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Although Lewis Hamilton initially took up racing as a hobby, it swiftly became his vocation and after cutting his teeth around his home town of Stevenage, the young British driver turned his attentions to national events. Winning came naturally and by the age of 10 - with a little less than two years’ experience - he was crowned the youngest-ever winner of the British Cadet Kart championship.
Equipped with an assured racing style that belied his years, it wasn’t long before Hamilton’s trophy cabinet was groaning under the weight of more karting titles. McLaren’s Ron Dennis was one of the first to notice his swift rise through the ranks and in 1998 he signed Hamilton to the team’s young driver programme. Indeed, Dennis’s belief in Hamilton’s talents was such that the contract even included an option on the 13 year-old should he ever make it into Formula One racing.
At this stage, however, it was McLaren’s financial support that proved the bigger blessing for Hamilton. At once able to compete on a much larger stage, the young British driver won a multitude of European karting titles with ease. And by the age of 15 he was grabbing further headlines, this time for being crowned the sport’s youngest number one - a record he still retains.
But it was Hamilton’s talent, not his youth that really singled him out, and as a result offers to race in other series began to flood in. Eventually in 2002 he opted for the highly-competitive British Formula Renault series. Fears he wouldn’t cope with such an upswing in horsepower proved short-lived. Attacking single-seater racing with the same resolute determination that had bore fruit throughout his karting days, Hamilton finished third in his debut season, before taking the crown a year later after a record-breaking 10 wins, nine fastest laps and 11 pole positions.
Although his subsequent move to the Formula Three Euroseries was less straightforward, Hamilton eventually found his feet, improving on fifth in the standings in his debut year to win the title in his second. Driving for the dominant ASM team undoubtedly helped, but, with 15 race wins to his name, Hamilton whitewashed the opposition.
His foray into GP2 in 2006 proved equally thrilling. At his very best, Hamilton stunned onlookers with a string of spectacular performances. Outshining his more-experienced team mate Alexandre Premat and a resurgent Nelson Piquet Jr with his bold driving style, he won the title and, perhaps more importantly, the Formula One paddock’s admiration.
With his race pace and skillful consistency drawing comparisons to a young Fernando Alonso, long-time guardians McLaren - shy of a second driver to pair up with incoming champion Fernando Alonso for the 2007 season - decided late in 2006 to see how their protege would cope in a Formula One car. They were not disappointed and rewarded Hamilton’s impressive testing times and mature approach with a race seat.
It was an out-of-character move for a traditionally conservative squad, but one which quickly paid dividends for team and driver alike. Hamilton won four Grands Prix in his debut season and led the championship for much of the year, developing an intense rivalry with Alonso both on and off the circuit. Only a mixture of bad luck and inexperience in the final two rounds deprived him of the title.
It was an opportunity missed, but one which he put right the following season. With Alonso having returned to Renault, Hamilton again led the table for the bulk of the season, ultimately beating Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to the crown by a single-point after a tense title showdown at the finale in Brazil, in which he famously took the fifth place he needed on the final corner of the final lap. Aged just 23, he thus usurped Alonso as Formula One’s youngest-ever champion.
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