Lewis Hamilton
Name: Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: January 07, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Resides: Geneva, Switzerland
Series: Formula 1
Car: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-26
Lewis Hamilton
At only 26, Lewis Hamilton is well established as one of the biggest names in motor sport. During his debut F1 season in 2007 with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, he won in only his 6th ever grand prix and would challenge for the title narrowly losing out to Kimi Raikkonen in the final round. The rookie’s success had such an impact that he transcended the sporting world and was quickly established as an international celebrity. A world championship win by Lewis Hamilton in 2008 confirmed his status as a leading driver amongst the new generation of stars. 2011 sees Hamilton go for his second title with his usual dedication.
Big Moment
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix would go down in history as one of the most dramatic climaxes ever to an F1 season. Hamilton entered the race with a 7 point lead over nearest rival Felipe Massa. It was the Brazilian who claimed pole position with Hamilton in 4th place, and his Ferrari dominated from the start. Rain would cause drama in the race. With Massa in the lead, Hamilton needed 5th to secure the title. Hamilton ran wide in the closing laps and was down to sixth. Things looked over for Lewis, and Ferrari thought Massa had taken the title when he took the chequered flag. What Ferrari hadn’t taken into account was Hamilton’s determination. He risked everything to overtake the Toyota of Timo Glock on the final corner, of the final lap, of the final race to claim the fifth place he needed to take the title. This historic race would see Lewis become the youngest ever F1 world champion at 23.
TV Show
Lewis appeared in the very first episode of Mobil 1 the Grid back in March 2009 and since then he’s continued to feature regularly in the show. We’ve travelled to Switzerland and Singapore to interview him as well as at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes HQ in England. We have some special Lewis Hamilton features coming up this series, so stay tuned!
Quote
Lewis told us just why he gets on so well with Jenson Button, in what has become one of the strongest working relationships since the pair became teammates at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in 2010.
‘’The basis of a strong working relationship I think is communication; it’s trust; it’s keeping a level head. It’s very easy for me and Jenson, we get on well, we’re both very easy going people. You know, I give him the space, he gives me my space. I know he’s pushing to the maximum and doing everything he can to beat me and win and that’s what I would want from a team mate. So what we do and what we say and how we act affects the whole team so we try to keep it positive.’’
Detail
2011 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2010 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 3 wins
2009 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 2 wins
2008 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, World Champion. 5 wins
2007 F1 debut, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. 4 wins
