Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Hamilton (born January 7 1985 in Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England) is a British Formula One racing driver. As of the 2007 Formula One season he drives for the McLaren team. Hamilton is the first black driver to start a F1 race. He made his F1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix on 18th March, 2007, finishing 3rd.
Personal and early life
Hamilton's paternal grandparents immigrated to the United Kingdom from the Caribbean island of Grenada in the 1950s. He was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a local school with a reputation for academic excellence. His grandfather worked on the London underground.[1] In early 2007, Hamilton moved from Tewin Wood, Hertfordshire to Woking in Surrey in order to be closer to the McLaren factory. The Daily Mirror reported in March 2007 that he was dating Jodia Ma.[2]
Racing career
Pre-Formula One
Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight[3], 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) and Formula A (2000) ranks in six seasons. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers’ Club made him a ‘Rising Star’ Member in 2000[3].
Junior Formulas
Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth overall[3]. This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport. Hamilton finished third overall with three wins and three pole positions [3]. He remained with Manor for another year and won the championship convincingly with ten wins, beating Alex Lloyd with 419 points to 377[3]. But his debut 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[3]. 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[3] 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 [3].
After the season, British magazine Autosport featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005” issue, ranking Hamilton 24th[3]. 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 [3].
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 duly won the GP2 championship at his first attempt. Among his notable performances was a dominant win at the fifth round held at the Nurburgring, which he won after serving a penalty for speeding in the pits.[3]
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, although he failed to win on that occasion. 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 instead gave Hamilton the single point he needed to clinch the title.[3]
Formula One
Hamilton enjoyed a very successful first few days of testing a McLaren in Spain in November 2006. He set competitive times and was occasionally quicker than Pedro De La Rosa and the rest of the field.
In his début race, the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified in 4th, two places behind team mate and defending world champion, Fernando Alonso. Hamilton went on to finish third in his first Grand Prix, behind race winner Kimi Räikkönen and second placed Alonso. Hamilton led the race from lap 20 until pitting on lap 23, and led again on lap 43 when he pitted for a second time. This was a rookie's best début performance since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 and the best début for a British driver since Mike Parkes finished second in a Ferrari at the French Grand Prix in 1966.
2007 Onward: McLaren
As early as 1994 Hamilton had introduced himself to McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, at that Year's Autosport Awards[3], 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 included a future option on an F1 seat making Hamilton, 13 at the time, the youngest driver ever to have an F1 contract.[3]
His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[3]
After a long period of speculation of whether he, Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett, or even Mika Häkkinen would drive for McLaren alongside World Champion Fernando Alonso for the 2007 Formula One season, Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver.[4] He was told of McLaren’s decision on September 30th, but the news was not made public until November 24th, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher’s retirement announcement.[3]
Hamilton is the first black driver with prominent African or Caribbean ancestry to compete in Formula One,[5] although Willy T. Ribbs tested a Formula One car over 20 years ago.[6]
On his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified 4th on the grid and finished 3rd in the race, becoming the first driver since 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, who finished second on his debut, to achieve a podium in his first race.
Racing record
| Season | Series | Team Name | No. | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
| 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3rd |
Complete Formula One World Championship Results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| 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 V8 | AUS 3 |
MAL |
BHR |
ESP |
MON |
CAN |
USA |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
TUR |
ITA |
BEL |
JPN |
CHN |
BRA |
3rd | 6 |
References
- ^ "Grenadian roots of first black F1 driver". BBC. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hamilton in love with college girl". Daily Mirror.
- ^ 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.
