| There is talent in Formula One and then there is | | | | swiped the title in the last race. |
| stunning talent. Lewis Hamilton has stormed onto | | | | 2008 was a time of more peace for Hamilton. He |
| the scene in his first few years in the | | | | won the pour struggle and Alonso left the team. |
| championship and clearly should be considered a | | | | With the addition of a weaker second driver, |
| stunning talent to watch both now and for years | | | | Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton was free to focus on |
| to come. | | | | races and not team battles. The results showed it |
| Lewis Hamilton drives for Mercedes McLaren with | | | | as he claimed his first driver's championship and |
| whom he has be associated for a very long time. | | | | did it at an age younger than any other champion. |
| He became the youngest Formula 1 driver's | | | | It was a crowning glory after the tumultuous |
| champion ever with his season victory in 2008. His | | | | year of 2007. |
| ascent to the position, however, has been planned | | | | For all his amazing advances, Hamilton is not |
| for a very long time. | | | | without his critics. He has shown that he does not |
| Lewis Carl Hamilton was born on January 1, 1985 | | | | handle pressure well on the big stage. In 2007, he |
| in Stevenage, England. He was named after the | | | | made brutal mistake after mistake to throw |
| American Olympian Carl Lewis with the two | | | | away a large championship. Although he won the |
| names being switched. At the age of 13, he | | | | championship in 2008, he nearly threw it way with |
| entered the McLaren Mercedes young driver | | | | some mysteriously bad driving. Had he not passed |
| program and he was on the path to ultimate | | | | a Toyota driving on slicks in the rain on the last |
| glory. In the nine years between joining the | | | | lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix, he again would |
| program and becoming a driver in Formula 1, he | | | | have lost the championship in what could only be |
| would win multiple championships including the GP2, | | | | considered a major choke job. |
| British Formula Renault and European Formula | | | | 2009 really will be the standard bearer for Lewis |
| Three championships. | | | | Hamilton. Critics and Admirers alike wait to see |
| 2007 saw Hamilton join the McLaren Mercedes F1 | | | | whether we have another Michael Schumacher on |
| team proper. He was brought in at the same time | | | | our hands or a one off driver. Part of the role of |
| as Fernando Alonso, the reigning two time world | | | | a F1 driver is to develop the car. With massive |
| champion. To say it was a volatile mix would be a | | | | rule changes, the teams are all starting more or |
| slight understatement. Things started smoothly, | | | | less from scratch in 2009. Hamilton's driving is |
| but degraded quickly and by the end of the | | | | beyond question. Now he must prove he can |
| season the two drivers appeared just as likely to | | | | develop a car like the great drivers. |
| try to drive one another off the track as to win | | | | Starting in Australia in March, we shall find out |
| a race. Perhaps fittingly, the two finished in a tie | | | | quickly. |
| for second place as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen | | | | |