Lewis Hamilton

The buzz surrounding this young man had been growing, but no one could have been prepared for the way he in which exploded onto the Formula One scene with podium finishes in his first nine races, including wins in Canada and the United States, to become the youngest person ever to top the drivers’ championship. Allegations of illicit team orders in Monaco, and a cloak-and-dagger espionage scandal involving McLaren and rivals Ferrari, added spice to a season in which F1 was gloriously thrust back into the limelight, while the sometimes fractious relationship between Hamilton and his teammate Fernando Alonso also made headlines. But the biggest story of all has been Hamilton himself, and many within F1 are now predicting that this young man will dominate the scene for years to come.

In this book, Gareth Rogers chronicles the rise of British sport’s new superstar, charting his early days and his progression from karts to cars, followed by the whirlwind success of his record-breaking first season.