Lewis Hamilton was born in England in 1985. He was named after American sprint champion Carl Lewis, so he was associated with speed even from when he was a baby. Perhaps it came as no surprise that Lewis got into racing of some sort. He won the Formula 1 World Championship in November 2008 to become F1’s youngest ever champion, at the age of 23.

 

Hamilton got into racing at a very young age. He loved radio-controlled cars. When he was seven, he came second in a national competition against adults. Lewis’ father knew his son had a special talent and bought him a go-kart. He began winning many championships and got a taste for bigger and faster things. He fell in love with Formula One.

 

When Lewis was just ten years old, he met the boss of the Formula 1 McLaren team Ron Dennis. Hamilton told him: "I want to race for you one day." He impressed Dennis and three years later Lewis joined McLaren’s Young Driver Support Programme. He won championships in formula two and three and became an F1 driver for McLaren in 2007.

 

Hamilton broke many records in his first season in Formula One and won many races. He finished second in the championship, missing out on the title by one point in his final race. He was determined to win in 2008 and did just that, winning the title by a single point on the last corner in the last lap of the last race of the season.