Who will be his team mate in 2008

A Spanish sports daily claims McLaren's engine supplier are ready to part company with double World Champ Fernando Alonso. Marca says Mercedes-Benz held a meeting and decided it's best if Alonso exits the Woking team. And you guessed it, Alonso will find himself in the cockpit of a Renault next year and Hamilton will have brand new team mate. Silly Session is getting hot

Moment of Truth

Surely, One of them will be the next Formula 1 World Champion. Give your Vote Now!

Biography [2]

Lewis Hamilton Statistics:
Nationality : British
Date of Birth : 07/01/85
Place of Birth : Tewin, UK
Marital Status : Single
Height : 1.74m
Weight : 64kg
Resident : Tewin, UK
Favourite Music : 2Pac, 50 Cent
Hobbies : Playing the guitar, music, football, training

After winning several karting championships, Hamilton was signed by McLaren's Young Driver Programme on a development contract in 1992 when he was 12. As a result, he has been well-funded throughout his burgeoning career. He has also raced in British Formula Renault in his career, and was European kart champion in 2000.

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.
In 2006, he joined ART Grand Prix team in the GP2 Series as a replacement for the previous year's champion Nico Rosberg. His performance in the GP2 Series has been impressive. 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 the moment he leads the championship, outperforming his more experienced team mate Alexandre Premat.
He has frequently been tipped to be the first black driver in Formula 1, but McLaren boss Ron Dennis has said that he has turned down possible advertising campaigns focusing on Lewis' ethnicity.

COMPETITION HISTORY
2007 Formula 1, Mc Laren's driver
2006 GP2 Series, ART Grand Prix.
2005 F3 Euroseries. Champion; ASM F3, Dallara-Mercedes.
2004 F3 Euroseries. 1st and 3rd at Norisring, 3rd at Nurburgring, Winner Bahrain F3 Superprix.
2003 British Formula Renault Champion; Manor Motorsport.
2002 British Formula Renault; Manor Motorsport; third overall; three victories; three fastest laps; three pole positions. Formula Renault EuroCup Championship; competed in four out of nine rounds; fifth overall; one victory; three podium positions.
2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series; fifth overall.
2000 Formula A; European Champion; Winner of all four rounds; World Cup Champion; World Number One. Winner of Masters at Bercy. BRDC ‘Rising Star’ Member. Winner at the Second round of the Italian Open.
1999 Intercontinental A & Junior Intercontinental A; Italian "Industrials" Champion – ICA; Vice European Champion – JICA; Trophy de Pomposa winner – JICA; 4th Italian Open Championship - JICA.
1998 Junior Intercontinental A; Second in McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future; Fourth at the Italian Open Championship. It is announced that Lewis will be supported by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz
1997 Junior Yamaha; Champions of the Future series Champion; Super One series Champion
1996 Cadet Class; Champions of the Future series Champion; Sky TV KartMasters Champion; Five Nations Champion.
1995 Cadet Class; British Champion; STP Champion.
Read Biography [1]

Hamilton Crashes Out In Shanghai Pitlane

Well this is probably not what Lewis Hamilton or any Formula 1 fan would have predicted. With a a damp track the race got underway with Hamilton leading the field, Kimi Raikkonen following close behind with Massa and Alonso in third and fourth position. During the race the track dried out and most drivers went onto the dry tire, then suddenly it started raining again and people were sliding all over the place on their dry tires.

Before Lewis had his last stop his tires were degrading quickly and he was loosing a few seconds a lap for around 3 laps. There were even white patches becoming visible on the rear tires. When Lewis finally was on his way to the pit-stop he approached the pit lane too fast for his ruined tires, with practically no tread, and went off into the gravel, where he was stuck. This left Alonso to gain 8 points on Lewis leaving only a gap of 4 points for the final race in Brazil. And Raikkonen is seven points behind Hamilton, also leaving him with a chance of the Formula 1 World Championship Crown.

