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This article is about the Formula One racing driver. For the footballer, see Lewis Hamilton (footballer).

Template:F1 driver Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born Stevenage,[1] 7 January 1985) is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren Mercedes team, the current and youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion.

Hamilton was named after the American sprinter Carl Lewis.[2] At the age of ten, he approached McLaren team principal, Ron Dennis, at an awards ceremony and told him "I want to race for you one day"; less than three years later, he was signed by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz to their Young Driver Support Programme.[2] After winning the British Formula Renault, European Formula Three and GP2 championship,[2] he became a McLaren F1 driver for 2007, making his Formula One debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. Coming from a mixed-race background, with a black father and white mother,[2][3] Hamilton is often labelled "the first black driver in Formula One".[2][3][4][1][5]

In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton set numerous rookie records and finished second in the 2007 Formula One Championship, behind Kimi Räikkönen by just one point. His first world championship was won the following season by the same margin of a single point, ahead of Felipe Massa. He has stated that he wants to stay with the McLaren team for the rest of his F1 career.[6]

Personal life

Hamilton's mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is white British, while his paternal grandparents emigrated to the United Kingdom from Grenada in the 1950s.[2] His grandfather (Oliver Hamilton) worked on the London Underground.[3] Hamilton's parents separated when he was two and he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha.[7] At twelve, he started living with his father, stepmother Linda and half-brother Nicholas who has cerebral palsy.

Hamilton's first taste of racing competition came at the controls of radio-controlled cars. Father Anthony bought him one in 1991, and Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year. Hamilton said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults".[8] That led to Hamilton sampling kart racing for the first time. Aged six, his father bought him his first go-kart as a Christmas present,[9] and would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. When supporting his son became problematic Anthony Hamilton took redundancy as an IT Manager and became a contractor - sometimes doing up to three jobs at a time to support his son's career - and still found enough time to attend all his races. He would later set up his own computer company, as well as working as a manager for Hamilton on a full time basis.[10]

Lewis Hamilton with Pedro de la Rosa (left), Paul di Resta and Bruno Spengler at Stars and Cars 2007

Lewis Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.[11] He extended his skills to football, playing in his school team alongside current Aston Villa and England international midfielder Ashley Young.[10] Hamilton said that if Formula 1 had not worked for him he would have been a footballer or a cricketer, having played for his school teams as a youngster.[12]

On 29 October 2007, Hamilton announced his intention to live in Switzerland, to get away from the media scrutiny he has experienced living in the United Kingdom. Hamilton mentioned on the television show Parkinson (broadcast on 10th November 2007), that taxation was partly responsible for his decision, in addition to wanting more privacy.[13] Other Formula One drivers, including world champions Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, also live in Switzerland.[14]

On 18 December 2007, Hamilton was suspended from driving in France for a month after being caught speeding at 122 mph (196 km/h) on a French motorway. His Mercedes-Benz was also impounded.

Early career

Karting

Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight,[15] at the Rye House Kart Circuit[16] and quickly began winning races and championships. At age ten, he approached McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis for an autograph, and told him, "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." Ron Dennis actually called him a few years later, after Hamilton started winning championships.[8]

From the Cadet ranks (1993-7), he progressed through the Junior Yamaha (1998) and Junior Intercontinental A (1999) divisions. In 1998 Dennis delivered on his promise and signed Hamilton to the McLaren driver development program. This contract included an option of a future F1 seat, making Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive.[15]

"He's a quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality."

Michael Schumacher, speaking about Hamilton in 2001.[17]

Lewis Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his team mate was Nico Rosberg, who would later drive for the Williams team in Formula One. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a ‘Rising Star’ Member in 2000.[18]

In 2001 Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final seventh, four places behind Schumacher, and although the two saw little of each other on the track Schumacher praised the young Briton (see quote box).[19]

Formula Renault and Formula Three

Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series. Despite crashing on his third lap in the car in testing, he finished fifth overall in the winter series.[8] This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport. Hamilton finished third overall with three wins and three pole positions. He remained with Manor for another year and won the championship with ten wins and 419 points to the two wins and 377 points of this nearest rival, Alex Lloyd. Having clinched the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season to make his debut in the season finale of the British Formula Three Championship. Here he was less successful: in the first race he was forced out with a puncture,[20] and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with his team-mate Tor Graves.[21] He did show his speed at both the Macau and Korean Grands Prix. In the latter he qualified on pole position in his first visit to the track and in only his fourth F3 race.

