2008 Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton: Shining star from Britain
The 26-year-old British driver, Lewis Hamilton, has done a remarkable job in the Formula 1 arena which makes all the British people proud.
The astonishing and furious Brit took on the most famous and renowned names of Formula 1 to win a championship title in 2008.
The Brit started his Formula 1 career with the McLaren-Mercedes team and since then, has not changed his side and has made a world record of most number of grands prix appearances with one team, 74.
At the age of 8, he started his relationship with the engines and machines when in 1993 he joined the Karting in Rye House Kart Circuit. He quickly made his name on the Karting arena when he won the in Cadet Class championship.
Moving on to make a career in Formula 1, Hamilton won a European Championship in 2000. In 2001 Hamilton had the honour of Karting with one of the icons of Formula 1 world, Michael Schumacher. The Brit eventually finished seventh but Schumacher saw a star in
him and tipped him to become a Formula 1 driver one day.
Moving on to somewhat bigger cars, Hamilton drove in British Formula Renault Winter Series in 2001 and finished fifth despite having a crash. In 2002 he moved to the Formula Renault UK and won the championship with ten wins in total.
In 2004 Hamilton was close to getting a contract with the Williams’ team but instead joined the Formula 3 Euro Series, after he could not manage to gather any sponsors to make his way in a Williams’ team.
Hamilton was fifth in the Euro championship with the McLaren team and at the end of 2004 he had his first taste of a Formula 1 car when he test-drove for the McLaren team at his home circuit, Silverstone.
The Brit moved to Formula 3 series and won the season in his first attempt. In 2006, he was signed in a McLaren team as the second driver alongside double world champion Fernando Alonso. Hamilton made his way in the McLaren team in the 2007 Australian Grand
Prix.
At the age of ten, Hamilton took an auto graph from the then McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and commented, “Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars.” Ron replied, “Phone me in nine years, we'll sort
something out then.”
Finally after almost 12 years of that conversation, Hamilton made his way into the McLaren team.
In his first outing in a McLaren car in the Australian Grand Prix, the Brit became the 13th driver to take a podium finish in their debut race, when he finished the race in third place. He went on to become the runner
up in the 2007 season behind Kimi Raikkonen with just a one-point difference.
In 2007, Hamilton won an epic battle with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and won the world championship just one point ahead of Massa. In the last race of 2008 in Brazil, Massa finished the race in 1st position and was the champion
at that point because Hamilton was finishing behind the required aggregate. Timo Glock of Toyota gave his place to the Brit after which Hamilton won the championship.
In 2009 and 2010, he remained in the top five positions for the McLaren team.
Hamilton is having his fifth world championship drive and is still with the McLaren team. Let’s see if he manages to bag another championship in the ongoing season.
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