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Template:F1 driver Lewis Carl Hamilton (born January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire) is a British Formula One racing driver. Hamilton started karting aged eight. When he was ten, he approached McLaren team owner Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony and told him he would drive for McLaren one day; four years later, Hamilton was signed to the McLaren driver development support programme. Hamilton became European karting champion in 2000 with maximum points and made a successful transition to racing cars the following year.
After winning the British Formula Renault, European Formula Three and GP2 championship he became a McLaren F1 driver for 2007. He was the first rookie driver since 1950 to lead the Formula 1 World Championship, finishing on the podium in his first nine races and winning four of the first 15 Grands Prix of the year. He finished the 2007 season in 2nd place, 1 point behind Kimi Räikkönen after a gearbox transmission failure on the last day.
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. His mother Carmen and father Anthony named him after the US Olympic gold medal winning athlete Carl Lewis. Hamilton's parents separated when he was two and, until he was ten, he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha. After that he lived with his father, step-mother 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 Lewis finished second in the national championship the following year. Lewis said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults". That led to Lewis sampling kart racing for the first time. Aged six, his father bought him his first go-kart as a Christmas present, 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. Anthony would later set up his own computer company, as well as working as a manager for Lewis on a full time basis.
Hamilton attended The John Henry Newman School in Stevenage. He took up karate at an early age when his driving attracted the attention of local bullies. By the time he was twelve, he had gained his first black belt in the sport. He extended his skills to football, playing in his school team alongside current Aston Villa forward Ashley Young as a midfielder.
Career
Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight, and quickly began winning races and championships. At age ten, he approached McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis 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 book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
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).
Michael Schumacher, speaking about Hamilton in 2001."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."
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. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with his team-mate Tor Graves. 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.
Hamilton and Manor then made their début 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.
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. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
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 Junior.
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.
His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.
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. 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.
Formula One
2007: McLaren
On his début at the Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth and finished third in the race, becoming the 14th driver to finish on the podium in their first F1 race (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round). 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. With that achievement, Hamilton surpassed Bruce McLaren to become the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.
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. 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 , 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 itself.
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. His Q3 time was surpassed by all other competitors, and thus he qualified in tenth position. After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race. 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 controversy in qualifying. Alonso had set the fastest time, but was relegated to fifth on the grid for preventing Hamilton from leaving the pit lane in time to complete his final qualifying lap. Kimi Räikkönen stayed within five seconds of Hamilton for the entire race (excluding pit stop periods). McLaren were docked all of their constructor's points due to the incident in qualifying.
After declaring he had restored his relationship with Alonso, 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.
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. 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.
In the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix he failed to win, largely for two major reasons; firstly he was legally held up by Massa so Räikkönen could get past and then his gearbox cut out for about over 30 seconds which cost him crucial time.
Hamilton has reportedly signed a multi-million pound contract with HarperCollins for his autobiography.
Ahead of the world championship finale, Hamilton spoke of what it would mean to him as a black driver to become 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."
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."
Relationship with McLaren and Fernando Alonso
Hamilton's relationship with McLaren team boss Ron Dennis dates back to 1995.
The first indication that Hamilton was unhappy with his team was 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. 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."
However, intense rivalry with team mate Alonso led to speculation that one of the pair will leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season.
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 past in qualifying. . 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. Hamilton was reported to have sworn at Dennis on the team radio following the incident. British motorsport journal Autosport claimed that this " 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)". However McLaren later issued a statement on behalf of Hamilton which denied the use of any profanity. 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. In the aftermath it was reported that Hamilton had been targeted by Luca di Montezemolo regarding a Ferrari drive for 2008.
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."
Records
Hamilton has matched or set the following records in Formula One:
- Most consecutive podiums from debut race: 9 (previous record was 2)
- Most consecutive podiums for a British driver: 9 (tied with Jim Clark)
- Youngest driver to lead the World Championship.
- Most wins in a debut season: 4 (equalling Jacques Villeneuve's record from 1996)
- Most pole positions in a debut season: 6
Hamilton is the first black driver to compete in Formula One (although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986) and the first black driver 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.
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.
