Simply Abu Dhabi IV

90 SIMPLY ABU DHABI Hamilton needed to finish at least fifth in the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix to secure the World Championship. Felipe Massa’s crew were already celebrating what they thought was a championship victory when Hamilton passed Timo Glock on the very last corner of the last lap of the season and snatched the title away from the Brazilian. After a hard fought race Hamilton was in fifth but, after rain, and in the closing laps of the race, Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Toro Rosso took the fifth position away from Hamilton – this would have given the driver’s title to Massa had the race ended there but incredibly on the final lap of the race first Vettel and then Hamilton managed to pass Timo Glock of Toyota, after Glock (unlike Hamilton) had risked staying on the track with dry-weather tyres, despite the rain. Thus Hamilton moved back up to fifth, ensuring that he finished one point ahead of Massa overall and winning the 2008 title. Hamilton’s overtaking move happened after Massa had crossed the line to win. Hamilton had clinched the 2008 Formula One World Championship, becoming the youngest driver to win the title, as well as the first black driver. He could also lay claim to being the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill triumphed in 1996. Moving on from Success A year after winning the 2008 Australian Grand Prix from pole position, Hamilton started the 2009 season- opening Australian Grand Prix from 18th place on the grid after the McLaren team incurred a penalty for changing his malfunctioning gearbox during qualifying. After a difficult 2009 season Hamilton was set out to challenge for the title hoping for a better season for him and McLaren. For the new season Hamilton would drive alongside new teammate, Jenson Button, while Heikki Kovalainen moved to Lotus Racing. Hamilton finished third in Bahrain, having qualified fourth on the grid. In Australia, Hamilton failed to make the top ten in qualifying, starting the race from eleventh place on the grid. He ran as high as third, before ending the race in sixth, after a late-race collision with Mark Webber. Malaysia saw him in the top three positions in all practice sessions, but a misjudgement on the weather by his team in qualifying, left him on tyres that were unfavourable for the wet conditions. This restricted him to 20th on the grid for the race, before he came through to finish sixth. Hamilton scored his second successive victory in Canada, becoming the first driver in 2010 to win from pole position. Hamilton qualified in sixth position in Shanghai, making up four places in the race and achieving a second place finish, behind teammate Jenson Button. This completed the team’s first one-two finish since the 2007 Italian Grand Prix. The next weekend at Monaco Hamilton qualified and finished 5th. For the Turkish Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified a season’s best 2nd, behind Mark Webber. Revving Up for his Abu Dhabi Triumph Hamilton began the 2011 season qualifying and finishing second in the Australian Grand Prix behind winner Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, despite having to deal with a damaged floor on his McLaren. In Monaco, he qualified tenth after Q3 was red-flagged before he could set a competitive time due to a heavy crash from Sergio Pérez. Then, competing in the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted to pass his teammate Jenson Button on the start/finish straight, but wet conditions and poor visibility meant that Button was unaware of Hamilton’s presence and a collision ensued. Button carried on to victory and Hamilton retired with what McLaren suspected to be suspension damage, but transpired to be a tyre puncture. Qualifying third in Valencia, Hamilton dropped to fifth at the start, but he passed Massa during the pit stop phase to finish fourth. Silverstone then saw him qualify tenth, and move up to sixth on the first lap. He later moved up to fourth place, but in an attempt to conserve fuel was passed by Massa on the last lap. However Hamilton skilfully moved ahead at the final corner just scraping fourth position. He qualified second at Germany, and took the lead fromWebber at turn 1. Webber undercut Hamilton during the pit stops to take the lead, but Hamilton re-took the lead after the second set of pit stops, where Webber emerged just behind him and he passed Alonso round the outside of turn 2 to take his second victory of 2011. Another front-row start followed at Hungary with several dramatic battles for the lead with Button. He spun whilst in the lead at one point and sent Paul di Resta onto the grass, for which he received a drive-through penalty, but recovered to finish fourth. This champion knew how to handle his car and wasn’t prepared to put in anything but his best performance. A True Champion Level-headed and approachable off the track, Hamilton transfers his focus on the track remaining level-headed and taking an approach to driving that can be described as being as fast as lightning. This is a champion who is not afraid to push himself to the limit. His passing move driving around the outside of two other drivers during the second race at Silverstone in England was a breathtaking maneuver that no one who saw will forget. He started eighth and won the race. This style was to continue in his first F1 season. During his infamous ‘Rookie Year’, Lewis proved that had the necessary strength of character but still had a lot to prove after squandering a 17-point lead in the series two races before the end. In 2008 he silenced his critics by becoming the youngest ever world champion and winning that title in the last race of the season. With such extraordinary talent, Lewis Hamilton has obviously been subjected to the usual media interest which led him to announce in October 2007 that he intended to go and live in Switzerland, to get away from the media scrutiny in the United Kingdom. In November 2007, Hamilton started dating Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer of the American girl band Pussycat Dolls becoming one half of a glamorous and high profile couple, but it was announced in January 2010 that they split up to focus on their respective careers. Speculation continued as they were seen together at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, on 13 June 2010. From astounding F1 by nearly winning the title as a rookie, through his last-gasp second-year championship success, to the challenges faced during 2009 and onto his 2010 renaissance, Hamilton has established himself as one of the finest drivers and the biggest story of recent F1 seasons. Hamilton was awarded an MBE by the Queen in the 2009 New Year Honours and on 18 March that same year Madame Tussauds unveiled a waxwork of Hamilton in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes race suit. With a pure racing spirit that is sure to remain a legend to generations to come, Lewis Hamilton is set to continue his drive to success in the long F1 career that surely awaits in the future. He has had some private problems to deal with in recent times, but his awesome victory at the Abu Dhabi 2011 Grand Prix saw him put his worries behind him to concentrate on a championship career that shows no signs of taking its foot off the gas... simply formula one and the y’re off Nicole Scherzinger

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