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133-599: Seven time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton , won the Euro Series drivers' title in 2005. EuroSeries champions Paul di Resta (2006 champion), Romain Grosjean (2007), Nico Hülkenberg (2008), and Jules Bianchi (2009) have driven in Formula One. Other Formula One drivers who also raced in the series include 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel , Adrian Sutil , Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg . In 2012,

266-407: A bonus point for pole position). Drivers who fail to finish the first race occupy the remaining grid positions for Race 2 in the order in which they retired. In the first race of the weekend, points are awarded to the top eight finishers, with 10 points for a win. One bonus point is awarded for the fastest qualifying time. In addition to the change to a single qualifying session, the points system for

399-851: A collaboration between two of Europe's national governing bodies for motorsport – the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile (FFSA) in France and the Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB) in Germany . The new partnership between the FFSA and DMSB spelled the end of national Formula Three in France with the closure of the French Formula Three Championship , but Germany's national championship

532-680: A consequence, the company secured other contracts and built chassis for Toyota ( GT-One ), Audi (various incarnations of the R8 ) and Chrysler (the Oreca -run Chrysler LMP). Later, the Chrysler LMP would become Dallara's customer car available to privateers, known as the Dallara SP1 , which has also served as a test mule for Nissan 's aborted return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans . All these cars were competitive in prototype sports car racing, with

665-472: A debut season (109). Acquiring the championship lead as early as in the fourth round of the season, Hamilton became the youngest Formula One driver to lead the championship standings. Due to McLaren's strategical missteps and other misfortunes in the closing rounds of the season, Hamilton's twelve point advantage in the standings evanesced. Resulting in him finishing runner-up in the 2007 World Drivers' Championship to Kimi Räikkönen , by one point. Throughout

798-422: A few teams entered a Panoz/G-Force chassis into the 2007 Indianapolis 500 singly. Some smaller teams continued to utilize the slightly older IR-03 designated chassis, particularly at Indianapolis, with update kits installed to bring it up to equally competitive ground with the newer-assembled IR-05 due to cheaper costs. Dan Wheldon famously won the 2011 Indy 500 driving a nine year old IR-03. IndyCar implemented

931-531: A fierce battle for the title throughout the season, finishing 1–2 at 14 of 22 Grands Prix, and colliding on track in several occasions. Hamilton achieved his 100th pole position and race win at the Spanish and Russian Grands Prix, respectively, becoming the first driver to achieve either feat. Winning three of the last four races, including a recovery drive at the São Paulo Grand Prix —which

1064-591: A footballer or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams. In February 2001, he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge. Hamilton began karting in 1993 and quickly began winning races and cadet class championships. Two years later, he became the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship at the age of ten. That year, Hamilton approached McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis at

1197-568: A gamble. In his first season with the Brackley -based team, Hamilton secured a sole race victory, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix , where he converted an unexpected pole position into a winning margin of over 11 seconds ahead of second-placed Räikkönen. With a number of other podium finishes and pole positions, Hamilton finished fourth in the standings once again, the third time in five years. Changes to engine regulations for

1330-560: A general chassis and engine development freeze from the start of the 2009 season . The series began focusing on a new chassis/engine package to be rolled out for 2012. By this time, the Dallara IR-03/05 was exclusively paired with the Honda Indy V8 , as other engine manufactures had departed. Starting in 2012 , Dallara began providing the common monocoque and suspension parts for the new IndyCar formulae – known as

1463-463: A joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles —tied with Michael Schumacher —and holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202), among others . Born and raised in Stevenage , Hertfordshire, Hamilton began his career in karting aged six, winning several national titles and attracting the attention of Ron Dennis , who signed him

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1596-547: A lap down in 14th place. Hamilton cited the race as his "stand-out" performance of the season. Ayrton Senna was a major influence on Hamilton's driving style, recalling: "I think it's partly because I watched [him] when I was young and I thought 'this is how I want to drive when I get the opportunity' and I went out there and tried it on the kart track. My whole approach to racing has developed from there." He has been compared to Senna in raw speed. In 2010, Hamilton drove Senna's original title-winning McLaren MP4/4 as part of

1729-432: A lot more—clear of every other driver on the grid". I feel like this year [2022], when we got our first fifth, it felt like a win. When we got our first fourth, it felt like a win. When we got our first podium, it felt like a win, and those second places felt as if we really achieved something, so I'll just hold on to those. — Hamilton, reflecting on his winless 2022 season. Partnered by George Russell in place of

1862-434: A mistake [in] wheel-to-wheel combat [or] in qualifying ... He just doesn't fade, mentally or physically." Hamilton is regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. In the 2008 British Grand Prix , Hamilton bested second-place Nick Heidfeld by over a minute, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix . During

1995-470: A points deficit to Vettel in the first half of the season, ultimately wrapping the title up in Mexico with two races to spare. The 2018 season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the "Fight for Five" by journalists and fans. As with the 2017 season, Ferrari and Vettel appeared to have the upper hand for much of

2128-516: A protégé of Toyota's driver development program and had already tested one of its Formula One cars at the age of 20. Three of the drivers in the 2003 championship – Robert Kubica , Timo Glock and Nico Rosberg – have competed in Formula One. Briscoe's would be the only championship title to date for a driver using an Opel-powered car, as the Mercedes-backed ASM Formule 3 rose to prominence in 2004. Its first drivers' title

2261-505: A protégé of the McLaren - Mercedes Formula One team. He achieved a record-setting 15 race wins from 20 starts, thirteen pole positions and ten fastest laps. Hamilton graduated to GP2 , winning that championship in his rookie year. He subsequently went on to become the youngest ever F1 world champion in 2008 with McLaren, winning the title in his second season. Also competing in 2005 was Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel , who finished

2394-581: A quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality. — Michael Schumacher , speaking about Hamilton in 2001 Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his teammate

