THE LEWIS HAMILTON HOT 10
At 22 years old, Lewis Hamilton is on his way to becoming one of the greats in Formula 1. It took him just six races to claim his first F1 victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in June 2007 and just a few months into his career, he is setting a series of records and creating many 'firsts' along the way. Here are 10 things you should know about Britain's next sporting champion.
THE LYCOS ROUGH GUIDE TO LEWIS HAMILTON:
• He was born on January 7, 1985, Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
• Hamilton is the first black driver ever to compete in Formula 1.
• He was named after U.S. Olympic gold medalist, Carl Lewis.
• In 1998 he was signed to the McLaren driver development support programme, the contract including a future option of an F1 seat, making 13-year-old Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure an F1 contract.
• At the tender age of 10, he met the owner and director of the McLaren Formula 1 team, Ron Dennis, at an Autosports Awards ceremony. He told Dennis that he wanted to drive for McLaren in the future.
• In 2000 he was world number one in go-karts. In 1996, he won the McLaren Mercedes 'champions of the future' karting series.
• Lewis won the Euroseries F3 title in 2005 with 15 wins, 10 fastest laps and 13 poles. He also won the Monaco F3 grand prix that year. In 2003 he was British Formula Renault champion with 10 race wins.
• He was the winner of the GP2 championship in 2006 in his first season in the Formula One feeder series. He racked up five wins and six fastest laps including victory in Monaco and a double success at Silverstone.
• Hamilton has led every grand prix he has started so far.
• In his rookie season alone, Hamilton has become the youngest driver ever to lead the Drivers Championship, surpassing the record of the venerated Bruce McLaren -- the namesake of team McLaren.
• Hamilton has led every grand prix he has started so far.
