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EspañolLEWIS HAMILTON
'Lewis Carl Hamilton' (born January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire) is a British Formula One driver. Hamilton started racing karts at the age of eight. When he was ten,[1] 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.
He progressed through the junior formulae, achieving titles in British Formula Renault, European Formula Three and GP2. He was appointed as a Formula One driver for McLaren in 2007. In his first season in the top international single seater category he became the first rookie driver to lead the world championship, finishing on the podium in his first nine races and winning three times by two-thirds of the way through the season. Hamilton signed a multi-million pound with HarperCollins for his autobiography.[2]
| Contents |
| Personal and early life |
| Early career |
| Karting |
| Junior Formulae |
| Formula One |
| Career |
| Relationship with McLaren |
| Records |
| Complete Formula One results |
| Racing record |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
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.[3] His mother Carmen and father Anthony, (who is now an IT consultant), named him after the US Olympic gold medal winning athlete Carl Lewis.[4] Hamilton's parents separated when he was two and, until he was ten, he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha.[5] After that he lived with his father, step-mother Linda and half-brother Nicholas who has cerebral palsy. At six, he began his racing career when his father bought him his first go-kart as a Christmas present,20 things you don't know about Lewis Hamilton, Nuts (magazine), 22-28 June 2007 and would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. The real deal Oliver Owen 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.Zoo (magazine): Issue 162, 30 March-4 April 2007 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.
Early career
Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight,[6] and quickly began winning races and championships. At age ten, he approached McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis and told him, "I'm going to race for you one day... I'm going to race for McLaren". From the Cadet ranks (1993-7), he progressed though the Junior Yamaha (1998) and Junior Intercontinental A (1999) divisions, earning him attention from Team McLaren, who signed him to the McLaren driver development support programme. This contract included an option of a future F1 seat, thus making Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure an F1 contract.6
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.[7]
Junior Formulae
Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth overall. 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,[8] and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with his team-mate Tor Graves.[9] 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 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 and raced one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix. Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004, at Silverstone.[10]
He moved to reigning Euroseries champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.[11]
After the season, British magazine ''Autosport'' featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005” issue, ranking Hamilton 24th. After Hamilton's success in Formula Three, he was signed by 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. Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt.
Among his notable performances was a dominant win at the fifth round held 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 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.[12]
His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR[13] and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[14]
Hamilton securing second place in Malaysia.
Formula One
Career
Hamilton driving for McLaren at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.
On his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth and finished third in the race, thus becoming the fourteenth driver to finish on the podium on his GP début (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round).[17] 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.[18] With that achievement, Hamilton surpassed Bruce McLaren to become the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.[19]
Hamilton had to be content with second place at Monaco. He felt he was prevented from challenging for the win by his team. However the FIA later deemed that "McLaren did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result."[20]
Hamilton gained the first pole position of his F1 career in Montreal at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. On race day, Hamilton led almost continuously from start to finish, despite having his lead cut on the four occasions the safety car was deployed. The win strengthened his championship challenge.[21] 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 a Formula One World Championship race in the US, and only the second person after Jacques Villeneuve to win more than one race in his first F1 Championship season since the first year of the Championship itself.
Hamilton during his first British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
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 that 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. At Silverstone, Hamilton's home Grand Prix, he started from pole and led for the first 16 laps of the race. He was unable to maintain this pace for the full race, finishing 40 seconds behind Räikkönen and Alonso but still leading the championship.
During qualifying for the European Grand Prix, Hamilton crashed at the after a problem with the wheel nut air gun used on his car.[22] He was taken to the circuit's medical centre on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and drip, but was conscious throughout.[23]His Q3 time was surpassed by all other competitors, and thus he qualified in tenth position.[24] After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race.[25] 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 9th place finish in this race was both his first non-podium and non-points finish, enabling title contenders Alonso and Massa to reduce Hamilton's lead in the Drivers' Championship. After Alonso was relegated five places for obstructing Hamilton in qualifying, Hamilton was able to extend his championship lead by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix. Kimi Räikkönen stayed within five seconds of him for the entire race (excluding pit stop periods). However, the team was docked all of their constructor's points due to the incident in qualifying.
After declaring he had restored his relationship with Alonso,[26] Hamilton qualified second in Turkey. After dropping to third at the first corner, Hamilton looked set for a podium finish with 15 laps remaining. However his right-front tyre suffered a puncture, leaving Hamilton to crawl back to the pits, rejoining the race in fifth position.[27] There he stayed until the finish, but the incident allowed his rivals to reduce their deficits in the Driver's Championship.
Relationship with McLaren
Hamilton's relationship with team boss Ron Dennis dates back to 1995[28]. However unusually intense rivalry with teammate Alonso has led to speculation(three sources needed) that either Hamilton or Alonso will leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season.