2527-541: A round of the championship. In 2005, the series visited Monaco as a Grand Prix support event, which was the first Formula Three event at Monaco since 1997. This famous motor-racing venue has long-standing associations with Formula Three. The FFSA and DMSB created the new championship around the FIA-sanctioned F3 formula of multiple chassis builders and production-based 4-cylinder 2-litre engines with control supplies of tyres and fuel. As in most F3 championships,

2660-555: A second season, culminating in Whitmarsh tearing up Hamilton's contract; however, Hamilton called Whitmarsh six weeks later and re-signed with the team. Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004 at Silverstone . Hamilton moved to the reigning Euro Series champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort . After

2793-502: A series of high-speed bends where overtaking is rare. In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second. Hamilton won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. Hamilton's success in the GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following

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2926-470: A team that used works Mercedes engines and was 40% owned by the German manufacturer at the time. Hamilton is the first and as of 2024 the only black driver to race in the series. After finishing on the podium in his debut, Hamilton went on to set several records, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in

3059-500: A title-deciding overtake on the last lap of the last race of the season to become the then-youngest World Drivers' Champion . The dominant Red Bull - Renault combination prevailed throughout his remaining four seasons at McLaren, with Hamilton achieving multiple race wins in each, including his involvement in a four-way title battle in 2010 . Hamilton signed for Mercedes in 2013 to partner Nico Rosberg , ending his 15-year association with McLaren. Following his maiden victory with

3192-568: A tribute documentary by the BBC motoring show Top Gear . In the documentary, along with fellow racing drivers, he named Senna as the number one driver ever. Earlier in his career, Hamilton was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he went on to repeat four years later in Formula One at

3325-459: A two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million per year, making him the best-paid Formula One driver in history. Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship standings for the majority of the 2019 season, fending off title challenges from team-mate Bottas, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's recently promoted Charles Leclerc , to clinch his sixth Drivers' crown at

3458-466: Is "super-hard on the brakes ... but has a fantastic ability to match how quickly the downforce is bleeding off with his modulation of the pressure so that there's no wasted grip but no locked wheels either." Paddy Lowe , previously the engineering director for McLaren, described how Hamilton is comfortable with levels of rear instability that most other drivers would find intolerable. Hamilton has also been praised for his ability to adapt to variances in

3591-648: Is his maturity ... [Hamilton] recognises he is a role model and the influence he has and the responsibilities that come with it. He is far broader than purely a driver in [Formula One]. He has opinions about the environment, young people, fashion and music. That is part of the greater appeal of Lewis today. Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara . After working for Ferrari , Maserati , Lamborghini and De Tomaso , in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari ( Parma ), he created Dallara Automobili. Dallara

3724-488: Is set to join Ferrari from 2025 onwards. Hamilton has been credited with furthering Formula One's global following by appealing to a broader audience outside the sport, in part due to his high-profile lifestyle, amongst his environmental and social activism. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of racial justice and increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of

3857-693: Is the sole manufacturer of racing cars for the IndyCar Series , Indy NXT , FIA Formula 2 , FIA Formula 3 and Super Formula Championships . The company also produces cars for endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona . Dallara has also been involved in the development and production of both Formula E cars and Haas F1 Team cars. The company was founded by designer Giampaolo Dallara in 1972 in Varano de' Melegari , near Parma , Italy , and started building chassis for sports car racing and hillclimbing , racing in

3990-491: The 100 most influential people globally , and was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours . Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage , Hertfordshire . His father, Anthony Hamilton, is of Afro-Grenadian descent, while his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is White British from Birmingham , making him mixed-race ; Hamilton's parents separated when he was two, after which he lived with his mother and older half-sisters, Samantha and Nicola, until he

4123-682: The 1997 season . The first model year (1997) was named the IR-7. The cars were most notably differentiated from the competing G-Force chassis by the ovoid shape of the air intake inlet , while the G-Force's were triangular and molded around the roll bar. The IR-8 (1998) and IR-9 (1999) were essentially 1997 model year chassis with various update kits. Jim Guthrie won Dallara's first Indy car race at Phoenix on 23 March 1997. Eddie Cheever won Dallara's first Indianapolis 500 in 1998 , in his Oldsmobile-powered IR-7 chassis. A new model chassis

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4256-463: The 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia. Following his move to Mercedes, Hamilton was credited with demonstrating greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. The official Formula One website describes him as "invariably a fierce but fair fighter". As a driver he is absolutely outstanding – as good as there's ever been. Apart from the talent, he's a good guy, he gets out on

4389-406: The 2012 season, Hamilton finished fourth in the standings and achieved four race wins, despite several operational failures and reliability issues akin to the 2010 season. Motorsport.com analysis revealed Hamilton had lost an estimated 110 points due to race retirements (three while leading) and other misfortunes, which would have been enough to out-score his rivals and win the title. Prior to

4522-485: The 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines , contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton. That year saw Mercedes win 16 of the 19 races that season, 11 of those secured by Hamilton and finished every race on the podium as he prevailed in a season-long duel for the title against teammate Rosberg. Clinching his second drivers' title, and eclipsing the victory tally of all British drivers before him, Hamilton declared over team-radio after

4655-507: The 2024 season, Hamilton triggered an exit-clause in his Mercedes contract, allowing him to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season, a year before his contract was due to expire. Hamilton explained the decision was one of his hardest to make, and he needed a new challenge and a different work environment. Following another challenging start to the 2024 season, Hamilton ended his 31-month winless drought by winning his ninth British Grand Prix , breaking Schumacher's record for most wins at

4788-671: The Audi R8 , in particular, becoming the most dominant chassis in modern times at the 24 Hours and the American Le Mans Series . In 2002, they built the GC21 for use in the Fuji Grand Champion Series ; the car was based on the company's F3 cars. In March 2008 the first Dallara Daytona Prototype appeared, built-in collaboration with Doran for Wayne Taylor 's SunTrust Racing team. In 2015, Dallara

