Lewis Hamilton team-mate snubbed because of 'BIG NOSE'

Lewis Hamilton, Spanish GP, Ferrari, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Lewis Hamilton team-mate snubbed because of 'BIG NOSE'

A dive into F1 history

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 31 December 2025 22:47

A behind the scenes insight into Lewis Hamilton's 2008 team-mate choice at McLaren was recently revealed by an F1 insider.

Hamilton competed for the title in his first year at McLaren in 2007 alongside Fernando Alonso, but the following season the Spaniard ended his three-year contract early and returned to Renault.

McLaren eventually opted for Heikki Kovalainen to race alongside Hamilton, with BMW-Sauber's and then promising talent Robert Kubica also under consideration.

Article continues under video

During a recent episode of podcast, And Colossally That's History, former McLaren communications director Matt Bishop, who worked at the team from 2008 until 2017, recounted a conversation with CEO Martin Whitmarsh at the time.

Kubica's McLaren snub

Although Whitmarsh was joking, he allegedly told Bishop that they didn't sign Kubica because of his 'big nose'.

"I remember Whitmarsh saying at the time that one of the problems with Kubica as a potential driver for McLaren for 2008 was that his nose was too big. He said that," Bishop recalled.

When his co-presenter Richard Williams asked if Whitmarsh was referring to an aerodynamic or aesthetic problem, Bishop responded, "Aesthetics, I think! I think he was joking, to be fair."

"Martin could sometimes be funny like that. He thought drivers should look a certain way. And of course he’d learned that from Ron [Dennis] who was always very particular about drivers' appearance. Although to be fair to Ron, I never heard him complain about Robert’s nose."

Kubica instead remained at Sauber for the 2008 season, where he enjoyed his best season in F1 and finished fourth overall in the championship.

The Polish driver secured seven podiums and his one-and-only career victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

F1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Robert Kubica