At the beginning of 2004, Hamilton and McLaren had an argument, which resulted in McLaren temporarily dropping him. On the 2nd of March 2007, Williams announced that they came close to signing the young individual, but were refused the opportunity due to BMW, their engine supplier at the time, refusing to fund Hamilton's career[22] . Hamilton eventually re-signed with McLaren, and made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula Three Euroseries. They won one race and Hamilton ended the year fifth in the championship. He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix and raced one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix. Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004, at Silverstone.[23]

He moved to reigning Euroseries champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds after being disqualified from one win at Spa-Francorchamps on a technical infringement that caught out several other drivers.[8] He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.[24]

GP2

After the season, British magazine Autosport featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005” issue, ranking Hamilton 24th. After his success in Formula Three, he moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix for 2006. Just like their sister team in F3, ART were the class of the field and reigning champions having taken the 2005 GP2 crown with Nico Rosberg. Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet, Jr.

His notable performances included a dominant win at the Nürburgring, despite serving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the British Grand Prix, Hamilton impressed 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 in Istanbul, when he recovered from a spin that left him 18th to take second place in the final corners. He won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. In the sprint race though he finished second with Piquet sixth, finishing twelve points clear of his rival.[25]

His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[26][27] After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett or former World Champion Mika Häkkinen would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso in 2007, Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver.[28] 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.[29]

Formula One career

2007 season

Hamilton's first F1 victory came at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.

It was announced prior to the start of the season, that Hamilton would be partnering defending double World Champion, Fernando Alonso. Alonso had joined McLaren after leaving Renault.

On his début at the Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth and finished third in the race, becoming the thirteenth driver to finish on the podium in their first F1 career race (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round).[30] In Bahrain, Hamilton got his first front-row start, qualifying and finishing second behind Felipe Massa. Hamilton again finished second behind Massa in the Spanish Grand Prix, to take the lead in the drivers championship.[31] With that achievement, Hamilton surpassed Bruce McLaren to become the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.[32]

Hamilton finished second behind Alonso at Monaco and afterwards suggested he was prevented from racing his team mate. But the FIA cleared McLaren following an investigation (see below).

Hamilton scored the first pole position and victory of his F1 career in the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal. He led most of the race despite the safety car being deployed four times. The win strengthened his championship challenge.[33] A week later, Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix also from pole position, becoming the first Briton since John Watson in 1983 to win an F1 race in the US,[34] and only the second person, after Jacques Villeneuve, to win more than one race in his rookie F1 season since the first year of the Championship.

Hamilton at the start of the French Grand Prix behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

By finishing third at Magny-Cours behind Ferrari drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, Hamilton extended his lead in the Driver's Championship to 14 points. This was the first time in his F1 career he finished a race in a lower position than he started, and the first time he had been passed on the racetrack in Formula One. He took pole at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone and led the first 16 laps, but slipped to third, 40 seconds behind Räikkönen and Alonso.

During qualifying for the European Grand Prix, Hamilton crashed at the Schumacher chicane after a problem with the wheel nut air gun used on his car. He was taken to the circuit's medical centre on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and drip, but was conscious throughout.[35] His Q3 time was surpassed by all other competitors, and thus he qualified in tenth position.[36] After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race.[37] During a heavy rainstorm which caused the race to be red-flagged, Hamilton slid off into a gravel trap. However as he kept his engine running he was lifted back on to the circuit and able rejoin the race after the restart. His ninth place finish in this race was his first non-podium and non-points finish, enabling title contenders Alonso and Massa to reduce Hamilton's championship lead.

Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position following a controversial qualifying session. Alonso had set the fastest time, but was relegated five places down the grid to sixth for preventing Hamilton to leave the pit lane in time to complete his final qualifying lap. Potentially preventing Lewis from claiming pole position. Kimi Räikkönen stayed within five seconds of Hamilton for the entire race (excluding pit stop periods). McLaren were docked any constructor's points earned during the race due to the incident in qualifying.

After declaring he had restored his relationship with Alonso,[38] Hamilton qualified second in Turkey. After dropping to third at the first corner, Hamilton looked set for a podium finish with 15 laps remaining, but a right-front tyre puncture forced him to crawl back to the pits, leaving him to finish fifth meaning his championship lead was cut once more.[39]

Hamilton took fourth place in Belgium.

Alonso beat Hamilton in the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix, leaving the Briton with a two-point lead in the title race. However he extended his lead to 12 points after winning the Japanese Grand Prix in heavy rain, after Alonso crashed. Following the race Hamilton was investigated by the race stewards over his involvement in an incident behind the safety car, which saw both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crash out of the race while following the McLaren. The trio were cleared on the Friday of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.[40]

After securing pole position in China, Hamilton retired from the race which saw changeable weather conditions. He experienced considerable tyre wear, notably his right rear, and he ran wide into the gravel trap in the pitlane, where his car beached. This was Hamilton's first retirement of his Formula One career. It was later revealed that Bridgestone became unnerved at the glaringly worn tyres and advised McLaren to order him to make a pit stop which McLaren refused to do, believing it would be counterproductive. Hamilton himself couldn't tell the full extent of the tyre problem as raindrops were in his wing mirrors. Hamilton thus went into the final race of the season four and seven points ahead of Alonso and Räikkönen respectively.

In the Brazilian Grand Prix, he failed to finish in a championship-winning position, finishing the race in 7th overall after being in 18th place at his worst point of the race. This occurred due to two major incidents; first, he was passed by Räikkönen away from the line, before being boxed in by Massa and Räikkönen in the first corner and 'wrong-footed' by Räikkönen mid-corner.[41] As a result, Hamilton was passed by Alonso at Turn 3. Hamilton attempted to re-pass Alonso in turn four, but ran wide, dropping four places to eighth.

On lap 9, Hamilton encountered a gearbox problem, which meant that he was stuck in neutral and could not select any gears.[42] The gearbox became operational again after Hamilton switched settings on his steering wheel, but he lost 40 seconds while his car was coasting. For most of the race, Massa was leading the race with Räikkönen in second. If this was the case come the chequered flag and with Hamilton in 7th place, this would have meant that Hamilton would become world champion, but after their second round of pit stops, Räikkönen stayed out a couple of laps longer than Massa and took the lead.[43] Once in front, Räikkönen made no mistakes in the remaining laps to win the race and become Formula One world champion.

Later, on 21 October 2007, on was announced that the FIA were investigating BMW Sauber and Williams for fuel irregularities, the BMW drivers had finished in fifth and sixth place. If they were to be excluded, Hamilton would be promoted to fifth and would win the 2007 Drivers World Championship by one point over Räikkönen. A precedent had been set in 1995, Michael Schumacher, then of Benetton-Renault, and David Coulthard, then of Williams-Renault, were both found guilty of possessing illegal fuel in their cars. In that situation both drivers were initially docked drivers points, but for unspecified reasons it would transpire - over a week later - that constructor points would be docked. Ultimately, no penalty whatsoever was given to any team and it was said that there was "sufficient doubt as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty", though McLaren have officially appealed this decision.[44] Hamilton subsequently told the BBC he does not want to win an F1 title through the disqualifications of other drivers.[45]

Hamilton has reportedly signed a multi-million pound contract with HarperCollins for his autobiography.[46]

Ahead of the world championship finale, Hamilton answered a question about what it would mean to him to become the first black champion, saying: "It will show that not only white people can do it, but also black people, Indians, Japanese and Chinese. It will be good to mean something."[47]

Having made few public remarks about his ethnicity since becoming an F1 driver, Hamilton added: "Outside of Formula One my heroes are foremost my father, then Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. Being black is not a negative. It’s a positive, if anything, because I’m different. In the future it can open doors to different cultures and that is what motor sport is trying to do anyway".[47]

Team tensions

Hamilton on the top step of the podium after winning the 2007 United States Grand Prix. He is flanked by team-mate Fernando Alonso (left) and Felipe Massa (right).