4921-624: The Autosport Awards for an autograph and said: "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in Hamilton's autograph book: "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." When Hamilton was 12, Ladbrokes took a bet, at 40/1 odds, that Hamilton would win a Formula One race before the age of 23; another predicted, at 150/1 odds, that he would win

5054-600: The Black Lives Matter movement, Hamilton took the knee ahead of every race he entered and wore t-shirts bearing the Black Lives Matter slogan. Hamilton and Bottas' Mercedes W11 cars also sported a black livery as a statement of Mercedes's commitment to diversity. Regulation changes for the 2021 season saw Red Bull make relative performance gains on Mercedes, winning six of the opening eleven rounds. Hamilton and Red Bull's Verstappen engaged in

5187-681: The DTM touring car series and GP2 F1 support series, as well as racing and testing roles in Formula One. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have gained their places in Formula One via championship-winning seasons in GP2. Hamilton's former Euroseries team-mate, All-Japan F3 champion Adrian Sutil , races for Force India , Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull Renault, and Kazuki Nakajima with Williams and Romain Grosjean Race for Renault F1 for 2009. Others, such as Alexandre Prémat , Jamie Green , Bruno Spengler , and Alexandros Margaritis compete in

5320-701: The Dallara SF19 . This update to the previous chassis (the Dallara SF14 ) followed the FIA's new safety guidelines and added the "halo." In the early 1980s, Dallara was responsible for the construction of the Lancia LC1 Group 6 prototype as well as the later LC2 Group C car, along with Lancia's partner Abarth . It would not be until 1993 that Dallara returned to endurance racing , although very few chassis would take their name. The first project

5453-633: The FIA World Motor Sport Council report finding that "human error" resulted in the failure to follow Formula One Sporting Regulations concerning the withdrawal of the safety car, adding that the final standings are "valid, final and cannot now be changed". Notwithstanding the controversy in Abu Dhabi, BBC Sport ' s Andrew Benson described the season as "one of the most intense, hard-fought battles in sporting history", with Hamilton and Verstappen having "been head and shoulders—and

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5586-597: The Haas VF-16 was officially unveiled. This arrangement has continued since with Dallara designing all the Haas cars up to and including the 2023 season. Dallara debuted as a chassis builder and supplier at the IndyCar Series in 1997, and has been the single chassis builder and supplier since 2007. The manufacturer has won seventeen of the twenty Indianapolis 500s they have contested. In 2013, Dallara reached its milestone 200th Indy car victory at Barber . In 2012

5719-532: The Hungaroring —surpassing Senna and Schumacher for the most pole positions at a single circuit. Prior to the Italian Grand Prix , Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension worth over £100 million to remain with Mercedes through the 2025 season. Hamilton finished third in the standings, and was voted the second-best driver across the season by the rest of the drivers. Prior to the start of

5852-799: The McLaren Young Driver Programme in 1998. After winning the direct-drive Karting World Cup and European Championship in 2000, Hamilton progressed to junior formulae , where his successes included winning the Formula 3 Euro Series and the GP2 Series . He subsequently signed for McLaren in 2007 , becoming the first black driver to compete in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix . In his rookie season, Hamilton won four Grands Prix and set several records as he finished runner-up to Kimi Räikkönen by one point. Hamilton won his maiden title in 2008 , making

5985-940: The Netherlands , Italy , Belgium and Spain . Most rounds are shared with the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Notable venues have included Pau and Le Mans in France; Brands Hatch in Britain; Circuit de Catalunya in Spain; Estoril in Portugal; Adria in Italy; and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. From 2004 onwards, the Masters of Formula 3 , held at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, was included as

6118-583: The Sakhir Grand Prix after contracting COVID-19 , his first race absence since his debut in 2007. In a race drawing parallels with Senna's win at the 1993 European Grand Prix , Hamilton clinched the title at the Turkish Grand Prix with three rounds to spare and ended the season 124 points clear of his team-mate, Bottas, who finished second in the standings. Amid Formula One's We Race as One campaign and growing global support for

6251-570: The United States Grand Prix with two races remaining. After scoring his sixth career grand slam at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , the final race of the season, Hamilton ended the season with 11 wins (matching his previous best in 2014 and 2018) and 17 podiums (matching the all-time record for a fourth time) as well as achieving 5 pole positions. His total of 413 points for the season was a new all-time record, seeing

6384-536: The 2006 season. Following Midland's purchase of the Jordan team for early entry to F1 in 2005, Dallara continued co-operating with the team technically. However, the relationship fizzled out as Midland focussed its resources on developing the existing Jordan infrastructure, and a new Dallara F1 chassis never appeared. Dallara built the cars for Hispania 's entry in the 2010 season. The Hispania team's financial problems—which delayed payment of money owed to Dallara and

6517-630: The Briton finish 87 points clear of second-placed Bottas. Hamilton won his seventh Drivers' title in 2020 , equalling the record set by Schumacher, in a season heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Over the shortened seventeen-race season, Hamilton took 11 wins (equalling his previous personal best, but in fewer races) including one in Portugal to break Schumacher's record of 91 wins. He also took 14 podiums and 10 pole positions. Hamilton missed

6650-485: The DTM; The inaugural season attracted a strong entry list, comprising the best teams from the merged French and German championships. The first Euro Series drivers' champion was Ryan Briscoe of Australia , driving a Dallara-Opel F303 run by Prema Powerteam, based in Italy. It was a closely fought season, in which race wins were shared between eight drivers, six teams, and three engine manufacturers. Briscoe was, at that time,

