Lewis moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix, with this team being the leader in the field much like its sister operation on Formula Three. Hamilton won the GP2 championship beating Timo Glock. Notable wins included Nurburgring where he had been penalised for speeding in the pit lane, Silverstone where he took over two rivals at high speed, and Istanbul where he recovered from a spin that left him in 18th place – precursors to his great driving in Formula One.

A vacancy appeared at McLaren at the end of 2006 and after months of speculation over who would be joining Fernando Alonso on the team, Hamilton was selected. The announcement was made public on 24 November 2006.

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