Hamilton's relationship with McLaren team boss Ron Dennis dates back to 1995.[48] The first indication that Hamilton was unhappy with his team appeared after he finished second at Monaco. After post-race comments made by Hamilton which suggested he had been forced into a supporting role, the FIA initiated an inquiry to determine whether McLaren had broken rules by enforcing team orders.[49] McLaren denied favouring double world champion Fernando Alonso, and the FIA subsequently vindicated the team, stating that: "McLaren were able to pursue an optimum team strategy because they had a substantial advantage over all other cars. They did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result".[49]

However, rivalry with teammate Alonso led to speculation that one of the pair would leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season.[50][51][52] Alonso and McLaren subsequently terminated their contract by mutual consent on November 2, 2007.[53]

The tensions within the team surfaced at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. During final qualifying for the race, Hamilton was involved in a controversy that saw McLaren and Alonso penalised after Hamilton was delayed in the pits and thus unable to set a final lap before the end of the session. McLaren pointed out that Hamilton had disobeyed an earlier instruction to let Alonso pass in qualifying.[54] Alonso was relegated to 6th place on the grid, thus elevating Hamilton (who had originally qualified second) to first. Hamilton said he thought Alonso's penalty was "quite light if anything" and only regretted the loss of constructors' points.[55] Hamilton was reported to have sworn at Dennis on the team radio following the incident.[56][57] British motorsport journal Autosport claimed that this "[led] Dennis to throw his headphones on the pit wall in disgust (a gesture that was misinterpreted by many to be in reaction to Alonso's pole)".[58] However McLaren later issued a statement on behalf of Hamilton which denied the use of any profanity.[59] As a result of these events, the relationship between Hamilton and Alonso temporarily collapsed, with the pair not on speaking terms for a short period.[60][38] In the aftermath it was reported that Hamilton had been targeted by Luca di Montezemolo regarding a Ferrari drive for 2008.[61]

Following the stewards' investigation into the incident at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, Alonso insinuated that the verdict had settled the championship in Hamilton's favour, saying: "I’m not thinking of this championship anymore, it’s been decided off the track. The drivers’ briefing has no purpose. You go there to hear what Charlie Whiting and the other officials say. Twenty one drivers have an opinion, Charlie and the officials another, and so it’s like talking to a wall".[62]

2008 season

Hamilton won the first race of 2008 in Melbourne.

On December 14, 2007, it was confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen who drove for Renault in 2007 would drive the second car for McLaren-Mercedes for the 2008 Formula One season alongside Hamilton.

In January 2008, Hamilton signed a new 5-year multi-million pound contract to stay with McLaren-Mercedes until at least the end of the 2012 season.

Hamilton on the podium of the first race of 2008 in Melbourne.

Hamilton won the first race of the 2008 season, the Australian Grand Prix, having qualified on pole. In the second race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix, he finished 5th after long duels with both Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli. He had been demoted to 9th on the grid, having qualified 4th, for impeding Heidfeld's flying lap. The third race of the year, the Bahrain Grand Prix did not start well for Hamilton as he had a crash in practice which destroyed his car. He raced with a spare chassis, and took 3rd in qualifying. In the race, after getting off to a bad start and crashing into the back of Alonso's Renault, he finished 13th, leading to him being overtaken in the drivers Championship by Kimi Räikkönen and Nick Heidfeld.

He got back on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing third from fifth on the grid. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Hamilton finished second in the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday May 11th 2008. He said that this was his best race he had ever competed in. Two weeks later, he won the Monaco Grand Prix putting him in the lead of the championship.

