Tiger Woods of F1

Born in Stevenage in 1985, Lewis Hamilton won several karting championships before being signed by McLaren aged 12. He won the British Formula Renault championship in 2003, Formula Three Euro Series in 2005 and the GP2 Series this year, beating more experienced rivals. Last month he was named as Fernando Alonso’s new McLaren Formula One team-mate. He lives in Hertfordshire with his father Anthony and younger brother Nicholas, who has cerebral palsy

Lewis Hamilton may be the first black driver ever signed to a Formula One team. But back home in Tewin Wood, Hertfordshire, he’s a long way from fast-living Monaco and the glamorous trappings of the F1 circus; here the small-town boy drives a little Smart Forfour.

It is a sporty version, though, as the 21-year-old is quick to point out. “It’s a 177bhp specially tuned Brabus and it’s seriously quick,” he says. “It has a big turbo with all the performance you need. Before that I owned a Smart Roadster for two years.”

But it’s still piddling compared with the 750bhp packed by a modern F1 car. And he’s crashed it. “I’ve had a couple of accidents,” he admits, “including one where I didn’t see a corner in time and went off the road.”

On the track his judgment has fortunately proved more reliable. Hamilton will take the driving seat of his McLaren F1 car at the start of the 2007 season in March, alongside team-mate Fernando Alonso, the current world champion, who has jumped ship from Renault. McLaren badly needs a win, having completed the last season without a single grand prix victory.

David Coulthard, former McLaren driver and veteran of 211 grands prix, has questioned the thinking behind Hamilton’s appointment and suggested the youngster should first spend time as a test driver. But Hamilton believes he’s prepared for the challenge. “I’m absolutely ready,” he says. “I must put some miles under my belt, and the sooner the better.

“I have nothing left to prove. I’ve had a fantastic season winning the GP2 Series against some very experienced drivers. I know that F1 is going to be much tougher but teaming up with Fernando is the best solution for me because I can learn so much from him.”

Hamilton has already been dubbed “the Tiger Woods of motorsport” and Ron Dennis — McLaren’s founder — recently rated only Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen above his rookie driver. He spotted Hamilton’s talent as a 12-year-old, signed him up on a development contract and has since spent an estimated £5m on what he calls his My Fair Lady experiment. Just four years after Hamilton passed his driving test, he is now poised to fulfil his, and his mentor’s, ultimate dream.

His rise to the top began when he was five years old and his father bought him a radio-controlled car. “It was an electric off-roader and I loved it. My dad saw I had good eye-to-hand co-ordination and encouraged me to try racing it.”

A year later he found himself racing it around the Blue Peter garden. “It was a big day out. I think I was at least 20 years younger than the other contestants, but I won.”

After this small victory Hamilton was given his first petrol-powered racing kart on Christmas Day 1992. The weekend hobby became more serious when he won the Cadet Class of the British karting championship three years later. As a 10-year-old blatting around a track on a 60cc go-kart, Hamilton was completely fearless. “I don’t think my parents truly understood how dangerous it could be,” he says. “I had one big crash where I went off and ploughed into a wall. I bashed my head and had a nosebleed, but I just told Dad to fix the kart. I raced the next day and won.”

Hamilton first met Dennis at the annual Autosport Awards ceremony. Aged 10, he plucked up the courage to approach the McLaren supremo and ask for an autograph. “Ron signed the book then said, ‘Give me a call in nine years’. As it turned out they signed me when I was 12.”

His winning streak continued, picking up go-kart championships year after year and culminating with the European title in 2000. He claimed the Formula Renault UK trophy in a car after three attempts in 2003, the year after passing his driving test, having had just six lessons. “I paid for lessons in the end because I don’t think my dad was the best person to teach me,” he says cheekily. “He thinks he is the best driver and even now when I’m at the wheel I still get instructions on how to do it! “I do have some penalty points on my licence but it was from a speed camera and I’m not sure I was the one driving that day.”

Hamilton, whose grandfather came to Britain from Grenada in the 1950s and worked on the railways, still lives with his father Anthony — also a former rail worker who went on to run a successful IT business — and younger brother Nicholas. His parents divorced but he remains close to his mother and has been dating his college sweetheart Jodia for 2Å years.

“The only problem with my job is that I don’t get to see her enough,” he says sweetly, sounding a million miles from the clichéd F1 playboy. “We met while we were studying at college in Cambridge. She studied event management and is now working in London. She’s my best friend and we speak every day.”

To relax he plays guitar, plays basketball, and is trying his hand at golf. He is expected to earn about £350,000 in his first F1 season, plus bonuses that could amount to as much as £140,000 per race. And, growing into his new role, he already has his eyes on a suitably flashy motor. In the past his connections with McLaren Mercedes (DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes’ parent company, holds a 40% stake in McLaren) earned him the keys to a Mercedes C-class, followed by a C-class Sports Coupé. He now has his eye on something extra special: a Mercedes SLR McLaren supercar.

If he and Alonso can turn around McLaren’s fading fortunes, he might just get lucky.

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