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 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 |
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 | ||
| European Formula A Championship | TeamMBM.com (CRG/Parilla) | 8 | 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 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 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 109 | 2nd |
See also
References
- http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/drivers/hamilton.shtml
- "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
- "MY BOY RACER". Daily Mirror. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Who's Who: Lewis Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- 20 things you don't know about Lewis Hamilton, Nuts (magazine), 22-28 June 2007
- ^ Owen, Oliver (2007-06-03). "The real deal". Observer Sport Monthly. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- Zoo (magazine): Issue 162, 30 March-4 April 2007
- "Hamilton's kart sells for £42,100". BBC News. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "When Hamilton raced Schumacher". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
- "Schumacher Tips Hamilton for Future Glory". AtlasF1. 2001-10-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- 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) - "New McLaren bad news for Wurz". Crash.net. 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "GP2 Series - History". GP2 Series (official website). Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "Montoya to leave F1". ITV News. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "Kimi won't live in Schumi's shadow". ITV News. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "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) - ^ "Hamilton still has long way to go". Super Wheels. Reuters. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "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 news}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Canadian Grand Prix". BBC Sport. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "United States Grand Prix facts and statistics". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- "Hamilton crashes in qualifying for European Grand Prix, taken away in ambulance". iht.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Räikkönen storms to pole as Hamilton crashes out". formula1.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Hamilton cleared to race in the Euro GP". itv-f1.com. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hamilton calls for truce and targets the bigger battles ahead". sport.guardian.co.uk. Guardian Unlimited. 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- "Turkish Grand Prix 2007". BBC Sport. 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
- "No Penalty for Hamilton; Vettel Penalty Annulled". Forumula1.net. October 5th, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - "F1 ace Hamilton signs a multi-million pound book deal".
- ^ "Lewis Hamilton fans 'racist'". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- "Hamilton 2007 Pre-season interview". Sporting Life. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- "FIA McLaren-Monaco Full statement". Formula1.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "The future of Fernando Alonso". grandprix.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Alonso cool on future at McLaren". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Rumour: Hamilton to Ferrari?". muchhalasworld.com. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Dennis: Hold up is Hamilton's fault". f1.gpupdate.net. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Chequered Flag (podcast)". 5:56 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio Five Live.
{{cite episode}}: Missing or empty|series=(help) - "Hamilton handed pole after Alonso punished". timesonline.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "LEWIS F-WORD STORM". sundaymirror.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Hamilton apologises to McLaren". autosport.com. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "McLaren: Lewis didn't swear at Dennis". itv-f1.com. ITV Network. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
- "Hungarian GP - Alonso not speaking to Hamilton". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - 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) - "Alonso continues attacks on McLaren & Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- Gorman, Edward (2007-07-02). "Silverstone awaits its new hero as Hamilton homes in on title". The Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- Tremayne, David (2007-08-10). "Hamilton vows to cap ninth podium record". The Independent. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- "Hamilton keeps cool despite championship lead". F1Way. 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- Wolff, Alexander (2007-06-12). "'Better Than Sex'". SI.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- Phillips, Randy (2007-06-07). "Hamilton in fast lane to success". Montreal Gazette/Canada.com. CanWest News Service. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- Gorman, Ed (2007-07-24). "Lewis and the crane". The Times/timesonline.co.uk. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
External links
- LewisHamilton.com Official Web Site
- Career details
- Lewis Hamilton biography McLaren.com
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byDanny Watts | British Formula Renault UK series champion 2003 |
Succeeded byMike Conway |
| Preceded byJamie Green | Formula Three Euroseries Drivers' Champion 2005 |
Succeeded byPaul di Resta |
| Preceded byNick Heidfeld (1997) |
Monaco Formula Three Support Race Winner 2005 |
Succeeded bynone race not held in 2006-2007 |
| Preceded byAlexandre Prémat | Formula Three Masters winner 2005 |
Succeeded byPaul di Resta |
| Preceded byNico Rosberg | GP2 Series Drivers' Champion 2006 |
Succeeded byTimo Glock |
| Preceded byDanny Watts | Autosport British Club Driver of the Year 2003 |
Succeeded byJames Pickford |
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