He achieved his eighth career pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix. In the race, he crashed into the back of Räikkönen whilst the Finn was waiting at a red light at the end of the pit lane after failing to see the light. Both cars were forced to retire and Hamilton was given a 10 position grid penalty for the next race, the French Grand Prix, as a result of this incident. At that race, Hamilton overtook Sebastian Vettel at the chicane on lap 1 but missed the apex and was given a drive through penalty which he served on lap 13, finishing the race in 13th. Despite an error in qualifying that saw him start 4th on the grid, Hamilton went on to win the British Grand Prix in difficult, wet conditions. His performance was stated as being one of his best drives to date.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Hamilton himself said in the post race press conference that it was his most difficult and most meaningful win.

In the next race at Hockenheim, Hamilton started from pole position, building up an 11 second lead over second-placed Felipe Massa early in the race. After stopping and re-emerging in the lead, McLaren then decided to keep Hamilton out on-track when the safety car was deployed mid-way through the race. When Hamilton finally pitted, he came out in fifth place, jumping to third after his team-mate let him by and Nick Heidfeld pitted. He then overtook Massa and Nelson Piquet Jr. for the lead, eventually winning by 9 seconds.

Hamilton was penalised at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix for passing Kimi Räikkönen after cutting the previous corner. The stewards judged that he gained an illegal advantage, and the penalty dropped him from first to third position.

Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix on the road, however he was later judged to have gained an unfair advantage by cutting a chicane when he used a tarmac run off area to avoid hitting Kimi Räikkönen.[63] McLaren said that their telemetry showed Hamilton backed off to let Räikkönen past.[64] Hamilton was given a 25-second penalty, thereby dropping him to third. As a result, main title rival Massa inherited the win. Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship was cut to two points, and a subsequent appeal by McLaren to the FIA World Council was rejected on the grounds that the case was inadmissable.[65] Hamilton then finished third at the next race, the Singapore Grand Prix. Massa failed to score any points, allowing Hamilton to increase his championship lead.

At the Japanese Grand Prix Hamilton took pole in qualifying, with a fastest lap of one minute 18.404. His closest rival for the Championship title, Felipe Massa, could only manage to qualify 5th.[66]

At the start of the race, Kimi Räikkönen made a good start from second position, getting ahead of pole-sitter Hamilton. Hamilton, however, moved down the inside before the first corner, outbraking himself and running wide. This forced the drivers behind him to also go off the track, including the cars of Räikkönen and Heikki Kovalainen, for which Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty.

The second incident happened soon afterwards on the second lap when Hamilton attempted to pass Massa into the chicane at turn 10. Hamilton pulled alongside the Ferrari and Massa ran wide to avoid a car ahead, enabling Hamilton to pass. Massa, pushed off the track by Hamilton's manoeuvre, crossed the grass and came back in at the second bend of the chicane, pushing the McLaren into a spin. Massa was later given a drive-through penalty for this move. Hamilton, who had been in 6th place behind Massa, dropped down to last place and managed to finish the race in 12th place. However, his title rival Felipe Massa only finished 5th, meaning that with just two races to go Hamilton led the World Championship by five points from Massa.

At the penultimate race of the season, the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton was much faster than all the other cars in the practice sessions, and in qualifying he did well again, qualifying in pole position.[67] He went on to win the race from Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to go into the last race of the season with a 7 point lead in the World Championship.

Finishing 5th in the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton clinched the 2008 Formula One World Championship, becoming the youngest driver to win the title. He needed to finish at least fifth in the race to win the World Championship and in the closing laps of the race, Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso took the 5th position away from Hamilton. Had the race ended then, this would have cost him the world title, which would have been taken by Massa who had already won the race. But first Vettel and then Hamilton managed to pass Timo Glock of Toyota on the final lap of the race, after Glock had risked staying on the track with dry tyres despite the rain which fell over the final few laps. This elevated Hamilton's position back up to the required 5th, ensuring he finished one point beyond Massa overall, allowing him to win the 2008 title.

