the time was blazing a trail in junior karting, and was teamed with Niki Cleland, the son of reigning British Touring Car champion John.

The Autosport team, which had heard of the ‘ringers’ on F1 Racing’s squad the night before the race, jettisoned two staff members (one being latter-day Formula 1 interviewer Tom Clarkson) and in the hotel bar that night they were replaced by Jan Magnussen and Jason Watt. With Kane, that was a formidable team, too. The gloves were off! Among the other pros were Ralph Firman Jr and touring car racers Ian Flux and the now much-missed Will Hoy.

Somehow, and we mean this in the nicest possible way, the stars and professionals were beaten to pole by a journalist. Jonathan Noble, now Motorsport.com F1 editor, was fastest, racing for the Daily Telegraph and teamed with Oliver Gavin.

"[Hamilton] was quite small, and it was purely and simply the positioning of the kart more than necessarily the speed. The speed was definitely there, but the way he was able to position the kart to race, that gave him an edge and that was something that stood out for me" Allan McNish

Verstappen did the first stint, quickly dispensing with Noble, and there followed a great race with the Birmingham Post’s BTCC ace Kelvin Burt. After 15 minutes and the first driver change, Jos climbed out, and handed over to McNish, whose stint coincided with Hamilton’s. The pair were bumper to bumper the entire run. Hamilton was leading McNish who, despite being in his mid-twenties with F3000 and F1 experience, and still weighing three-fifths of nothing, could not get past. It was a great battle – they were both expert kart racers.

At the next handover, the Scot jumped out. His first words when the helmet was off after that stint? “Christ, that kid is quick. He will be a world champion one day.” Wise words.

“I do remember the tussle,” says McNish now. “I remember how Lewis instinctively knew how to position the kart. He was 11, so he’d been karting for a couple of years. He was quite small, and it was purely and simply the positioning of the kart more than necessarily the speed. The speed was definitely there, but the way he was able to position the kart to race, that gave him an edge and that was something that stood out for me.”

As is the case in F1 this year, the rulebook was squeaked to its limit, loopholes explored. Silently, but cleverly, the Birmingham Post team realised its only chance of winning was to leave Burt in the kart so, while other teams changed drivers after 15 minutes, he lapped and lapped, no stops or driver changes, and built quite a lead.

Winner McNish fondly remembers his duel with an 11-year-old Hamilton

Photo by: Motorsport Images

When he finally pitted, Team Autosport took the advantage… briefly. Much to Magnussen’s chagrin, the Autosport staffer was simply not fast enough, and the Dane frantically waved the kart in after three laps, and jumped back in. By now Team F1 Racing was in a lead it was not to lose.

An abiding memory from that day is the camaraderie. Yes, it was intense on the track, but it was a laugh, too. Gavin sums it up so well: “Look at the picture, then think what we have all gone on to after, and how our careers have evolved. That was a fun day, and it’s fun to think of how our career paths have crossed since.”

More than anything, there was an 11-year-old who had made an impact that continues 25 years later, and once more against the Verstappen name. McNish says: “I remember Lewis’s dad Anthony was there, and Lewis never said boo to a goose at that point – and you wouldn’t have expected him to at that age. But Anthony was there supporting him, and I remember speaking to him afterwards about it. He was one of the standouts. You look at that picture, nobody knew who he was then. We all do now.”

While this was only a fun event on a Thursday afternoon in 1996, it was one of the first times Hamilton raced against present and future F1 racers, and he made his mark to many, including Verstappen.

While the Dutchman won that day, he had to dash to the airport before the prizegiving to get his flight back, changing again in the cab. McNish remembers his victory for the ‘ringer’ team with a smile.

“That’s the sort of thing I love,” he says. “Reading the rulebook and exploiting it to the maximum… Those kart races were really good, actually. And effectively that’s the first day I became a journalist!”

Hamilton made a lasting impression on McNish and many others back in 1996

Photo by: Motorsport Images