Lewis Hamilton

- Published on Dec 23rd, 2010 by The Badger

Life Before F1
Appeared on British kids TV show Blue Peter several times as a youth, initially driving radio-controlled cars but eventually as a pint-sized karting sensation. Told Ron Dennis he would drive for him aged just ten and quickly made it happen with three titles in four years: British Formula Renault in 2003, F3 Euro Series in 2005 and GP2 in 2006. Ron promptly honoured his side of the bargin and gave Lewis an F1 drive for 2007.

F1 Career
Hamilton made his F1 debut with about as good a team as a driver could hope for, but there was still plenty of work to do - not least in keeping up with double champion team-mate Fernando Alonso. He began brilliantly, finishing third on his debut, second in the next four races and then taking back-to-back wins in Canada and the USA. Hamilton was now at the heart of a world title fight.

More good results in France and Britain, win number three in Hungary - amidst a total breakdown in the relationship between the team and Alonso - and then in Japan seemed to have put the title beyond Lewis' rivals. He held a 12 point advantage with just 20 left to score.

However it all fell apart as he slid out of the lead and in to the gravel when entering the pits in China. The championship had looked set to be settled in his favour that day but Hamilton now had to travel to Brazil. There he suffered yet more disasters, dropping back early on whilst Kimi Raikkonen was handed the win by team-mate Felipe Massa. The Finn took the title, Lewis missing out by a single point.

2008 was Hamilton's year, though he came close to missing out once again. The McLaren man kicked his title-winning season off in the best possible manner, with victory in Australia, but the route to glory was not an easy one. His next two wins were special - he conquered Monaco and then won at a drenched Silverstone to send the home fans wild - but despite securing a perfect weekend at the penultimate round in China still faced competition from Ferrari's Massa at the season-closer in Brazil. The Ferrari man won the race, and it was only a last lap pass on Timo Glock that secured Lewis his maiden crown by a single point.

2009 was a tough but ultimately positive season for Hamilton. The McLaren car wasn't up to standard early on, and with just nine points scored at mid-season he was clearly not going to defend his title. However as the car improved Hamilton was able to deliver far more impressive displays, with a win in Hungary, second at Valencia and another win in Singapore shooting him up the standings. He ended the year with podiums in Japan and Brazil to finish fifth overall, a strong recovery from what had looked a disastrous season.

In 2010 Lewis looked a more complete driver, one who had learned from a difficult 2009 and turned it to his advantage. A solid start was followed by a breakthrough win in Turkey (thanks in no small part to the colliding Red Bulls) and then a pole followed by victory in Canada. Second place fishes in the next two races meant he lead the championship at half distance. A few lesser results were followed by his third win of the season in Spa, and he headed in to the final six races of the season just ahead of Mark Webber.

But this where the wheels came off. A first lap collision with Massa eliminated him from the Italian Grand Prix whilst another coming together, this time with Webber, ended his race in Singapore. He was now 20 points off top spot, and a technical glitch in Japan cost him further points strong runs in Korea (second), Brazil (fourth) and Abu Dhabi (second) were as strong an end to the season as his car was capable of, but it wasn't enough to drag him back in to the title battle, and he ended the year fourth in the points standings.