Racial abuse

Circuit de Catalunya

On February 4, 2008, Lewis Hamilton was verbally heckled and otherwise abused during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Catalonia by several Spanish spectators who wore black face paint and black wigs, as well as shirts bearing the words "Hamilton's family". Hamilton became widely unpopular in Spain because of his rivalry with Spanish former team-mate Fernando Alonso. The FIA have warned the Spanish authorities about the repetition of such behaviour.[68][69] In reaction to this behaviour, the FIA announced on 13 February 2008 that it will launch a "Race Against Racism" campaign.[70]

Website

On October 31, 2008, a day before the season-deciding 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, a Spanish website named "pinchalaruedadeHamilton" (burst Hamilton's tyre) surfaced which featured an animated image of Interlagos that allowed users to leave nails on the track for Hamilton's car to run over. Comments on the website read "Half-breed, kill yourself in your car," and "I hope you run over your dad in the first pit stop, Hamilton." [71]

Records

Hamilton has matched or set the following records in Formula One:

Hamilton is the first driver of black heritage to compete in Formula One (although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986[75]) and the first driver of black heritage to win a major race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in any discipline. In addition, he is the third youngest driver to achieve an F1 pole position, and the fourteenth F1 driver to achieve a podium finish on his debut.[30]

During the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Hamilton became the first driver to have his car recovered by a crane and put back on the track during an F1 race, although several drivers have been pushed back onto the circuit by the marshals without mechanical aids when judged to be in a dangerous position, such as Michael Schumacher during the 2003 European Grand Prix.[76] Since then, the FIA have now banned the use of mechanical assistance to help move a car back onto the track, and thus he will likely now go down in the record books for being the last, too.

Lewis Hamilton's contract for the McLaren driver development program made him the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive.[15]

Helmet

File:Lewis-hamilton-2008-helmet.jpg.jpg
Hamilton's helmet

Due to the fact that Hamilton has said in the past that Ayrton Senna was his hero, some people assumed that his helmet is yellow in honour of him.[77] In reality it was made yellow so that his father could tell which kart his son was driving back in his karting days. Hamilton chose the colours blue, green and red and they were originally in a ribbon design however Hamilton later felt that the design was "a bit old hat" so it was changed. In later years a white ring was added and the ribbons moved forward to make room for adverts and logos.[78]

Racing results

Career summary

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
European Formula A Championship TeamMBM.com (CRG/Parilla) 9 5 75 1st
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 Formule 3 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 17 6 4 109 2nd
2008 Formula One Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 22 17 7 5 98 1st

* Season in progress.

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 18 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
1 		USA
1 		FRA
3 		GBR
3 		EUR
9 		HUN
1 		TUR
5 		ITA
2 		BEL
4 		JPN
1 		CHN
Ret 		BRA
7 		2nd 109
2008 Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes 		McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 AUS
1 		MAL
5 		BHR
13 		ESP
3 		TUR
2 		MON
1 		CAN
Ret 		FRA
10 		GBR
1 		GER
1 		HUN
5 		EUR
2 		BEL
3 		ITA
7 		SIN
3 		JPN
12 		CHN
1 		BRA
5 		1st 98

* Season in progress.

Bibliography

Written by Hamilton

  • Hamilton, Lewis (2007). Lewis Hamilton: My Story (Hardback). London: HarperSport. pp. 320 pages. ISBN 978-0007270057.
  • Hamilton, Lewis (17/03/2008). Lewis Hamilton: My Story (Paperback). London: HarperSport. pp. 336 pages. ISBN 978-0007270064. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Written by others

