Lewis Carl Hamilton born on January 7th, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England is a famous British Formula One racing star. Impressed by his extraordinary performances in racing, the British Racing Drivers' Club honored fifteen-year-old Lewis with the prestigious ‘Rising Star’ Membership in the year 2000. He is currently rated as the most talented racers in the Formula 1 circuit.
At the age of nine Hamilton had the guts to introduce himself to the ever famous Ron Dennis, the McLaren team boss at the 1994 Autosport Awards and asked for a chance to drive for his team in the near future. Shortly after four years, in 1998 Hamilton joined the McLaren driver development support programme and secured himself a future race seat with McLaren. Thus at the age of thirteen, Hamilton became the youngest racer ever to have signed a Formula One contract.
Lewis Hamilton started off karting at the age of eight when his father bought him his first go-kart. The racing wizard soon started winning races and championships, which included the 2000 European Formula A championship. The racing superstar has also achieved incredible victories in 2003 British Formula Renault championship with 10 victories and 11 pole positions. He later won the F3 Euroseries in 2005 with 15 victories and 13 pole positions. Finally in 2006, Hamilton won the world championship title in his first GP2 season.
In 2007 a vacancy was created at McLaren as Montoya moved over to NASCAR and Raikkonen to Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was made the team's second driver much to the dismay of F1 critics and followers, who felt that Gary Paffett with enough experience was more qualified for a race seat than Hamilton.
Hamilton started off his 2007 F1 series for McLaren team on a spectacular note. Racing off from the fourth position on the grid, Hamilton with his lightning speed finished 3rd on the podium. Thus he became the thirteenth driver to finish on the podium on his GP debut. Eleven years earlier, World Champion Jacques Villeneuve achieved a similar feat in 1997. During his debut season Lewis has finished on the podium in all the 6 races he raced in. Finally the moment of glory came. Racing in only the sixth race of his Formula 1 career, Hamilton finally won the Canadian Grand Prix in a spectacular fashion. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton beat BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld by 4.3 seconds for his first win and sixth straight top-three finish. He is currently the point’s leader in the 2007 Formula 1 season.
Many Formula 1 followers have already started comparing this young driver to the racing legend Michael Schumacher. Time will tell if this young and talented racer with a heap load of potential can make it big on the Formula 1 circuit. If his sensational podium finishes in his first six Formula 1 races of his life (3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st) are any indication of his talent then we can surely say a champion is born.
The 22-year-old Englishman, the first black driver in Formula One history already commands a huge fan following in the Formula 1 circuit. According to March 2007 Daily Mirror report, the twenty-two-year-old was seen dating Jodia Ma.
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