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Lewis Hamilton

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This article is about the Formula One racing driver. For the football (soccer) player, see Lewis Hamilton (footballer).

Template:F1 driver Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire) is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

He finished second in the 2007 Formula One Championship, behind Kimi Räikkönen. Currently living as a tax exile in Switzerland. Hamilton has set numerous F1 rookie records and is the first black mixed race driver to compete in Formula One.[1] After winning the British Formula Renault, European Formula Three and GP2 championship he became a McLaren F1 driver for 2007. When he was ten,[2] he approached McLaren team principal, Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony and told him he would drive for McLaren one day; three years later, Hamilton was signed by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz to their Young Driver Support Programme, and ultimately, 12 years after this initial encounter, made his Formula One debut with the McLaren team. He has stated that he wants to stay in the McLaren team for the rest of his F1 career.[3]

Personal and early life

Hamilton's paternal grandparents immigrated to the United Kingdom from Grenada in the 1950s. His grandfather worked on the London Underground.[4] His mother Carmen and father Anthony named him after the US Olympic gold medal winning athlete Carl Lewis.[5] Hamilton's parents separated when he was two and, until he was ten, he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha.[6] After that he lived with his father, stepmother Linda and half-brother Nicholas who has cerebral palsy.

Hamilton's first taste of racing competition came at the controls of radio-controlled cars. Father Anthony bought him one in 1991, and Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year. Hamilton said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults".[7] That led to Hamilton sampling kart racing for the first time. Aged six, his father bought him his first go-kart as a Christmas present,[8] and would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. 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. He would later set up his own computer company, as well as working as a manager for Hamilton on a full time basis.[9]

Lewis Hamilton with Pedro de la Rosa (left), Paul di Resta and Bruno Spengler at Stars and Cars 2007

Hamilton attended The John Henry Newman School in Stevenage.[10] He extended his skills to football, playing in his school team alongside current Aston Villa and England international midfielder Ashley Young.[9]

On October 29, 2007, Hamilton announced his intent to live in Switzerland, to get away from the media scrutiny he has experienced living in the United Kingdom. Hamilton mentioned on the television show Parkinson (broadcast on 10th November 2007), that taxation was 'partly' responsible for his decision, in addition to wanting more privacy.[11] Other Formula One drivers, including world champions Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, also live in Switzerland.[12]

On December 18, 2007, Lewis Hamilton was suspended from driving in France for a month after being caught speeding at 122 mph (196 km/h) on a French motorway. His Mercedes-Benz was also impounded.

Career

Karting

Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight,[13] at the Rye House Kart Circuit[14] and quickly began winning races and championships. At age ten, he approached McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis for an autograph, and told him, "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." Ron Dennis actually called him a few years later, after Lewis started winning championships.[7]

From the Cadet ranks (1993-7), he progressed through the Junior Yamaha (1998) and Junior Intercontinental A (1999) divisions. In 1998 Dennis delivered on his promise and signed Hamilton to the McLaren driver development program. This contract included an option of a future F1 seat, making Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive.[13]

"He's a quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality."

Michael Schumacher, speaking about Hamilton in 2001.[15]

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.[16]

In 2001 Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final seventh, four places behind Schumacher, and although the two saw little of each other on the track Schumacher praised the young Briton (see quote box).[17]

Formula Renault and Formula Three

Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series. Despite crashing on his third lap in the car in testing, he finished fifth overall in the winter series.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with his team-mate Tor Graves.[18] 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 track and in only his fourth F3 race.

At the beginning of 2004, Hamilton and McLaren had an argument, which resulted in McLaren temporarily dropping him. On the 2nd of March 2007, Williams announced that they came close to signing the young individual, but were refused the opportunity due to BMW, their engine supplier at the time, refusing to fund Hamilton's career[19] . Hamilton eventually re-signed with McLaren, and made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula Three Euroseries. They won one race and Hamilton ended the year 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.[20]

He moved to reigning Euroseries champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds after being disqualified from one win at Spa-Francorchamps on a technical infringement that caught out several other drivers.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

GP2

After the season, British magazine Autosport featured him in their “Top 50 Drivers of 2005” issue, ranking Hamilton 24th. After his success in Formula Three, he moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix for 2006. Just like their sister team 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, beating Nelson Piquet, Jr.