  • Hughes, Mark (08/11/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story (hardback). Thriplow: Icon Books Ltd. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-0007270064. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Hughes, Mark (26/02/2008). Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story (paperback). Thriplow: Icon Books Ltd. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 978-1840469417. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Worral, Frank (01/10/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The Biography (hardback). London: John Blake Publishing. pp. 306 pages. ISBN 978-1844545438. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Worral, Frank (08/09/2008). Lewis Hamilton: The Biography (paperback). London: John Blake Publishing. pp. 288 pages. ISBN 978-1844545810. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Stafford, Ian (01/11/2007). Lewis Hamilton: New Kid on the Grid. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Co. (Edinburgh) Ltd. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-1844545438. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Belton, Brian (03/09/2007). Lewis Hamilton: A Dream Comes True. London: Pennant Publishing Ltd. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 978-1906015077. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Rogers, Gareth (01/10/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The Story So Far (paperback). Stroud: The History Press Ltd. pp. 200 pages. ISBN 978-0752444802. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • van de Burgt, Andrew (15/11/2007). Lewis Hamilton: A portrait of Britain's new F1 hero (hardback). Yeovil: J H Haynes & Co Ltd. pp. 160 pages. ISBN 978-1844254804. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Jones, Bruce (01/10/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The People's Champion (ITV SPORT) (hardback). London: Carlton Books Ltd. pp. 128 pages. ISBN 978-1844420278. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Apps, Roy (11/09/2008). Lewis Hamilton (Dream To Win) (paperback). London: Franklin Watts Ltd. pp. 48 pages. ISBN 978-0749682330. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Townsend, John. Lewis Hamilton (hardback). Oxford: Raintree Publishers. pp. 32 pages. ISBN 978-1406209532.
  • Spragg, Ian (6/3/2008). Lewis Hamilton:The RIse of F1's New Superstar. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

