Simply Abu Dhabi IV

87 SIMPLY ABU DHABI A Formula 1 Legend is Born On 7 January 1985 a Formula 1 World Champion was born in Hertfordshire, England. The stuff of fairytales, Lewis Hamilton’s meteoric rise to Formula 1 is an incredible story of a boy from a modest background fulfilling his dreams. In 1991 his father bought him a radio-controlled car and so it was the young Lewis got his first taste of racing competition. Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year and has remarked of that time: “I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults”. His father then went on to buy him his first go-kart as a Christmas present when he was six and told his young son he would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. Educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire Lewis played football for his school team with England international midfielder Ashley Young and said that if Formula One had not worked for him he would have been a footballer, being a big fan of Arsenal F.C or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams as a youngster. But football and cricket would have to wait as with a remarkable competition history, full of fantastic victories, Lewis Hamilton’s determination to succeed in his chosen field of championship motor racing really paid off. Coming from a mixed-race background, with a black father and white mother, Hamilton is often labelled ‘the first black driver in Formula One’ and was the first driver of black heritage to win a major race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in any discipline. Inspired to Achieve Lewis began racing go-karts at the age of eight at the Rye House Kart Circuit and was soon winning races and Cadet Class championships. In fact, his pre-F1 career saw the ambitious young driver win several karting series, including the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series and later the European Formula A championship in 2000. Inspired by motor racing’s greats, Hamilton has said of Ayrton Senna’s death; “I was nine when Ayrton Senna died, and he was my hero. I remember racing that weekend in Hoddesdon. My dad had a small Vauxhall Cavalier and a trailer at the back. We’d sit in the Cavalier and wait for my turn to race. And that day my step-mum came over to tell us that Senna had just died. It hit me hard – but I never liked to show emotion in front of my dad. So I went behind the trailer and cried. That was the turning point of my life – because when you’re so young, you believe people like Senna are invincible. And then you realise that they’re also mortal. It made me understand I need to make the most of my talent”. It certainly was a turning point and determined to make it, at the tender age of just ten, Lewis approached McLaren team Principal Ron Dennis for an autograph at the Autosport Awards ceremony and told him with absolute confidence; “I’m Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to race for McLaren.” Dennis wrote in his autograph book; ‘Phone me in nine years, we’ll sort something out then.’ Less than three years later, in 1992, Dennis delivered on his promise and McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their Young Driver Support Programme on a development contract in 1992. He was just 12 and as a result has received significant funding throughout his promising career. The exciting contract included an option of a future F1 seat, which would eventually make Hamilton the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive when they took him on as a full-time F1 driver starting with the 2007 season. Up to that point, the McLaren team supported his career through karting and car racing, as Hamilton drove for Martin Hines’ Zip Young Guns Karting Team. From the Cadet ranks, he progressed through to Junior Yamaha in 1997 and the following year Ron Dennis called him after Hamilton won an additional Super One series and his second British championship. A Rising Star Following his karting successes the British Racing Drivers’ Club honoured Hamilton as a ‘Rising Star’ Member in 2000. In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with future F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher and despite seeing little of each other on the track Michael Schumacher commented; “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.” After a year of learning in Formula Renault, he won the 2003 British Formula Renault championship with 10 victories and 11 pole positions. Another year of learning in the F3 Euroseries, saw him win that series in 2005 with 15 victories and 13 pole positions. In 2005 he won the Formula Three Euroseries racing for the dominant ASM team, having raced in the category in 2004 for Manor Motorsport using the superior Mercedes engine. Due to his Formula Three success, he joined the ART Grand Prix team in the GP2 Series in 2006 – he didn’t even bother with a learning season – as a replacement for the previous year’s champion Nico Rosberg and his performance was extremely impressive including a dominant win at the Nürburgring, despite serving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. At the European GP2 event he won both races, becoming only the second driver (after Nico Rosberg) to do so in the series history and won at Monaco from pole. At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the British Grand Prix, Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts, a series of high-speed (up to 150 mph in a GP2 car) bends where overtaking is rare. In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second position 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. In the sprint race, though he finished second with Piquet sixth, he finished twelve points clear of his rival. Formula One Debut As his career burgeoned – he had now won the British Formula Renault, Formula Three Euroseries, and GP2 championships – he went on to drive for McLaren in 2007, making his Formula One debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. The departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari saw months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for 2007 come to end. And so Hamilton was confirmed as the team’s second driver. Described as a ‘Rookie Phenomenon’, Hamilton’s first year in Formula 1 was truly outstanding and saw him set many records. Hamilton’s first victory came at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix and he went on to take fourth place in the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix. He secured an impressive third place in his first race, going on to demolish the 40-year-old rookie record of two consecutive podiums at the start of a season. Scoring nine podiums in his first nine races, he also won two of those races. In total, he won four races in 2007 and finished the championship in second place, just one point behind Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Mistakes in his last two races cost him the title proving that even Hamilton wasn’t super-human. Renowned for pulling off heart-stopping over-taking moves, Lewis Hamilton has continually demonstrated first-class car control and wet weather skills building a team around him that enable him to showcase his huge natural talent and never-say-die passionate racing spirit. He possesses that extra special something that separates the truly sensational drivers from those who are simply quick. McLaren recognised this immense potential early on, knowing that Hamilton was ready for the big time! After almost winning during his 2007 Rookie year he went on to secure the title in 2008 with an exhilarating last lap, last second victory. Exhilarating Victory in 2008 In January 2008, Hamilton signed a new five-year multi- million pound contract to stay with McLaren-Mercedes until the end of the 2012 season and won the first race of the 2008 season – the Australian Grand Prix – having qualified on pole position. He achieved his eighth career pole position in Montreal but he crashed into the back of Räikkönen during the race, after failing to see that the Finn was waiting at a red light at the end of the pit lane. Hamilton went on to win the British Grand Prix in difficult, wet conditions and claimed in the post race press conference that it was his most difficult and most meaningful win. Helped by his sublime wet-weather wins in Monaco and Britain, Hamilton went into the deciding races at the head of the championship. A determined performance at Fuji nearly blew it, but Hamilton took control dominating in China, and then wrapped up the title in the most dramatic fashion amid the rain and eleventh-hour shocks of Brazil. simply formula one and the y’re off

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