The first indication that Hamilton was discontent with his team was after his second placed finish at Monaco. After comments made by Hamilton post-race 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."[20]
Tensions within the team were most clearly demonstrated at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. During final qualifying for the race, Hamilton was involved in a controversy that saw McLaren and Alonso penalised for delaying Hamilton in the pits - preventing Hamilton from putting in a final "hot lap" before the end of the session. McLaren blamed Hamilton for the incident,[30] saying that he was supposed to let Alonso pass him and gain track position in the initial stages of the final qualifying session. Alonso was relegated to 6th place on the grid, thus elevating Hamilton (who had initially qualified second) to the number one slot. Hamilton won the race from his improved grid position, extending his championship lead by a further five points. Hamilton said he thought Alonso's penalty was "quite light if anything" and only regretted the loss of constructors' points.[31] On team radio following qualifying the following exchange between Hamilton and Ron Dennis is reported to have taken place:[32][33][34]
:Hamilton: "''Don’t ever fucking do that to me again!''"
:Dennis: "''Don’t ever fucking speak to me like that again!''"
:Hamilton: "''Go fucking swivel!''"
Ron Dennis slammed his headphones against the McLaren pit stand in response - a gesture misinterpreted by many to be a reaction to Alonso's actions.[35] Former F1 driver Eddie Irvine labelled Hamilton's comments "disrespectful" and "unbelievable" and argued "success is starting to go to his head."[36] However, it was later reported that Hamilton's language was exaggerated by the media.[37] McLaren subsequently issued a statement on behalf of Hamilton which denied the use of the "F word".[38] As a result of these events, the relationship between Hamilton and Alonso temporarily collapsed, with the pair not on speaking terms.[39] In the aftermath it was reported that Hamilton had been targeted by Luca di Montezemolo regarding a Ferrari drive for .[40] It was later announced that the pair were again on speaking terms. [26]
Records
Hamilton has matched or set the following records in Formula One:
★ Most consecutive podiums from debut race: 9 (previous record was 2)[42]
★ Most consecutive podiums for a British driver: 9 (tied with Jim Clark)[43]
★ Youngest driver to lead the World Championship.[44]
★ First driver to achieve consecutive wins from pole position in debut season.
Hamilton is the first black driver to compete in Formula One[45] (although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986[46]) 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.17
During the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, 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.[47]
Complete Formula One results
() (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 | JPN | CHN | BRA | '1st ★ ' | '92 ★ ' |
''
★ ''Racing season in progress.
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 |
| Formula One | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 2 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 92 | 1st ★ |
:No. = Car Number;
★ = Season in progress
See also
★ List of Grand Prix winners
References
1. http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/drivers/hamilton.shtml
2. F1 ace Hamilton signs a multi-million pound book deal
3. Grenadian roots of first black F1 driver
4. Sourced from ITV's 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix commentary
5. MY BOY RACER
6. Hamilton's kart sells for £42,100
7. Lewis Hamilton Biography
8. Brands Hatch round 23 race report Stella-Maria Thomas
9. Brands Hatch round 24 race report Stella-Maria Thomas
10. New McLaren bad news for Wurz.
11. Lewis Hamilton portrait
12. GP2 Series - History
13. Montoya to leave F1
14. Kimi won't live in Schumi's shadow
15. Lewis Hamilton joins Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
16. Hamilton's F1 drive is a dream come true
17. Hamilton still has long way to go
18.
19.
20. FIA McLaren-Monaco Full statement
21. Canadian Grand Prix
22. Hamilton unhurt but uncertain for race
23. Hamilton crashes in qualifying for European Grand Prix, taken away in ambulance
24. Raikkonen storms to pole as Hamilton crashes out
25. Hamilton cleared to race in the Euro GP
26. Hamilton calls for truce and targets the bigger battles ahead
27. Turkish Grand Prix 2007
28. Hamilton 2007 Pre-season interview
29. FIA McLaren-Monaco Full statement
30. Dennis: Hold up is Hamilton's fault
31.
32. Hamilton handed pole after Alonso punished
33. LEWIS F-WORD STORM
34. Dennis feels the strain as McLaren team ethos stretched to breaking point by warring drivers
35. Hamilton apologises to McLaren
36. Irvine slams 'disrespectful' Lewis
37. McLaren dream team turns into nightmare - qualifying flash point, , Tony, Dodgins, Autosport, 2007
38. McLaren: Lewis didn't swear at Dennis
39. Hungarian GP - Alonso not speaking to Hamilton
40. McLaren dream team turns into nightmare, , Steve, Cooper, Autosport, 2007
41. Hamilton calls for truce and targets the bigger battles ahead
42. Silverstone awaits its new hero as Hamilton homes in on title Edward Gorman
43. Hamilton vows to cap ninth podium record David Tremayne
44. Hamilton keeps cool despite championship lead
45. 'Better Than Sex' Alexander Wolff
46. Hamilton in fast lane to success Randy Phillips
47. Lewis and the crane Ed Gorman
External links
★ LewisHamilton.com Official Web Site
★ Career details
★ Lewis Hamilton biography McLaren.com
2007 Italiano Grand Prix
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