References

  1. ^ a b Kelso, Paul (2007-04-20). "Profile: Lewis Hamilton". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Wolff, Alexander (2007-06-12). "'Better Than Sex'". SI.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  3. ^ a b c "Grenadian roots of first black F1 driver". BBC. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  4. ^ Smith, Adam (2007-04-12). "Lewis Hamilton: The Tiger Woods of Racing?". Time. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  5. ^ Garside, Kevin (2006-09-13). "Formula One's first black driver to take his place on grid". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-06-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Lewis Hamilton News - Planet-F1 News - from planet-f1.com
  7. ^ "MY BOY RACER". Daily Mirror. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  8. ^ a b c d "Who's Who: Lewis Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  9. ^ 20 things you don't know about Lewis Hamilton, Nuts Magazine, 22–28 June 2007
  10. ^ a b Owen, Oliver (2007-06-03). "The real deal". Observer Sport Monthly. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  11. ^ Zoo (magazine): Issue 162, 30 March–4 April 2007
  12. ^ Hamilton bio delves into Alonso feud
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  14. ^ "Hamilton decides to leave Britain". BBC News Website. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  15. ^ a b c "Hamilton's kart sells for £42,100". BBC News. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  16. ^ The Sun extract from Lewis's book Retrieved November 05, 2007
  17. ^ "Schumacher Tips Hamilton for Future Glory". AtlasF1. 2001-10-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  18. ^ "Lewis Hamilton Biography". Vodafone McLaren Mercedes official website. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  19. ^ "When Hamilton raced Schumacher". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  20. ^ Thomas, Stella-Maria (2003-10-10). "Brands Hatch round 23 race report". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Thomas, Stella-Maria (2003-10-13). "Brands Hatch round 24 race report". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "Williams 'came close to Lewis deal'". ITV-F1.com. 2008-03-02.
  23. ^ "New McLaren bad news for Wurz". Crash.net. 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  24. ^ "Lewis Hamilton portrait". Formula 3 Euro Series (official website). 2005-08-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  25. ^ "GP2 Series - History". GP2 Series (official website). Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  26. ^ "Montoya to leave F1". ITV News. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  27. ^ "Kimi won't live in Schumi's shadow". ITV News. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  28. ^ "Lewis Hamilton joins Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes". mclaren.com. 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
  29. ^ David Tremayne (2006-11-25). "Hamilton's F1 drive is a dream come true". The Independent. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  30. ^ a b "Hamilton still has long way to go". Super Wheels. Reuters. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  31. ^ "Massa holds off battling Hamilton". BBC Sport. 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "Race notes: Spanish GP". Daily F1 News. 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ "Canadian Grand Prix". BBC Sport. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  34. ^ "United States Grand Prix facts and statistics". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  35. ^ "Hamilton crashes in qualifying for European Grand Prix, taken away in ambulance". iht.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  36. ^ "Räikkönen storms to pole as Hamilton crashes out". formula1.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  37. ^ "Hamilton cleared to race in the Euro GP". itv-f1.com. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  38. ^ a b "Hamilton calls for truce and targets the bigger battles ahead". sport.guardian.co.uk. Guardian Unlimited. 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  39. ^ "Turkish Grand Prix 2007". BBC Sport. 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  40. ^ "No Penalty for Hamilton; Vettel Penalty Annulled". Forumula1.net. October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  41. ^ "Ferrari move up a gear to hand Räikkönen glory". the guardian. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  42. ^ "Q and A with Lewis Hamlton". Autosport. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. but I was downshifting into Turn 4 and the car just selected neutral. I coasted for some time.
  43. ^ "Massa happy to help Kimi to title". itv f1. October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  44. ^ "F1 teams escape fuel punishment". BBC. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. McLaren has said it plans to appeal to the FIA, the sport's governing body.
  45. ^ "Hamilton keen to win 'fair' title". BBC. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-23. "To have the world title taken away is a bit cruel and probably not good for the sport" Hamilton told 5live Sport.
  46. ^ "F1 ace Hamilton signs a multi-million pound book deal".[unreliable source?]
  47. ^ a b "Lewis Hamilton fans 'racist'". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  48. ^ "Hamilton 2007 Pre-season interview". Sporting Life. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  49. ^ a b "The FIA's McLaren-Monaco statement in full". Formula1.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  50. ^ "The future of Fernando Alonso". grandprix.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  51. ^ "Alonso cool on future at McLaren". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  52. ^ "Rumour: Hamilton to Ferrari?". muchhalasworld.com. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  53. ^ "Alonso secures exit from McLaren". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  54. ^ "Dennis: Hold up is Hamilton's fault". f1.gpupdate.net. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  55. ^ "Chequered Flag (podcast)". 5:56 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio Five Live. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  56. ^ "Hamilton handed pole after Alonso punished". timesonline.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  57. ^ "LEWIS F-WORD STORM". sundaymirror.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  58. ^ "Hamilton apologises to McLaren". autosport.com. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  59. ^ "McLaren: Lewis didn't swear at Dennis". itv-f1.com. ITV Network. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  60. ^ "Hungarian GP - Alonso not speaking to Hamilton". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  61. ^ Cooper, Steve (2007). "McLaren dream team turns into nightmare". Autosport. 189 (6): pp.6–8. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  62. ^ "Alonso continues attacks on McLaren & Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  63. ^ http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70405
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  72. ^ Gorman, Edward (2007-07-02). "Silverstone awaits its new hero as Hamilton homes in on title". The Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
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  78. ^ "Hamilton's helmet". asiaone.com. Singapore Press Holdings. 2007-07-23. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lewis Hamilton.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula One World Drivers' Champion
2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by British Formula Renault
UK series champion
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Formula Three Euroseries
Drivers' Champion
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Monaco Formula Three Support
Race Winner
2005 		Succeeded by
none
race not held in 2006-2008
Preceded by Formula Three Masters winner
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GP2 Series Drivers' Champion
2006 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Most Wins in a debut Formula One season
4 wins
2007 with:
Jacques Villeneuve (1996) 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Fernando Alonso
24 years, 58 days
(2005 season)
 Youngest Formula One
World Drivers' Champion
23 years, 300 days
(2008 season) 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Autosport
British Club Driver of the Year
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Autosport
Rookie Of The Year
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Hawthorn Memorial Trophy
2007, 2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Autosport
British Competition Driver
2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Autosport
International Racing Driver Award
2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year
2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

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