Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Hamilton (born January 7 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England) is a British Formula One racing driver who currently drives for the McLaren Mercedes team.
After finishing in second place at the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix, he became the youngest driver ever to lead the F1 drivers' championship, beating the record held since 1960 by Bruce McLaren. He also holds the record of being the only driver ever to finish in the top three in all of his first five Grands Prix and the only newcomer to have led the championship.
Personal and early life
Hamilton's paternal grandparents emigrated to the United Kingdom from Grenada in the 1950s. His grandfather worked on the London Underground.[1] His mother, and father Anthony who named Lewis after the US Olympic gold medal winning athlete Carl Lewis,[2] separated when Lewis was two. Lewis grew up with his father, step-mother and half-brother [3] Nicholas who suffers from cerebral palsy . At six, he began his racing career when Anthony bought Lewis his first go-kart. He held down three jobs to support Lewis' career and still found enough time to attend all of Lewis' races.[3] When he was 11, Lewis approached Ron Dennis and told him, "I'm going to race for you one day...I'm going to race for McLaren" and was soon signed to McLaren's development programme,[3] while still attending The John Henry Newman School. In early 2007, Hamilton moved from Tewin Wood in Hertfordshire to Woking in Surrey to be closer to the McLaren factory.
Racing career
Pre-Formula One
Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight,[4] and quickly began winning races and championships.
He progressed through the Cadet (1995-6), Junior Yamaha (1997), Junior Intercontinental A (1998-9), Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks in seven seasons, becoming European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his team mate was current Williams driver Nico Rosberg.
Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a ‘Rising Star’ Member in 2000.[4]
Junior Formulas
Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth overall.[4] This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport. Hamilton finished third overall with three wins and three pole positions.[4] He remained with Manor for another year and won the championship convincingly with ten wins, beating Alex Lloyd with 419 points to 377.[4] But his début appearance in British Formula Three was less successful – Hamilton crashed out of both races at the Brands Hatch season finale, being taken to hospital after the second.[4] He did show his speed at both the Macau and Korean Grand Prix. In the latter he qualified on pole position in his first visit to the Korean track and in only his fourth race outing in a F3 car.
Hamilton and Manor then made their debut in the 2004 Formula Three Euroseries. They won just one race and Hamilton was fifth in the championship. He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix, race one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix, and had his first test in a McLaren F1 car in December[4] that year. He defected to reigning Euroseries champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. He also won the Ultimate Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.[4]
After the season, British magazine Autosport featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005” issue, ranking Hamilton 24th.[4] This success led him to join ART Grand Prix for the 2006 GP2 Series season. Like ASM in F3, ART were the class of the field and reigning champions having taken the 2005 GP2 crown with Nico Rosberg.[4]
Despite stiff opposition from rivals who had raced in the GP2 series during 2005, such as team mate Alexandre Prémat and Nelson Angelo Piquet, Lewis won the GP2 championship at his first attempt. Among his notable performances was a dominant win at the fifth round held at the Nürburgring, which he won despite serving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[4]
At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the British Grand Prix, he impressed again by overtaking two rivals at Becketts, a series of high-speed (up to 150 mph in a GP2 car) bends where overtaking is rare. He demonstrated his overtaking prowess again at the race in Istanbul, when he recovered from a spin that left him 18th, to take second place in the final corners. He became GP2 champion in unusual circumstances. Giorgio Pantano won the penultimate race at Monza, and set the fastest lap on the final lap, initially taking this bonus point from Hamilton. However, it transpired that he had set this under a yellow flag, indicating to the officials that he had not slowed enough to avoid potential danger, leading to him losing the fastest lap, which therefore gave Hamilton the single point he needed to clinch the title.[4]
Formula One
Hamilton introduced himself to McLaren team boss Ron Dennis at the 1994 Autosport Awards,[4] asking if he could drive for the team in the future.