6783-512: The Driver's Championship standings, with securing two race wins and five podium finishes. Beginning from the 2010 season, Hamilton was partnered by the reigning World Champion Jenson Button . Although McLaren fell-short in terms of car performance and operational efficiency compared to Red Bull and Ferrari , Hamilton entered the final round of the season with a chance of winning the title, but ultimately finished fourth as Sebastian Vettel won

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6916-452: The Drivers' title by five points to his teammate Rosberg. The team's policy of letting the pair fight freely led to several acrimonious exchanges both on and off the track, culminating in Hamilton defying team orders at the final race at Abu Dhabi and deliberately slowing to back Rosberg into the chasing pack at the end of the race in an unsuccessful bid to encourage other drivers to overtake his team-mate, which would have allowed him to win

7049-452: The Euro Series was launched, restrictions were effectively placed on the teams' choice of chassis specification by opting not to create a lower-tier championship class, and all entrants used the two most recent available specifications. There is a rookie classification system with a Rookie of the Year title for drivers who have not previously competed in this championship. The Drivers' Trophy

7182-702: The FIA announced that the series would be discontinued and incorporated into the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2013. The concept of a European Formula Three Championship dates back to 1975, with a five-race series known as the F3 European Cup . Races were held at Monaco , the Nürburgring in Germany, Anderstorp in Sweden, Monza in Italy and Croix-en-Ternois in France. The series title

7315-559: The German and French markets, winning the German title in 1987 and the French in 1987 and 1992. 1993 was the first year that Dallaras were entered in the British Formula Three Championship and was the beginning of the company's dominance of Formula Three. The new F393 featured major aerodynamic changes compared to its predecessor and introduced a monodamper front suspension layout. The F393 won every race in

7448-579: The IR-03 and the IR-05 designations saw use through the end of the 2011 season. For the 2006 season , over 80% of the field began the season with a Dallara, a possible symptom of Panoz 's (manufacturer of the G-Force chassis) perceived lack of interest. This was around the time Panoz began delivering the DP01 chassis to the rival Champ Car series. From 2007 to 2011 all IndyCar teams used the IR-05 chassis, although

7581-686: The IndyCar Safety Cell ;– with the intent that the bodywork and aero parts can and will be provided by other manufacturers. The cars will be branded by the make who provides the "Aero Kit." Dallara rolled out the chassis with its own optional spec aero kit. The aero kit concept was temporarily shelved due to cost concerns, making the Dallara kit the universal spec for 2012-2014. Unique aero kits (manufactured by Chevrolet and Honda, respectively) were introduced for 2015-2017, and Dallara ceased to support and production of their own. In 2018,

7714-685: The Italian company Dallara is the dominant chassis supplier. It was originally planned to restrict entry to two-car teams, but this requirement was later relaxed. In most Formula Three championships, multiple and single-car entries are common. Some Formula Three championships, such as the British Formula Three Championship , use a two-tier system to provide an opportunity for low-budget teams and drivers to compete with out-dated chassis specifications. In an effort to minimise costs, Formula Three chassis regulations permit major updates only periodically, with annual updates restricted to minor improvements. When

7847-528: The Italian constructor and Beppe Lucchini's racing outfit endured until 1992 , with their best result being two third places: one at the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix with Andrea de Cesaris ; the other at the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix , thanks to JJ Lehto . The Constructors' Championship results were: no classification in 1988, 8th in 1989 (with 8 points), 15th (with no points) in 1990, 8th in 1991 (with 5 points) and 10th in 1992 (with 2 points) by Pierluigi Martini . Dallara returned briefly to F1 in 1999, building

7980-470: The Italian, French and German championships that year, while the British series saw numerous entrants – including champion Kelvin Burt – forced to switch from Reynard or Ralt chassis to Dallara in order to remain competitive. TOMS would win the Japanese championship with its own cars in 1993 and 1994 before switching to Dallara chassis. From then on Dallara would dominate the Formula Three market, although Martini had some success in France and Germany in

8113-445: The W13's development, and find performance during the opening stages of the season to little success. Following major mid-season car upgrades, he achieved several podium finishes, including five consecutively from Canada to Hungary . Hamilton set several driver records across his sixteenth season, including most consecutive seasons with a podium finish, and a lap led. The season also marked Hamilton finishing behind his teammate in

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8246-404: The World Drivers' Championship before he was 25. In 1998, Dennis called Hamilton following his second Super One series and British championship wins, to offer Hamilton a role in the McLaren driver development programme. The contract included an option of a future Formula One seat, which would make Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract that later resulted in a Formula One drive. He's

8379-464: The all-time win record at the Portuguese Grand Prix —to equal Michael Schumacher 's record of seven World Drivers' Championships. Hamilton became the first driver to surpass 100 race wins and pole positions in 2021 , finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen amidst a controversial finish . Following winless campaigns in 2022 and 2023 , Hamilton took his record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in 2024 . After 12 seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton

8512-471: The apex [of a corner] and still have a decent exit speed", highlighting in particular their ability to maintain this speed when their rear tyres have lost grip during a longer stint. Hamilton has been praised for his consistency, especially in his time at Mercedes. From 2017 to 2018, he finished 33 consecutive races in point-scoring positions, a run only brought to an end as a result of mechanical issues as opposed to driver error. Ross Brawn wrote that "over

8645-436: The car set-up and changing track conditions; throughout his career, he has typically used less fuel than his teammates as a result of his ability to carry momentum through corners despite instability in the car. Pedro de la Rosa , a former test driver for McLaren who worked with Hamilton and Alonso, rated the pair as the best he had seen first hand, stating that they shared a strength in terms of "how much speed they can run into

8778-406: The car. Dallara has provided the spec chassis to the Indy NXT series, formerly the Indy Lights Series since 2002. For the 2015 Indy Lights season , the car was replaced by the new generation Dallara IL-15, powered by Mazda's 2.0-litre turbocharged MZR-R four-cylinder engine. Dallara also designed the chassis for the Japanese Super Formula series, formerly known as Formula Nippon , called