His notable performances included a dominant win 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 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 in Istanbul, when he recovered from a spin that left him 18th to take second place in the final corners. He won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race.[21]

His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[22][23] After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett or former World Champion Mika Häkkinen would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso in 2007, Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver.[24] He was told of McLaren’s decision on September 30, but the news was not made public until November 24, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher’s retirement announcement.[25]

Formula One

2007: McLaren

On his début at the Australian Grand Prix, he qualified fourth and finished third in the race, becoming the 13th driver to finish on the podium in their first F1 race (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round).[26] 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.[27] With that achievement, Hamilton surpassed Bruce McLaren to become the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.[28]

Hamilton finished second behind Alonso at Monaco and afterwards suggested he was prevented from racing his team mate. But the FIA cleared McLaren following an investigation (see below).

Hamilton scored the first pole position and victory of his F1 career in the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal. He led most of the race despite the safety car being deployed four times. The win strengthened his championship challenge.[29] 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 an F1 race in the US,[30] and only the second person, after Jacques Villeneuve, to win more than one race in his rookie F1 season since the first year of the Championship.

Hamilton at the start of the French Grand Prix.

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 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. He took pole at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone and led the first 16 laps, but slipped to third, 40 seconds behind Räikkönen and Alonso.

During qualifying for the European Grand Prix, Hamilton crashed at the Schumacher chicane after a problem with the wheel nut air gun used on his car. He was taken to the circuit's medical centre on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and drip, but was conscious throughout.[31] His Q3 time was surpassed by all other competitors, and thus he qualified in tenth position.[32] After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race.[33] 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 ninth place finish in this race was his first non-podium and non-points finish, enabling title contenders Alonso and Massa to reduce Hamilton's championship lead.

Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position following a controversy in qualifying. Alonso had set the fastest time, but was relegated to fifth on the grid for preventing Hamilton from leaving the pit lane in time to complete his final qualifying lap. Kimi Räikkönen stayed within five seconds of Hamilton for the entire race (excluding pit stop periods). McLaren were docked any constructor's points earned during the race due to the incident in qualifying.

After declaring he had restored his relationship with Alonso,[34] Hamilton qualified second in Turkey. After dropping to third at the first corner, Hamilton looked set for a podium finish with 15 laps remaining, but a right-front tyre puncture forced him to crawl back to the pits, leaving him to finish fifth meaning his championship lead was cut once more.[35]

Hamilton took fourth place in Belgium.

Alonso beat Hamilton in the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix, leaving the Briton with a two-point lead in the title race. However he extended his lead to 12 points after winning the Japanese Grand Prix in heavy rain, after Alonso crashed. Following the race Hamilton was investigated by the race stewards over his involvement in an incident behind the safety car, which saw both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crash out of the race while following the McLaren. The trio were cleared on the Friday of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.[36]

After securing pole position in China, Hamilton retired from the race which saw changeable weather conditions. He experienced considerable tyre wear, notably his right rear, and he ran wide into the gravel trap in the pitlane, where his car beached. This was Hamilton's first retirement of his Formula One career. It was later revealed that Bridgestone became unnerved at the glaringly worn tyres and advised McLaren to order him to make a pit stop which McLaren refused to do, believing it would be counterproductive. Hamilton himself couldn't tell the full extent of the tyre problem as raindrops were in his wing mirrors. Hamilton thus went into the final race of the season four and seven points ahead of Alonso and Räikkönen respectively.

In the Brazilian Grand Prix, he failed to finish in a championship-winning position, finishing the race in 7th overall after being in 18th place at his worst point of the race. This occurred due to two major incidents; first, he was passed by Räikkönen away from the line, before being boxed in by Massa and Räikkönen in the first corner and 'wrong-footed' by Räikkönen mid-corner.[37] As a result, Hamilton was passed by Alonso at Turn 3. Hamilton attempted to re-pass Alonso in turn four, but ran wide, dropping four places to eighth.