In 1998 he was signed to the McLaren driver development support programme, the contract including a future option of an F1 seat, making 13-year-old Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure a F1 contract.[4]
His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[4]
After months of speculation on whether Lewis, Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett or even former World Champion Mika Häkkinen would drive for McLaren alongside defending champion Fernando Alonso for the 2007 Formula One season, Lewis was confirmed as the team's second driver to the amazement of many F1 insiders who considered that the more experienced Gary Paffett was more qualified for a race seat.[5] He was told of McLaren’s decision on September 30, but the news was not made public until November 24, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher’s retirement announcement.[4]
Hamilton is the first driver of African or Caribbean ancestry to compete in F1,[6] although Willy T. Ribbs tested a F1 car over 20 years previously.[7] Hamilton started testing for McLaren in Spain in November 2006, and was occasionally quicker than Pedro de la Rosa and the rest of the field.
On his début at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth on the grid and finished third in the race, the thirteenth driver to finish on the podium on his GP début[8] (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round), the last being 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve 11 years earlier. At the Bahrain GP, Hamilton got his first front-row start qualifying second to the Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, who won the race comfortably. Hamilton also finished second in the Spanish Grand Prix, again behind a dominant Massa, to take the lead in the drivers championship.[9] With that achievement, Hamilton surpassed Bruce McLaren to become the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.[10]
After his record-breaking start, Lewis was widely praised by the British media and Frank Williams describing him as "superhuman". Triple world champions Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda have speculated that he could win the 2007 championship. Ex-Jordan owner Eddie Jordan, however, disagrees and believes that Lewis Hamilton won't win the championship. McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh has said that he has the potential to become the greatest F1 driver ever.[11]
Racing record
| Season | Series | Team Name | No. | Races | Poles | Wins | Pts | Final Placing |
| 2000 | World Formula A Championship | TeamMBM.com (CRG/Parilla) | 1 | 0 | n/a | DNF | ||
| 2000 | European Formula A Championship | TeamMBM.com (CRG/Parilla) | 8 | 5 | 75 | 1st | ||
| 2000 | Formula A World Cup | TeamMBM.com (CRG/Parilla) | 1 | 1 | n/a | 1st | ||
| 2001 | Formula Super A World Championship | TeamMBM.com (Parolin/Parilla) | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 15th |
| 2002 | Formula Renault UK | Manor Motorsport | 25 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 274 | 3rd |
| 2003 | Formula Renault UK | Manor Motorsport | 3 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 419 | 1st |
| 2004 | Formula 3 Euroseries | Manor Motorsport | 35 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 5th |
| 2005 | Formula 3 Euroseries | ASM F3 | 6 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 172 | 1st |
| 2006 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 2 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 114 | 1st |
| 2007 | Formula One | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2nd * |
- No. = Car Number; * = Season Not Yet Finished
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4-22 | Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 | AUS 3 |
MAL 2 |
BHR 2 |
ESP 2 |
MON 2 |
CAN |
USA |
FRA |
GBR |
EUR |
HUN |
TUR |
ITA |
BEL |
JPN |
CHN |
BRA |
2nd* | 38* |
*Season in progress.
Miscellanea
Hamilton is to take part in the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [1]
The initial announcement was made by veteran DJ Johnnie Walker on BBC Radio Two this morning and later confirmed on the annual events official website. Hamilton will join other well known motorsport personalities, including Damon Hill, Jenson Button and Sir Stirling Moss, at the Festival which takes place between 22nd and 24th June 2007.
References
- ^ "Grenadian roots of first black F1 driver". BBC. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sourced from ITV's 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix commentary
- ^ a b c Zoo: Issue 162, 30 March-4 April 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Who's Who: Lewis Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ^ "Lewis Hamilton joins Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes". mclaren.com. 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ David Tremayne (2006-11-25). "Hamilton's F1 drive is a dream come true". The Independent. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "First black Formula One driver..." F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ^ "Hamilton makes history". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
- ^ "Massa holds off battling Hamilton". BBC Sport. 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Race notes: Spanish GP". Daily F1 News. 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "F1 praise 'superhuman' Hamilton. Eddie Jordan, however, disagrees and believes that Lewis Hamilton won't win the championship". wheels24.co.za. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Official web page
- Career details
- Lewis Hamilton Biography
- F1Fanatic Who's Who: Lewis Hamilton
- Mixed Race Identity
- Lewis Hamilton Fans
- Lewis Hamilton Fansite
- Lewis Hamilton Blog