8911-418: The championship ahead of Alex Lloyd . Having clinched the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season to make his debut in the season finale of the British Formula 3 Championship . In his first race he was forced out with a puncture, and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with teammate Tor Graves . Asked in 2002 about the prospect of becoming one of

9044-411: The championship lead throughout 2017 in a tense title fight. Hamilton registered 11 pole positions that season as he took the record for the all-time most pole positions , and his consistency (finishing every race in the points), as well as a lack of a serious challenge from his new team-mate Valtteri Bottas , saw him record nine race victories and secure his fourth World Drivers' title as he overturned

9177-433: The company opened an engineering center in Speedway, Indiana , at the Speed Zone Redevelopment Area near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , where they produce and assemble the IndyCar . The same building also houses an entertainment center, where visitors can learn how a racing car is manufactured. Dallara was one of the original three chassis constructors when the Indy Racing League debuted its own chassis formula during

9310-423: The completion of the cars—and the alleged low quality of the F110 chassis resulted in the two parties officially ending their partnership in May 2010. The car was used in all 2010 races without any development except the graphics. They had only one aerodynamic configuration, used for all races, including Monte Carlo and Monza . Geoff Willis , who joined Hispania in March 2010, criticized the F110, saying that he

9443-408: The course of [2018], Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong, winning not only the races he should have, but also some where the opposition was stronger, and that is the true mark of a champion." Ahead of the 2021 season, Martin Brundle , commentating for Sky Sports, said "I think what has stood out about Lewis over the years is how few mistakes he makes, how complete he is and clean ... he just never makes

9576-415: The course of a race weekend invokes a ten-place penalty on the starting grid. Each race weekend begins on Friday, with one 60-minute practice session and a qualifying session that decides the starting grid for the first race. There are two races; one of approximately 100–110 km on Saturday and one of approximately 70–80 km on Sunday. The starting times of each session/race vary slightly according to

9709-602: The departing Bottas, the 2022 season marked the first time in Hamilton's Formula One career where he failed to secure at least a race win or a pole position. The season saw significant changes in technical regulations which utilised ground effect . The innovative and radically different Mercedes W13 , suffered with severe porpoising early in the season, leading Hamilton to deem it "undrivable" on multiple occasions, and causing him to sustain back injuries in Azerbaijan . Hamilton frequently experimented with car setups to aid

9842-626: The departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari . After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for 2007 , Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver. He was told of McLaren's decision at the end of September, but the news was not made public for almost two months, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement. Hamilton's first season in Formula One saw him partner two-time and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren ,

9975-422: The end of the year, Hamilton announced, to much surprise, that he would be joining Mercedes for the 2013 season, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher . Upon signing with Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton was reunited with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg . The move was met with surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to Mercedes, a team with no recent history of success, as

10108-400: The event schedule at each venue. With just one qualifying session, the grid for the second race is determined by the results of Race 1. The top eight positions are reversed, giving pole position to the 8th-placed finisher. The single qualifying session and results-based reverse grid system were introduced for the 2006 season: prior to that, the second race had its own qualifying session (with

10241-433: The final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track, Schumacher praised the young Briton. Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth in the standings. This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport in which he finished fifth overall. He remained with Manor for another year, winning

10374-497: The final race in Abu Dhabi : "This is the greatest day of my life." New Formula One driver number regulations brought in for 2014 allowed drivers to pick a unique car number to use for their entire career, and so Hamilton elected to drive under his old karting No. 44 for the remainder of his career. Before the start of the 2015 season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1, as

10507-420: The first time in his Formula One career that Hamilton will not drive for a Mercedes-powered team. Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid, excelling across a wide range of areas. He has been described as having an aggressive driving style, with a natural aptitude for identifying the limits of the car; Mark Hughes, writing for the official Formula One website, described how Hamilton

10640-608: The greatest British drivers in Formula One but one of the greatest British sportsmen. Despite receiving plaudits from experts and fans in and out of the sport, Hamilton has been a divisive figure in the eyes of the general public, with some journalists arguing his exploits on the track have been underappreciated. Holden has suggested that racial bias may have contributed towards Hamilton's perceived lack of popularity relative to his achievements, with Hamilton's race and physical appearance – being mixed-race and often seen sporting earrings, dreadlocks and designer clothing – alienating some of

10773-467: The impressive British Grand Prix victory, where he won the race by over a minute from second-placed Nick Heidfeld , his drive was widely acclaimed as one of Formula One's finest wet-weather drives. As the season reached its conclusion in Brazil, it became a clear two-way fight for the title between the home favourite Felipe Massa and the young Briton. Hamilton won his first title in a dramatic fashion in

10906-455: The lapped cars separating Verstappen and Hamilton to un-lap themselves under the safety car, which closed the gap between the pair and allowed Verstappen, who opted to pit for soft tyres, to enter the final lap immediately behind Hamilton, who remained on worn hard tyres. Four days after the race, the FIA announced that it would conduct an internal investigation into the incident. Masi was subsequently removed from his role as race director, with

11039-569: The last race of the season, the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix , overtaking Timo Glock for fifth position in the final corners of the last lap to become the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history and to deny race-winner Massa the title by one point. This made Hamilton the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996. During his last four years with McLaren, Hamilton continued to score podium finishes and race victories, and twice challenged for

11172-585: The late 1990s, including Sébastien Bourdais winning the French title in 1999. Since then Dallara has won every major Formula Three title, although Ho-Pin Tung won the 2006 Recaro F3 Cup in a Lola against a field that included several current Dallaras. Dallaras have won the Macau Grand Prix since 1993. In 1988 the company became a Formula One constructor , after being hired by BMS Scuderia Italia to build their chassis. The relationship between

