The race suit which Lewis Hamilton wore en route to a historic maiden Formula 1 victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix has sold at auction for $241,300.
Hamilton’s race-worn suit featured as the first instalment of Sotheby’s ‘Icon of Excellence’ catalogue celebrating the seven-time Formula 1 champion’s illustrious career.
Following his hotly anticipated arrival at McLaren for the 2007 campaign, the then 22-year-old claimed five podiums in his first five races in the series before claiming a maiden pole position in Canada.
In the race, Hamilton escaped Fernando Alonso’s attempt to claim the lead around the outside of Turn 1 and went on to survive multiple safety car restarts to claim a comfortable first of an eventual record-breaking 103 wins in the sport.
The suit sold at auction was also photo-matched by Sports Investors Authentication to the one worn by the Briton on his way to his second race win just one week later at the United States Grand Prix.
In addition, the suit was also worn during a Saturday practice run in Canada, and was dusted off once more for an infamous qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was blocked in the pitlane by his McLaren team-mate in the pitlane, leaving him without enough time to complete a final attempt.
Despite Alonso setting a time good enough for pole that day, the top spot went to Hamilton as Alonso picked up a five-place grid drop for his actions. Hamilton would go on to beat title rival Kimi Raikkonen to the win on Sunday by just 0.7 seconds.
Hamilton went on to finish second in the standings in his maiden campaign, missing out on what would have been an incredible first title by one point.
His second season with McLaren set the record straight as the one-point advantage swung his way in 2008 as he claimed a historic first World Championship.