His 2006 GP2 championship happened at the same time there was a vacancy at McLaren. Juan Pablo Montoya left Formula on to race in NASCAR, and Kimi Räikkönen left to join Ferrari. Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver. He would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for the season. He was told of McLaren's decision on 30 September. The news was not made public until 24 November. McLaren was afraid the news would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement.