Lewis Hamilton: F1 driver profile

By Tom Cary, F1 Correspondent Published: 2:07PM GMT 08 Mar 2010 Formula One has never seen anything like Lewis Hamilton, who was named after another speed merchant, the great American sprinter Carl Lewis. Raised on a council estate in Stevenage, Hamilton has been breaking down barriers his whole life. A remote controlled karting prodigy, he transferred his skills seamlessly to the track and at the age of 10 he famously approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony to introduce himself. Three years later Dennis had signed him up and Hamilton has been wedded to McLaren ever since. GP2 champion in his maiden season, Hamilton made the step up to F1 in 2007 alongside McLaren’s new signing, double world champion Fernando Alonso. He was immediately on the pace, setting a number of records in his rookie year and seemingly coasting to a spectacular world championship with a 17-point lead and only two races remaining. A retirement in China and seventh place in Brazil meant he lost out by a single point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton made no mistake the following season, though, this time claiming the title by a single point from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa beneath the rain at Interlagos to become F1’s youngest ever world champion. The 2009 season was a big reality check for the Briton as McLaren produced a poor car and then became embroiled in the ‘Liegate’ scandal that saw Hamilton mislead race stewards in Australia. Hamilton admitted that he nearly quit the sport in despair. However, he stormed back to claim two race wins and ended the season the fastest man on the grid. Telegraph verdict: Hamilton has learned from 2009’s high-profile mistakes and appears more relaxed, and more mature, than ever. He will have his work cut out beating Jenson Button, but something in his genetic make-up means that second is just not an option. If McLaren give him the car, he should be world champion. Lewis Hamilton facts Website: www.lewishamilton.com Born: 07/01/1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK 2010 car number: 2 World championships: 1 (2008) Races: 52 Wins: 11 Podiums: 27 Career points: 256 Pole positions 17 Fastest laps 3 First race 2007 Australian Grand Prix Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Posted by admin 8 March 2010

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