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spee*When Lewis Hamilton stumbledin his last race of the 2007 seasonand ultimately lost his chance fora debut Fl World Championship,the critics were ready. But whatthe detractors overlook is theincredible triumph it was just tobe there. Roderick Eime reports.

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he presumption with Formula One

drivers is that they are the children ofprivilege; precocious, pernicious brats

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born into sporting royalty. Certainly some do

all they can to confirm that prejudice. MichaelSchumacher, for all his undeniable talent, had amean streak a mile wide. Nigel Mansell, one ofthe most entertaining drivers you'll ever see, was

a legendary dummy-spitter and double worldchampion, Fernando Alonso, Hamilton's team-nate and b.y default his greatest rival, would step

over the line in his quest to retain the title.Yet throughout that tumultuous season,

my greatest menlory u.ill be the unqualifiedsportsmanship and dignity shown by the newest

kid on the block. Despite some dirty tricks and

stinging barbs, he stayed above it all, focused on

his ultimate prize.

"l don't know if I particularly believe that'win at all costs'is the way forward," Hamilton is

quoted as saying.

It is no surprises then that some of the largest

egos in the world belong to Formula One drivers,and when a young black kid fron-r the wrong side

36 s*u.hilton.conr$St\r\u

of town to turns up and starts whipping them,there are bound to be sparks.

Perhaps the most obvious example was the furorcreated during the so-called "trial by YouTube"

when a spectator posted amateur footage of the

controversial Japanese GP safety car incidentthat took out Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

Webber, with an appalling finishing record and

relentlessly dogged by bad luck, blamed Hamiltonfor erratic driving, but the rookie was later cleared

after an FIA inquiry.Asked, in 2006, whether he thought his colour

would create a sort of "Tiger Woods" effect,

replied "It's more a thing for the media to talkabout. Being the first black man doesn't mattermuch to me personally, but for the sport itself itprobably means quite a lot."

But let's step away from the issue of ethnicityand look dispassionately at Hamilton's arrival.He came from a broken home in a rough councilestate and went to a school where he was picked on.

Author Timothy Collings, who assisted Lewis

with the writing of his autobiography'My Story',

observes: "Lewis developed his inner steel, beliefand determination out of a disciplined response to

life's worst setbacks. Hamilton was a British kart

champion at ten. Yet at primary school, he was

bullied. He was small, lacked confidence and feltimmature. But he had great inner determinationand, with support from his father. he began

karate lessons. By the time he was twelve, he had

a black belt.

"Yet Lewis lacked confidence and it took himyears to find it. The discovery of karts, on a familyholiday to Ibiza in 1988, when he was only three,

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followed at home by remote-control car racing,in which he excelled, revealed a talent and firedan obsession."

Murray Walker, the almost retired FI

commentator and intensely parochial Pom, almost

sheds a tear when asked about Hamilton."I have people coming up to me all the time

in my local village of Ringwood, in Hampshire,

saying: "Murray, is this Lewis Hamilton as good as

people say he is?" and I say: "No. He is better."

"You are supposed to be neutral, but in the end

you are British. Nigel was one of us, and my mate.

So, too, Damon (Hi11) and James (Hunt). I make

no apologr for getting behind them. And now we

have Lewis, a boy's own hero come to life."After winning that now famous I995 British

karting title at age ten, Hamilton approached

Mclaren FI team boss Ron Dennis at the

Autosport Awards evening that December for an

autograph, and boldly proclaimed he intended todrive for him one day.

Taken a little aback, Dennis apparently wrotein his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years,

we'll sort something out then." But ciearlyDennis, his interest piqued, could not wait and

signed the cheeky ladjust threeyears larer.

making Hamilton (at 13) the youngest driver ever

recruited by an FI team.

"I was amazed by his self-confidence, and

thought to myself that this boy can really go

places." said Dennis recalling the moment.

Under Dennis's remote guidance and tutelage,

Hamilton went on to dominate very race series he

entered prior to 2007.

"To finish second at the end of mv first season,

as a rookie, in Formula One was certainly no

failure, but I could not deny I felt a sense ofdisappointment to have gone so close to taking the

title," said Hamilton, "but I had to take positives

from it and look ahead to 2008. Who knows what

will happen in the years to come?"

With the tribulations of that defining debut

season behind him, his otherwise flawless

reputation slightly chipped, but his dignity firmly

intact, how will Hamilton fare in 2008?

Mark Blundell, former Fl driver and HiltonRacing Ambassador, says, "The next part of the

journey will be fascinating. If things pan out

as we think now that Alonso has left Mclaren,

then Hamilton becomes their number one. That

is a new dimension again. This year he had the

element of surprise. He won't have that in 2008.

Expectations are now sky high. He has to deliver

in new circumstances. We are all in new territorywith him."

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