11305-447: The most of the test sessions during race weekends, which had already been reduced from 90 to 60 minutes in 2005. Tyre usage is restricted to three sets per car for the entire race weekend. There is no limit on the use of wet-weather tyres, but only when they are deemed necessary by race officials. As is the case with most racing disciplines outside Formula One , tyre warming devices are not permitted. An unauthorised engine change during

11438-606: The new FIA Formula 3 Championship (formerly GP3 Series ), giving them a near-monopoly of every motorsport series used as a direct entry point into F1. In 2007 Dallara created a new car model, known as the Formulino ("little formula"), in order to fill the gap between karts and Formula Three. The first series to use the new concept was the ADAC Formel Masters in 2008 , and the MRF Challenge also adopted

11571-583: The opening round of 2004, a pair of Anglo-Japanese Lola - Dome F106/03 chassis were entered by Coloni Motorsport before the team returned to the Italian F3 Championship . The two chassis builders later parted company, with Lola developing the B05/30 and Dome continuing with the F106. Dome announced its intention to promote its product to Euro Series teams in 2005, though it has not been raced in

11704-410: The race after Mercedes struggled with tyre temperatures and a track that lacked grip after being recently resurfaced, during the race he gambled on a one-stop strategy in mixed conditions whilst his rivals chose to change their tyres for a second time, enabling him to take the lead and win by over 30 seconds. His performance was contrasted with that of his team-mate Bottas, who spun four times and finished

11837-465: The race to take his maiden drivers' crown. Multiple race retirements, particularly in the crucial latter half of the season ultimately cost Hamilton the title. 2011 was the first season he had been out-scored by a teammate, as Button finished runner-up to Vettel, during a year in which distractions in his private life and run-ins with FIA officials saw Hamilton finish a lowly fifth in the standings, after which he vowed he would return to form for 2012. In

11970-532: The result of the championship was decided by different standings wins and points of the rookie standings are present in brackets, from 2009 to 2012 the result of best rookie was decided by the highest place in the overall driver standings. Lewis Hamilton British racing driver Rivalries Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver , currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes . Hamilton has won

12103-403: The reverse-grid system contributed to a much closer championship and a record number of winners, with eleven different drivers reaching the top step of the podium. Mercedes gave di Resta a placement in the DTM and went on to race for Force India Formula One Team. The 2007 drivers' championship was won by Romain Grosjean , with his closest challenger Sébastien Buemi . From 2003 to 2008

12236-543: The same Grand Prix , and becoming the first driver to win a race beyond their 300th start. He achieved his 200th podium finish in Hungary , and another victory at the Belgian Grand Prix . His struggles in qualifying sessions, coupled with Mercedes' decline in performance after the summer break, prevented Hamilton from maintaining his success, admitting he "didn't want to come back" for the final three races of

12369-489: The season British magazine Autosport featured him in their "Top 50 Drivers of 2005" issue, ranking Hamilton 24th. Hamilton moved to ASM's sister GP2 team, ART Grand Prix , for the 2006 season . Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet Jr. and Alexandre Prémat . He secured a dominant win at the Nürburgring , despite a penalty for speeding in the pit lane . At his home race at Silverstone , Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts,

12502-481: The season after the São Paulo Grand Prix . Ferrari announced prior to the start of the 2024 season that they had reached an agreement with Hamilton to join the team in 2025 on a multi-year contract, replacing Carlos Sainz Jr. to partner Charles Leclerc . Luke Smith of The Athletic described the move as "one of the biggest driver transfer shocks the sport has known", recalling his similar shock move from McLaren to Mercedes back in 2013. This transition marks

12635-457: The season as the highest-placed rookie. The status quo remained unchanged in the 2006 championship. For the third year in succession, the teams' title was won by ASM and the champion driver – Paul di Resta – was using one of its Mercedes-powered Dallaras. Sebastian Vettel joined di Resta and two other drivers in ASM's expanded line-up, and finished the year as the championship's runner-up. The use of

12768-607: The season, Hamilton and Alonso were involved in a number of incidents which resulted in tensions between both drivers and the team, culminating in Alonso and McLaren terminating their contract by mutual consent in November. Following a successful first season at McLaren, Hamilton signed a multi-million-pound contract to stay with the team until 2012. Partnering Heikki Kovalainen , Hamilton's success continued in 2008 as he amassed five race victories and ten podium finishes. Including

12901-477: The season, topping the standings until the half-way point; however, Vettel's season unravelled with a number of driver and mechanical errors, while Hamilton's run of six wins in seven in the latter half of the season saw Hamilton clinch the title at the Mexican Grand Prix for a second year running as he set a new record for the most points scored in a season (408). During the season, Hamilton signed

13034-405: The season, winning ten races finishing on the podium a record seventeen times as he matched his hero Ayrton Senna 's three World Championships titles, and achieved his first back-to-back championship. The rivalry between him and Rosberg intensified, climaxing in a heated battle at the United States Grand Prix where Hamilton won in an action-packed, wheel-to-wheel battle with his teammate to clinch

13167-620: The series to date. In February 2005, AM-Holzer Rennsport announced its intention to enter a new F3 chassis from the French constructor Mygale – the 05F3. However, Holzer returned to the Dallara F305 by the start of the season. Meanwhile, the experienced French team Signature branched out into chassis design and developed the SLC . A single SLC-Opel was driven by Fabio Carbone alongside three Dallara F305s in Signature's four-car line-up, but it

13300-427: The series' first year, HWA-Mercedes supplied engines for seven entrants from three teams. They included ASM Formule 3 , with which it subsequently developed a very successful partnership. Since its first Formula Three championship win with ASM in 2004, Mercedes' success has been influential in its growth in popularity among the Euro Series' teams, and has left Spiess-Opel as the only remaining competition. The 2007 season

