Lewis Hamilton chooses Geneva

Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One racing driver, is renting an apartment in Geneva with a view of Lake Geneva, Le Matin reports today. The newspaper cites a source indicating that Hamilton, 22, is set to finalize a rental agreement for the pad overlooking the Rade, the city’s harbor. It was reported earlier this week that the British driver, runnerup Formula One champion for 2007, was moving to Switzerland to avoid the glare of publicity in his home country.

Le Matin reports that Dominique Oberegger, a resident of Luins, near Gland in Vaud, met Hamilton’s father in Monza, Italy during the Grand Prix there in September. Oberegger had learned that the driver was looking for a place to live in Switzerland. He suggested a luxury three-room apartment in Luins with a view of Lake Geneva, which the Hamiltons, father and son, later visited. “They found it agreeable, then we went to eat at the Auberge Communale,” Oberegger told the newspaper. “Lewis loved the fact that nobody recognized him and that they would not come and disturb him during the meal.”

Hamilton, the most successful rookie Formula One driver ever, finds himself living a stealthy life in Britain, where paparazzi trail him everywhere he goes. In the end, Oberegger said the driver chose an apartment in Geneva, to be closer to the airport, although he may yet rent out the place in Luins for friends. Hamilton’s arrival would bring to seven the number of active Formula One drivers living in Switzerland, including 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who calls Zurich home. Fernando Alonso has a home in Mont-sur-Rolle. Other past champions such as Michael Schumacher (Gland) and Alain Prost (Nyon) live nearby.

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