'Remember 2007?' Lewis Hamilton ready to turn back time and attack in Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-AMG teammate George Russell gave their team something to cheer about as they upped the ante in qualifying on Saturday.

The duo qualified second and third for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, with Russell lining up behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing.

In the post-qualifying interviews, Hamilton clarified his intentions when asked what he wanted from tomorrow's race: "To get to first."

He continued: "I'm going to try and see and be hoping for a year like 2007. Turn 1, here, would be awesome. I don't know if anyone here remembers, but yeah, it'd be awesome if we could do that."

Starting the 2023 Australian GP in third with 2007 McLaren-Mercedes teammate Fernando Alonso in fourth, Hamilton is ready to turn back the clock for another duel against his former rival.

Hamilton's 2007

2007 was a breakthrough year for Hamilton. Having won the 2006 GP2 (now Formula 2) championship, he was promoted to a racing seat at McLaren-Mercedes. Everyone knew that Hamilton was good, but his talent showed when he didn't back down from two esteemed giants in the sport: Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton started his first Formula 1 race in fourth place, behind Raikkonen, Alonso, and the BMW of Nick Heidfeld. When the lights went out, Hamilton's position looked under threat, but he saw a gap into Turn 1 and made his way into third, going into Turn 2 behind Raikkonen and Heidfeld.

It was a massive drive from Hamilton on the day, eventually settling for third place behind Raikkonen and Alonso when the race ended.

These three drivers would battle for the championship throughout the year, with Raikkonen clinching the title by one point - 110 vs 109 - with Hamilton and Alonso tied.

It's unlikely that