13433-411: The shorter second race was revised in 2006: rather than award full points, it now awards points to the top six finishers, with only six points for a win. Three engine suppliers joined the new championship at its inception: Mercedes-Benz , produced by HWA; Opel , produced by Spiess; and Toyota , produced by TOM's . A limited number of teams have competed with Renault and Mugen-Honda powerplants. In

13566-549: The smaller engine classes. Dallara designed his first Formula Three car for Walter Wolf Racing in 1978. Dallara also had a brief involvement in Formula 3000 in the mid-1980s. The first F3 car under the Dallara name came in 1981, and the cars became particularly successful in Italy. Since 1985 Dallara drivers have taken the Italian Formula Three Championship every year except 1990. The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw Dallara make inroads into

13699-422: The sport's traditional white, elderly male fanbase. Others have attributed his lack of appreciation to the perceived predictability of results during the turbo-hybrid era, likening his period of dominance to that of Schumacher in the early 2000s, and to tennis players Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova , all of whom became more appreciated in the latter part of their careers. What strikes me now about him now

13832-451: The sporting regulations of the Euro Series. The organisation and promotion of the championship is handled by ITR, which performs the same role for the DTM touring car championship. The championship consists of ten events, each comprising two races, held at a variety of European circuits. Approximately 50–60% of these events occur at circuits in Germany, while the other events are held in various countries, including Great Britain , France ,

13965-448: The standings for the first time since 2016, finishing a career-worst sixth, 35 points behind Russell in fourth. Mercedes once again faced concerns over their car's competitiveness ahead of the 2023 season. Hamilton endured another winless campaign amidst Red Bull's record-breaking dominance, securing several podium finishes throughout. Hamilton took pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix —his first since 2021, and his record ninth at

14098-607: The street and supports and promotes Formula One. He is box office, 100 per cent. — Bernie Ecclestone , speaking of Hamilton in 2015 Hamilton has been described as the best driver of his generation, and one of the greatest Formula One drivers including by Chase Carey and Martin Brundle . Several Formula One drivers and experts have described Hamilton as the greatest Formula One driver of all time. Writing in Autocar , Jim Holden suggested Hamilton might not only be among

14231-685: The team at the Hungarian Grand Prix , new engine regulations came into effect the following season , which saw Mercedes emerge as the dominant force in Formula One. From 2014 to 2016 , Hamilton and Rosberg won 51 of 59 Grands Prix amidst their fierce rivalry —widely known as The Silver War —with Hamilton winning the former titles in 2014 and 2015 , and Rosberg winning the latter . Following Rosberg's retirement, Hamilton twice overturned mid-season point deficits to Ferrari 's Sebastian Vettel to claim his fourth and fifth titles in 2017 and 2018 . Hamilton won his sixth title in 2019 , before breaking several records across his 2020 campaign—including

14364-408: The test-chassis for Honda 's planned but aborted return to the series. During 2004, Dallara recruited ex- Jordan , Stewart and Jaguar F1 designer Gary Anderson , leading to speculation that the Italian company was working on another F1 project. Late in 2004 the nascent Midland team announced that Dallara would be designing and building their Formula One chassis which was due to be entered for

14497-483: The third generation of aero kits was introduced for the DW-12, again returning to a universal spec kit for all entries known as UAK18 and will be used until 2026. On 18 October, Dallara confirmed that the 2012 series car would be named after the late IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon (DW-12) in honor of his work testing the car before his death two days prior at Las Vegas , with the new bumper/nerf bar section being featured, it

14630-471: The time, would not fund him. Hamilton eventually re-signed with McLaren. According to then McLaren executive and future CEO Martin Whitmarsh , who was responsible for guiding Hamilton through the team's young driver programme, he and Anthony Hamilton had a "huge row" at the end of the season, with his father pushing for him to move up to GP2 for 2005, while Whitmarsh felt that he should remain in Formula 3 for

14763-596: The title despite Red Bull's dominance during that time-period. Major technical regulation changes in 2009 led to a challenging start for McLaren. Often qualifying outside of the top ten, and struggling to finish on points, Hamilton's chances of defending his title became unfeasible. Major upgrades at the German Grand Prix saw a dramatic improvement in performance of the McLaren MP4-24 . From that point onward, Hamilton advanced from eleventh to fifth in

14896-492: The title with three races to spare. That year, Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes for three additional years in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million, making him one of the best-paid drivers in Formula One, as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship-winning cars and trophies. Despite recording more pole positions and race wins than any other driver in 2016 , Hamilton lost

15029-474: The title. Ultimately, a succession of poor starts from Hamilton early in the season and a crucial engine blowout at the Malaysian Grand Prix meant Rosberg took the title, which he successfully secured before announcing his shock retirement from the sport immediately after beating his rival. Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair exchanged

15162-448: The turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton remained unbeaten in every race affected by wet weather from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix up to the 2019 German Grand Prix , where his almost five-year streak was broken by Max Verstappen . His wet weather drive at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix where he clinched his seventh world title was widely acclaimed, with Joe Saward describing it as "one of his greatest performances". Despite only qualifying sixth for

15295-624: The youngest ever Formula One drivers, Hamilton replied that his goal was "not to be the youngest in Formula One" but rather "to be experienced and then show what I can do in Formula One". He made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series , ending the year fifth in the championship. He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix, and twice raced in the Macau F3 Grand Prix . Williams had come close to signing Hamilton but did not because BMW , their engine supplier at

15428-587: Was Nico Rosberg , who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes teams in Formula One; they would later team up again for Mercedes from 2013 to 2016. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000. In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg . Hamilton ended

15561-440: Was acclaimed as one of his greatest performances—saw Hamilton eliminate a 19-point deficit to Verstappen, entering the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on points. In Abu Dhabi, having led the majority of the race, Hamilton was denied the championship by a last-lap overtake from Verstappen following a late safety car. The season finale was marred by controversy over race director Michael Masi 's decision to instruct only