On lap 9, Hamilton encountered a gearbox problem, which meant that he was stuck in neutral and could not select any gears.[38] The gearbox became operational again after Hamilton switched settings on his steering wheel, but he lost 40 seconds while his car was coasting. For most of the race, Massa was leading the race with Räikkönen in second. If this was the case come the chequered flag and with Hamilton in 7th place, this would have meant that Hamilton would become world champion, but after their second round of pit stops, Räikkönen stayed out a couple of laps longer than Massa and took the lead.[39] Once in front, Räikkönen made no mistakes in the remaining laps to win the race and become Formula One world champion.

Later on October 21, it was announced that the FIA were investigating BMW Sauber and Williams for fuel irregularities, the BMW drivers finished 5th and 6th, if they were to be excluded Hamilton would be promoted to 5th and would win the 2007 Drivers World Championship by one point over Räikkönen. A precedent had been set in 1995, Michael Schumacher, then of Benetton-Renault, and David Coulthard, then of Williams-Renault, were both found guilty of possessing illegal fuel in their cars. In that situation both drivers were initially docked drivers points, but for unspecified reasons it would transpire - over a week later - that constructor points would be docked. Ultimately, no penalty whatsoever was given to any team and it was said that there was "sufficient doubt as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty", though McLaren have officially appealed this decision.[40] Hamilton subsequently told the BBC he does not want to win an F1 title through the disqualifications of other drivers.[41]

Hamilton has reportedly signed a multi-million pound contract with HarperCollins for his autobiography.[42]

Ahead of the world championship finale, Hamilton answered a question about what it would mean to him to become the first black champion, saying: "It will show that not only white people can do it, but also black people, Indians, Japanese and Chinese. It will be good to mean something."[43]

Having made few public remarks about his ethnicity since becoming an F1 driver, Hamilton added: "Outside of Formula One my heroes are foremost my father, then Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. Being black is not a negative. It’s a positive, if anything, because I’m different. In the future it can open doors to different cultures and that is what motor sport is trying to do anyway."[43]

Team tensions
Hamilton on the podium after winning the 2007 United States Grand Prix

Hamilton's relationship with McLaren team boss Ron Dennis dates back to 1995.[44] The first indication that Hamilton was unhappy with his team appeared after he finished second at Monaco. After post-race comments made by Hamilton 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.[45] 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."[45]

However, rivalry with team mate Alonso led to speculation that one of the pair would leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season.[46][47][48] Alonso and McLaren subsequently terminated their contract by mutual consent on November 2 2007.[49]

The tensions within the team surfaced at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. During final qualifying for the race, Hamilton was involved in a controversy that saw McLaren and Alonso penalised after Hamilton was delayed in the pits and thus unable to set a final lap before the end of the session. McLaren pointed out that Hamilton had disobeyed an earlier instruction to let Alonso past in qualifying.[50] Alonso was relegated to 6th place on the grid, thus elevating Hamilton (who had originally qualified second) to first. Hamilton said he thought Alonso's penalty was "quite light if anything" and only regretted the loss of constructors' points.[51] Hamilton was reported to have sworn at Dennis on the team radio following the incident.[52][53] British motorsport journal Autosport claimed that this "[led] Dennis to throw his headphones on the pit wall in disgust (a gesture that was misinterpreted by many to be in reaction to Alonso's pole)".[54] However McLaren later issued a statement on behalf of Hamilton which denied the use of any profanity.[55] As a result of these events, the relationship between Hamilton and Alonso temporarily collapsed, with the pair not on speaking terms for a short period.[56][34] In the aftermath it was reported that Hamilton had been targeted by Luca di Montezemolo regarding a Ferrari drive for 2008.[57]

Following the stewards' investigation into the incident at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, Alonso insinuated that the verdict had settled the championship in Hamilton's favour, saying: "I’m not thinking of this championship anymore, it’s been decided off the track. The drivers’ briefing has no purpose. You go there to hear what Charlie Whiting and the other officials say. Twenty one drivers have an opinion, Charlie and the officials another, and so it’s like talking to a wall."[58]

2008 Season

Hamilton won the first race of 2008 in Melbourne.

