“Lewis Hamilton: A Brief Biography”
Lewis Hamilton’s boyish passion for racing rapidly evolved into a career choice as the Englishman soon began to test his fortunes in national competitions after having raced in his local town of Stevenage. The young racer proved he was a born winner after emerging as the all- time youngest victor of the British Cadet Kart championship at the tender age of just ten.
In the next couple of years, the gifted youngster whose confidence on track contradicted his tender age had managed to accumulate considerably more silverware as a kart-racer. The young Briton’s rising star soon won him the attention of McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who booked the budding talent for the team’s young driver project. McLaren’s financial backing was to be crucial for Hamilton, allowing him to flex his competitive muscle on the international stage, where he proved his driving mettle further by winning numerous kart racing trophies in Europe. Hamilton would go on to distinguish himself further as an exceptional kart racing talent when, quite remarkably, at the age fifteen he became the game’s least-aged number one in history, a record the Englishman has yet to surrender to anyone else to this day.
However, it was Hamilton’s flourishing performances on track rather than his conspicuous youth that saw the opportunities to race in alternate series come pouring in. Picking the considerably-challenging British Formula Renault series as his springboard in 2002, the Englishman soon poured cold water over fears; he was too inexperienced to compete at such a high level, his third position in the rookie year serving as a perfect riposte for detractors. The following year proved equally successful for the young driver, who ended the 2003 season with a triumph after booking a remarkable 11 pole standings and 10 victories to his name.
Although Hamilton’s switch to the F3 Euroseries began less smoothly, his performances gradually gained momentum. In his second competitive season, the Englishman was finally able to grab the title after teaming himself with the leading ASM squad and sealing a decisive victory over his rivals with 15 impressive race wins.
Hamilton’s excursion into the world of GP2 in 2006 was no less fruitful, where the budding driver put on a series of dazzling displays, winning the respect of many Formula One pundits. Hamilton’s confidence on track saw him clinch that year’s championship after overshadowing his seasoned team mate Alexandre Premat and a fired-up Nelson Piquet Junior.
Hamilton’s determination and persistent brilliance on track led his long-standing mentors McLaren to brood a possible Formula One drive for the Englishman for the coming 2007 season. The young driver was able to speedily book a place alongside star Fernando Alonso after convincing the team with a persuasive test run display. The season witnessed Hamilton’s meteoric rise in fame after he seized four Grand Prix victories and hit a sensational form that helped him dominate the competition for a large part of the championship calendar. Yet a conspiracy of ill-fortune and his relative unfamiliarity with the business was to deny Hamilton the ultimate title. Meanwhile, his developing on and off the track feud with team mate Fernando Alonso would see the Spaniard make an exit for Renault at the end of the season.
Hamilton was finally able to bury the ghosts of the previous year when he won the championship title to become the sport’s youngest-ever victor at only 23 years of age after overcoming Ferrari’s Felipe Massa following a thrilling battle for the title in Brazil. The 2009 season, however, began less generously for the Briton, seeing him get embroiled in an infamous controversy centering round purposeful misinformation of race officials. Remarkably though, Hamilton managed to salvage his reputation by retaining the podium position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, a win he later followed up by a victory in Singapore; his subsequent hat trick of triumphs ultimately helped him finish fifth at the yearend.
The 2010 season seems promising for the Englishman after a sensational scramble between McLaren team mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel dashed McLaren’s hopes of winning the title and handed Hamilton victory at the Turkish Grand Prix.
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