September, 2008
The Prince: Lewis Hamilton
Credit: Alex Crawford
In 1994, McLaren Formula 1 team boss Ron Dennis found himself approached by a nine-year-old karting champion. The boy told him solemnly, "I'm going to race for you one day... I'm going to race for McLaren." The young champion's name was Lewis Hamilton, and today, he's fulfilled that childhood promise.
Lewis Hamilton is the latest, greatest sensation in Formula 1 or F1 racing. He narrowly lost the 2007 championship, but could win this year to become the youngest F1 champion ever.
F1 is one of the biggest and most exciting competitions in the world. Car makers (called "constructors") such as Ferrari, Toyota and McLaren build powerful racing machines to race around specially built tracks. The annual F1 championship is made up of many separate races held in different countries. From this year, Singapore will host one of the F1 races.
Each constructor team includes scientists and engineers who improve the designs of their cars year after year, squeezing greater performance out of their engines and trying to make sure that they stick to the track and don't fly off at rocket-like speeds. The teams also include technicians who must must work superfast to keep the cars in tip-top condition during a race.
But, the stars of the teams are the drivers. That's where men like Lewis Hamilton come in. Hamilton's grandparents came from Grenada, a small island Caribbean nation, and settled in Britain during the 1950s. His parents were divorced, and he lived with his father, Mr Anthony Hamilton. Mr Hamilton recognised his son's talents when he saw him controlling his little remote control car with such skill that he was beating adults.
His father decided to give young Lewis a chance to try his talents on something a bit bigger, namely, a kart. Lewis got a kart as a Christmas present when he was six years old. His father promised to support his karting hobby as long as he worked hard at school. Mr Hamilton kept that promise. He worked up to three jobs at a time, but never missed a single one of Hamilton's races.
Lewis showed such talent in kart races that he got the attention of Team McLaren, which signed him up for its training programme. This made him, at 14, the youngest driver ever to get a contract.
He didn't let McLaren down. He became European Champion in 2000. In honour of his success, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" member that same year. Hamilton started playing with the big boys and big cars in 2001, taking part in the British Formula Renault Series. In 2007, he became the youngest driver to lead the F1 World Championship, even though the didn't win in the end.
He's also the first black driver to compete in F1, which used to be dominated by white Europeans and Americans.
Lewis Hamilton is the latest, greatest sensation in Formula 1 or F1 racing. He narrowly lost the 2007 championship, but could win this year to become the youngest F1 champion ever.
F1 is one of the biggest and most exciting competitions in the world. Car makers (called "constructors") such as Ferrari, Toyota and McLaren build powerful racing machines to race around specially built tracks. The annual F1 championship is made up of many separate races held in different countries. From this year, Singapore will host one of the F1 races.
Each constructor team includes scientists and engineers who improve the designs of their cars year after year, squeezing greater performance out of their engines and trying to make sure that they stick to the track and don't fly off at rocket-like speeds. The teams also include technicians who must must work superfast to keep the cars in tip-top condition during a race.
But, the stars of the teams are the drivers. That's where men like Lewis Hamilton come in. Hamilton's grandparents came from Grenada, a small island Caribbean nation, and settled in Britain during the 1950s. His parents were divorced, and he lived with his father, Mr Anthony Hamilton. Mr Hamilton recognised his son's talents when he saw him controlling his little remote control car with such skill that he was beating adults.
His father decided to give young Lewis a chance to try his talents on something a bit bigger, namely, a kart. Lewis got a kart as a Christmas present when he was six years old. His father promised to support his karting hobby as long as he worked hard at school. Mr Hamilton kept that promise. He worked up to three jobs at a time, but never missed a single one of Hamilton's races.
Lewis showed such talent in kart races that he got the attention of Team McLaren, which signed him up for its training programme. This made him, at 14, the youngest driver ever to get a contract.
He didn't let McLaren down. He became European Champion in 2000. In honour of his success, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" member that same year. Hamilton started playing with the big boys and big cars in 2001, taking part in the British Formula Renault Series. In 2007, he became the youngest driver to lead the F1 World Championship, even though the didn't win in the end.
He's also the first black driver to compete in F1, which used to be dominated by white Europeans and Americans.
Formula 1:
The King: Michael Schumacher
The Car
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The F1 Quiz
The King: Michael Schumacher
The Car
Test your knowledge:
The F1 Quiz
