motoring profile: Lewis Hamilton

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motoring profile: Lewis Hamilton

By Chris Jefferies

What's he all about?

Lewis is the most promising and exciting racing talent that Britain has produced in the past quarter of a century. The prodigal driver followed up a promising debut season in 2007 by becoming the youngest man to ever win the Formula One World Championship, at the age of just 23. Three years on from this triumph and he is still racing for McLaren F1, with fellow Brit Jenson Button as his teammate.

Where is he from?

Born of Grenadian descent to a modest family in Stevenage, Hamilton was named after American sprinter Carl Lewis. His grandfather moved from the Caribbean to England in the 1950s, and his father Anthony, who separated from mother Carmen when Lewis was just two, held down up to three jobs at once in order to fund his son's passion for racing. This support continued into the world of F1, with Anthony acting as Lewis's agent until 2010.

How did he start out?

Like many racing champions, Lewis started at a very early age, driving go-karts from six and racing them from age eight. Having won the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series, he introduced himself to McLaren boss Ron Dennis at age 11, boldly claiming: "I'm going to race for you one day." So impressed was the team chief that he signed Lewis up at age 13.

What are his career highlights?

Lewis's firsts in Formula 1 are almost too many to mention. As well as being the youngest ever winner of the World Championship, he was also the first ever driver to finish in the top three for all of his first four races. However, the high point so far has to be the dramatic final-corner overtake of Timo Glock at Interlagos in Brazil, which sealed the 2008 world title.

Who are his inspirations?

When asked, Lewis regularly quotes his younger brother Nicholas, who is 20 and has cerebral palsy. He regularly accompanies Lewis to the race track and is highly popular among the McLaren crew.

Lewis has also been quoted as saying that Muhammad Ali is the greatest sportsman of all time, while he is a big fan of F1 drivers Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

What does he drive?

Lewis told Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson that he likes cruising around in his Mercedes GL420 diesel, which he proudly describes as a "pimp wagon", due to its 24-inch rims. He also owns an SL Black, but he has not yet been able to spend much time driving "his baby", according to Autocar magazine.

Brand loyalties aside, Lewis also told the motoring publication that he one day wants to own a Shelby Cobra or a Ford Mustang GT500.

What kind of driving music does he like?

Despite his boy-racer image, Lewis prefers the laid-back grooves of Reggae legend Bob Marley, as well as the hip-hop stylings of 2Pac and 50 Cent.

What kind of driver is he?

On the F1 track, Lewis is renowned for his fearless, and often risky, driving style. However when he was invited on Top Gear to race their Suzuki Leana, Jeremy Clarkson described him as "lackadaisical". This casual style didn't stop him recording a very impressive time of 1m44.7s, in the wet. He has promised to come back and race around the test track again in the dry, so watch this space.

What does he do with his free time?

As well as being trained in boxing and karate (to black belt standard), Lewis plays guitar, listens to music and loves online gaming, with driving and racing games being his favourite (naturally).

Who is his other half?

Former Pussycat Dolls singer and X-Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger is Lewis's glamorous girlfriend. They met at the 2007 MTV Music Awards in Munich, and recent reports suggest that they may be secretly engaged.

Any famous friends?

Since making a name for himself on the global stage, Lewis has mixed with the likes of US rappers Pharrell Williams and P Diddy. He also used to play football at school with Manchester United winger Ashley Young.

Why has he been in the news lately?

Lewis recently made headlines by calling for the National Anthem to be doubled in length. He is keen for Brits to sing the second verse of God Save The Queen, as it would mean more time for him to soak up the atmosphere on the podium after a successful Grand Prix finish.

�When I stand up there and [Brazilian] Felipe Massa has won, it�s ten minutes long,� he said, �and when I�m standing there it lasts half a minute. I would urge the UK to make our anthem longer.�

What's he doing next?

Half way through the 2011 Formula 1 series, Lewis currently sits in third place, and hopes are high for a strong finish to the season after he won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring earlier this month. Here's hoping he'll be hearing that anthem a few more times this year, even if it is a little short for his liking.