Here’s what Hamilton had to say:

We were having a great race, we didn’t know whether it was going to rain or not and the tyres that I was on were just getting worse and worse. At the end I could almost see the canvas underneath. I was coming into the pits and it was like ice. I couldn’t do anything about it. The thing is, my mirrors were completely dirty so I couldn’t see through them, so I couldn’t see my tyres but it just felt like they were completely finished, and I was coming in that lap, so it could have worked out perfectly.

I think we had the pace in the dry. It’s unfortunate, I’m sorry for the team, they did a fantastic job as always. We’ve still got one more race to go, and don’t worry we can still do it. Obviously when I got out of the car I was just gutted, because I haven’t made a mistake all year and to do it on the way into the pits is not something I usually do. But you can’t go through life without making mistakes, and I’m over it.

Now I’m looking on to Brazil and I know the team will be working hard to make sure the car’s quick enough there. We’ve still got the points in the bag.

It’s certainly what Bernie Ecclestone wanted :-) a chance of three drivers winning the Formula 1 World Championship. I’m certainly looking forward to it, it’s going to be the race of the year!

China F1 Race Results:
1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
2. ALONSO McLaren +9.8s
3. MASSA Ferrari +12.8s
Source

Hamilton on pole for Chinese Grand Prix

McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton took pole position on Saturday for a Chinese Grand Prix that could make him Formula One's first rookie champion.

The 22-year-old Briton will line up alongside Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on the front row for Sunday's race.

Double world champion and McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, 12 points behind Hamilton with just two races remaining, qualified fourth with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa ahead of him in third.

"Thanks a lot guys, mega job. The car was fantastic," Hamilton said on the team radio after setting his best lap of the weekend in the dying seconds of the session.

"Job done, job done, P1," came the reply.
Source

FINNALY...

Lewis Hamilton's world championship is still on track after the FIA ruled that he was not to blame for the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber during the Japanese Grand Prix last week.
Video footage taken by a fan in the grandstand emerged yesterday which suggested Hamilton had suddenly decelerated ahead of the two drivers, causing them to crash. If found guilty, the Briton faced a ten-point penalty or being placed far down the grid at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
But after hours of deliberation today, during which time they viewed the footage on Edward Gorman's weblog to use as evidence, race stewards cleared the championship leader.
Vettel had been penalised ten places following the incident last week, but that has been reduced to a reprimand.
"The involvement of Lewis Hamilton in this incident has also been considered in the light of the evidence given by him, his team manager and in particular all other parties present and no penalty is imposed on him," the stewards said.
The crash happened immediately behind Hamilton, who was leading the field during the second of two safety car periods in heavy rain.
Hamilton can claim the championship on Sunday in his rookie season if he finishes ahead of Fernando Alonso, his McLaren team-mate, who crashed in Japan and is 12 points behind with two races to go.
Before the ruling, Hamilton intimated he was prepared to walk away from Formula One as he felt he was continually being made out to be the "bad man" of the sport.
"I had a good weekend, I don't think I put a foot wrong and I didn't do anything to harm anyone else or put anyone else in danger but I've come away to China and no doubt I'm going to be punished for something," Hamilton said. "I just think it's a real shame for the sport.
"Formula One is supposed to be about hard competition - fair - and that's what I've tried to do this year, just be fair.
"If I've been in the wrong, I've been the first to put my hand up, or apologise at least, and I don't mind being given a penalty but there's been some really strange situations this year where I'm made to look the bad person or by the looks of it this weekend could be given a penalty.
"It's just a shame for the sport and if this is the way it's going to keep going then it's probably not somewhere I really want to be."
Source

Did Hamilton cause Webber and Vettel to crash in Fuji?

Lewis Hamilton will find out today whether he is to be demoted on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, or worse, lose his ten points for winning in Fuji last weekend, over claims that he drove erratically behind the safety car in Japan.
After new video footage taken by a Japanese fan in the grandstand emerged of a crash involving Mark Webber, the Red Bull driver, and Sebastian Vettel, of the Toro Rosso team, on lap 46 of a chaotic race at the Fuji Speedway, there were fears that Hamilton could pay dearly for his apparent role in the incident.
The crash happened immediately behind Hamilton, who was leading the field during the second of two safety car periods in heavy rain, and the stewards in Shanghai are investigating Hamilton’s driving amid claims that his sudden deceleration ahead of Webber and Vettel caused the crash.
This latest threat to Hamilton’s charge to World Championship glory came as Fernando Alonso, his bitter rival at McLaren Mercedes, gave the impression at an FIA press conference in Shanghai that he believes the team are doctoring his race car to ensure that Hamilton wins the title.
Alonso, who crashed in Japan and is 12 points behind Hamilton with just this weekend’s race in Shanghai and the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks to come, was asked whether he believes he was treated in a fair way by McLaren last weekend or whether “the team favour Lewis by making subtle changes to your car, like tyre pressures or wing settings”. Alonso, who has complained all season that McLaren favour Hamilton over him, made no attempt to deny the claim. “Difficult question,” he said, pausing for emphasis. “I will not answer.” No one who heard him could be in any doubt what his intended meaning was and indeed Spanish journalists close to Alonso said that he has been stating as much privately for some time.
The inquiry into Hamilton’s driving in Japan came as a shock to McLaren, who were said to be astonished that Hamilton could be implicated in the crash between Webber and Vettel.
Tight rules govern driving behind the safety car, with Hamilton, as the leader, required to keep within five car lengths of it at all times while not driving unnecessarily slowly or erratically or in a way that is “deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers”.
The case against Hamilton is that after he got close to the safety car going into the chicane at Fuji, he suddenly slowed and veered to the right, causing Vettel, who was third, to mistake him for retiring. In terrible visibility, the 20-year-old German rookie accelerated into the back of Webber, who was braking, putting them both out of the race. Vettel was demoted ten places on the grid for this weekend’s grand prix, a penalty that Toro Rosso are seeking to have overturned.
Webber was outspoken in his criticism of Hamilton yesterday. “I think he did a s*** job behind the safety car,” the Australian, who had been on course for his best race finish, said. “He [Hamilton] spoke in the drivers’ briefing [before the race] about how good a job he was going to do, and then he did the job the opposite way, so we know for next time.”
At McLaren the view was that Hamilton drove within the rules and it was pointed out that neither the safety car driver nor the race director made any complaint about his conduct during or after the race.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article2591956.ece)

Biography [1]

Lewis Hamilton, born January 7, 1985, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, has had his eye on Formula 1 for a very long time. At the young age of 10, Hamilton met the owner and director of the McLaren Formula 1 team, Ron Dennis, at an Autosports Awards ceremony. Hamilton bravely told Dennis that he wanted to drive for McLaren in the future. The impromptu interview went well and Dennis later signed Hamilton up for McLaren’s driver development support program, which meant a possible seat with McLaren’s Formula 1 racing team in the future.

After beginning with a successful karting career, Hamilton began tearing up the car racing scene on the junior formula circuit in 2002. That year, he finished third in the Formula Renault series and placed first a year later. It took Hamilton two brief years to master the next level of racing, the Formula 3 Euro Series, where he won 15 of the 20 races in 2005.

Hamilton continued to build on previous years and 2006 was no exception. He captured another championship, this time in the GP2 Series. Soon after, a Formula 1 opportunity came knocking when McLaren drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen left the team to chase other ventures.

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso already occupied one McLaren seat and speculation mounted as to who would ride along with him. In the end, McLaren passed on more experienced drivers to give Hamilton the opportunity to prove himself in the world of Grand Prix racing.

In his rookie season alone, Hamilton has become the youngest driver ever to lead the Drivers Championship, surpassing the record of the venerated Bruce McLaren -- the namesake of team McLaren.

To the shock and awe of Formula fans and fellow drivers alike, Hamilton placed first in both the Canadian and American Grand Prix's, making him a viable contender as winner of the 2007 Formula 1 race season.

Obviously, McLaren’s decision to go with the younger, inexperienced Hamilton is no longer second-guessed, and is even being celebrated. Hamilton is also the first black driver ever to compete in Formula 1. With a career full of firsts, Hamilton is definitely the driver to keep your eye on.
Read Biography [2]