On December 14 2007, it was confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen who drove for Renault in 2007 will drive the second car for McLaren-Mercedes for the 2008 Formula One season alongside Hamilton.

In mid January 2008, Hamilton signed a new 5-year multi-million pound contract to stay with McLaren-Mercedes until at least the end of the 2012 season.

Lewis won the first race of the 2008 season , the Australian Grand Prix, having qualified on pole. In the second race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton finished 5th after long duels with both Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli. He had been demoted to 9th on the grid, having qualified 4th, for impeding Heidfeld's flying lap. The third race of the year, the Bahrain Grand Prix did not start well for Hamilton as he had a huge crash in practice which destroyed his car. He raced with a spare chassis, and took 3rd in qualifying. In the race, after getting off to a bad start and crashing into the back of Alonso's Renault, he finished 13th, leading to him being over-taken in the drivers Championship by Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari and Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber.

Racial taunts

On February 4, 2008, Lewis Hamilton was racially abused by spectators during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, where he became unpopular because of his rivalry with Spanish former team-mate Fernando Alonso. The FIA have warned the Spanish authorities about the repetition of such behaviour.[59] [60] In reaction to this behaviour, the FIA announced on 13 February 2008 that it will launch a "Race Against Racism" campaign.[61]

Records

Hamilton has matched or set the following records in Formula One:

Hamilton is the first black driver to compete in Formula One (although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986[65]) 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.[26]

During the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, 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.[66] Since then, the FIA have now banned the use of mechanical assistance to help move a car back onto the track, and will now go down in the record books for being the last, too.

Lewis Hamilton's contract for the McLaren driver development program made him the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive.[13]

Media appearances and awards

Hamilton rapidly became a well known media personality in the United Kingdom during 2007. In particular, he made several TV appearances towards the end of the year, including presenting the "Most Addictive" award on the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, and spots on the interview shows Parkinson and Top Gear.[67] Hamilton's media year culminated with runner-up spot in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. On February 18 2008, he won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.[68]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (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 18 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
4 		JPN
1 		CHN
Ret 		BRA
7 		2nd 109
2008 Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes 		McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes FO 108V 2.4 V8 AUS
1 		MAL
5 		BHR
13 		ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA 3rd 14

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) 9 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 Formule 3 6 20 11 15 172 1st
2006 GP2 Series ART Grand Prix 2 21 1 5 114 1st
2007 Formula One Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2 17 6 4 109 2nd
2008 Formula One Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 22 3 1 1 14 3rd

Bibliography

Written by Lewis

  • Hamilton, Lewis (2007). Lewis Hamilton: My Story (Hardback). London: HarperSport. pp. 320 pages. ISBN 978-0007270057.
  • Hamilton, Lewis (17/03/2008). Lewis Hamilton: My Story (Paperback). London: HarperSport. pp. 336 pages. ISBN 978-0007270064. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Written by Others

  • Hughes, Mark (08/11/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story. London: Icon Books Ltd. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-0007270064. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Worral, Frank (01/10/2007). Lewis Hamilton: The Biography. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd. pp. 306 pages. ISBN 978-1844545438. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Stafford, Ian (01/11/2007). Lewis Hamilton: New Kid on the Grid. London: Mainstream Publishing. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-1844545438. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Belton, Brian (03/09/2007). Lewis Hamilton: A Dream Comes True. London: Pennant Books Ltd. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 978-1906015077. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

References

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  5. ^ Sourced from ITV's 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix commentary
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  8. ^ 20 things you don't know about Lewis Hamilton, Nuts Magazine, 22-28 June 2007
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  10. ^ Zoo (magazine): Issue 162, 30 March-4 April 2007
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  28. ^ "Race notes: Spanish GP". Daily F1 News. 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "Canadian Grand Prix". BBC Sport. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "United States Grand Prix facts and statistics". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  31. ^ "Hamilton crashes in qualifying for European Grand Prix, taken away in ambulance". iht.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "Räikkönen storms to pole as Hamilton crashes out". formula1.com. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Hamilton cleared to race in the Euro GP". itv-f1.com. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ a b "Hamilton calls for truce and targets the bigger battles ahead". sport.guardian.co.uk. Guardian Unlimited. 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  35. ^ "Turkish Grand Prix 2007". BBC Sport. 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  36. ^ "No Penalty for Hamilton; Vettel Penalty Annulled". Forumula1.net. October 5th, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ "Ferrari move up a gear to hand Räikkönen glory". the guardian. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Q and A with Lewis Hamlton". Autosport. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. but I was downshifting into Turn 4 and the car just selected neutral. I coasted for some time.
  39. ^ "Massa happy to help Kimi to title". itv f1. October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ "F1 teams escape fuel punishment". BBC. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. McLaren has said it plans to appeal to the FIA, the sport's governing body.
  41. ^ "Hamilton keen to win 'fair' title". BBC. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-23. "To have the world title taken away is a bit cruel and probably not good for the sport" Hamilton told 5live Sport.
  42. ^ "F1 ace Hamilton signs a multi-million pound book deal".[unreliable source?]
  43. ^ a b "Lewis Hamilton fans 'racist'". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  44. ^ "Hamilton 2007 Pre-season interview". Sporting Life. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  45. ^ a b "The FIA's McLaren-Monaco statement in full". Formula1.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ "The future of Fernando Alonso". grandprix.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ "Alonso cool on future at McLaren". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ "Rumour: Hamilton to Ferrari?". muchhalasworld.com. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ "Alonso secures exit from McLaren". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-11-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ "Dennis: Hold up is Hamilton's fault". f1.gpupdate.net. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ "Chequered Flag (podcast)". 5:56 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio Five Live. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  52. ^ "Hamilton handed pole after Alonso punished". timesonline.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. ^ "LEWIS F-WORD STORM". sundaymirror.co.uk. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  54. ^ "Hamilton apologises to McLaren". autosport.com. 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ^ "McLaren: Lewis didn't swear at Dennis". itv-f1.com. ITV Network. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  56. ^ "Hungarian GP - Alonso not speaking to Hamilton". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ Cooper, Steve (2007). "McLaren dream team turns into nightmare". Autosport. 189 (6): pp.6-8. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  58. ^ "Alonso continues attacks on McLaren & Hamilton". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  59. ^ BBC Sport Hamilton saddened by racist abuse www.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 4 February 2008
  60. ^ Lewis Hamilton F1 Abuse www.sky.com/news Retrieved 8 February 2008
  61. ^ The Official Formula 1 Website
  62. ^ Gorman, Edward (2007-07-02). "Silverstone awaits its new hero as Hamilton homes in on title". The Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  63. ^ Tremayne, David (2007-08-10). "Hamilton vows to cap ninth podium record". The Independent. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  64. ^ "Hamilton keeps cool despite championship lead". F1Way. 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  65. ^ Phillips, Randy (2007-06-07). "Hamilton in fast lane to success". Montreal Gazette/Canada.com. CanWest News Service. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  66. ^ Gorman, Ed (2007-07-24). "Lewis and the crane". The Times/timesonline.co.uk. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  67. ^ BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Hamilton takes Top Gear challenge
  68. ^ "2008 Laureus World Sports Awards Winners". laureus.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
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Template:Persondata

Template:S-awards
Sporting positions
Preceded by British Formula Renault
UK series champion
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Formula Three Euroseries
Drivers' Champion
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Monaco Formula Three Support
Race Winner
2005 		Succeeded by
none
race not held in 2006-2007
Preceded by Formula Three Masters winner
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GP2 Series Drivers' Champion
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Autosport
British Club Driver of the Year
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Autosport
Rookie Of The Year
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Hawthorn Memorial Trophy
2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Autosport
British Competition Driver
2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Autosport
International Racing Driver Award
2007 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year
2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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