15694-529: Was designed to prevent many similar single-seater crashes such as the one that killed Wheldon. In 2002, Dallara became the exclusive supplier for World Series by Nissan , a move that allowed them to gain the contract for the World Series by Renault in 2004. Dallara was also appointed by the FIA to be the sole chassis builder, partner and supplier of the FIA Formula 2 Championship (formerly GP2 Series ) and

15827-408: Was disappointed at the quality and level of engineering in the car and that the design of the car was missing a lot of contemplating practices commonly employed in the process of building a Formula One car. On 15 April 2014 Gene Haas confirmed his new Formula One team, Haas F1 Team , had entered talks to form a partnership with Dallara in 2015 for the build of their first car. On 21 February 2016,

15960-670: Was educated at The John Henry Newman School , a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage. Hamilton has said that at the age of five he took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school. He was also excluded from school for a period when he was mistakenly identified as having attacked a fellow student who was treated in hospital for his injuries. In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international , Ashley Young . Hamilton, an Arsenal fan, said that if Formula One had not worked for him, he would have been

16093-620: Was effectively supplanted by the creation of the Recaro Formel 3 Cup , though the DMSB initially attempted to block its creation. This lower-status series was formed by ADAC , the F3V (Germany's Formula Three Association) and a few key German teams (such as Bertram Schäfer Racing) that chose not to participate in the new Euro Series. BSR's owner Bertram Schäfer acts as the series' promoter. The FFSA and DMSB hold joint responsibility for determining

16226-654: Was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career No. 44. It was the first season since 1994 , when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in 1993 , that the field did not contain a car bearing the No. 1. Through the 2015 season, he was in the top 10 of career wins and pole positions by percentage, average starting grid position, laps led per Grand Prix, fastest laps by percentage, and podium finishes by percentage. Hamilton dominated

16359-752: Was introduced for the 2000 season ; named the IR-00. When updated for 2001 the chassis was designated as the IR-01 and for 2002 it was referred to as the IR-02. For the 2003 season , Dallara rolled out the new IR-03 chassis. This chassis would later become the de facto " spec-car " in the series. An aerodynamic update kit was released for 2004 , which changed its designation to IR-04 and later in 2007 , which changed its designation to IR-05. In addition, paddle-shifters began seeing use in 2008, further developing and evolving this generation of Dallaras. Chassis bearing both

16492-446: Was introduced in 2006 to provide a classification system and class title for drivers using chassis of between two and four years old. Eligibility for this "B class" was restricted to drivers who were not more than 22 years old at the start of the season. This class is no longer in use in 2007. In 2006, testing was restricted to a maximum of 10 days per driver/car, with no testing at race venues, Consequently, teams and drivers have to make

16625-645: Was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008. Dallara also provided engineering services for Renault ( R.S. 01 ), Alfa Romeo ( 8C and 4C ), Bugatti ( Veyron and Chiron ), Maserati ( MC12 and MC20 ), and Lamborghini ( motorsport variants of the Huracán ) In 2017, Dallara showed its first road car, the Stradale , on the occasion of Giampaolo Dallara's 81st birthday. Dallara also produces handbikes, under Z-Bike. They also designed

16758-572: Was named as one of four constructors for the LMP2 and DPi class regulations to debut in 2017, using its Dallara P217 chassis. In 2021, Dallara was named as one of four chassis suppliers for the LMDh sports prototype class, and currently supply BMW with their M Hybrid V8 and Cadillac with their V-Series.R . In 2007, Dallara and KTM produced the KTM X-Bow , a sports car with two seats, which

16891-691: Was not quite as competitive as the team had expected and it returned to an all-Dallara line-up in 2006. Updated versions of the Lola, Mygale and SLC have since competed in the ATS F3 Cup . The profile of the F3 Euroseries has fostered a very multi-national entry list, with approximately 12 to 15 countries regularly represented. It also attracts the best junior single-seater teams from European countries that include France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Switzerland. Many Euro Series drivers have graduated to

17024-455: Was provided by Jamie Green of Great Britain . He began to dominate the championship as the season progressed, eventually achieving seven race wins and a further seven podium finishes. He graduated to the DTM with the backing of Mercedes, and has since established himself in its factory team. ASM and Mercedes further improved on their performances of the previous season. The championship was dominated by Britain's Lewis Hamilton , who had been

17157-612: Was subjected to racist abuse. Hamilton's father bought him a go-kart for Christmas when he was six and promised to support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. To support his son, Hamilton's father took redundancy from his position as an IT manager and became a contractor, sometimes working up to four jobs at a time including employment as a double glazing salesman, dishwasher, and putting up signs for estate agents , while still attending his son's races. Hamilton's father later set up his own IT company. He continued to be Hamilton's manager until early 2010. Hamilton

17290-707: Was the Ferrari 333 SP , made for the new WSC regulations in the IMSA GT Championship . The 333 SP, manufactured at Michelotto, won a great number of races both in North America and Europe. Ferrari also hired Dallara to develop the racing version of the Ferrari F50 , the F50 GT , financed by French racing driver Fabien Giroix , but the project was aborted before it got off the ground, in 1998. As

17423-403: Was the latest season to contain an entry with Opel engines, during that season Volkswagen entered the series. When the series began, all entrants took a conservative approach to their choice of chassis supplier and opted for the established Dallara F302/F303. Alternative chassis have been tested and/or raced on occasions, but for a variety of reasons, they have failed to become established. In

17556-417: Was twelve. Hamilton then lived with his father, stepmother Linda, and his half-brother Nicolas , who is also a professional racing driver. Hamilton was raised a Catholic . Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was five. Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year against adult competition. Being the only black child racing at his club, Hamilton

17689-473: Was won by Australian Larry Perkins driving a Ralt - Ford run by Team Cowangie. In 1976, the Cup evolved into a full-scale, ten-round European F3 Championship , which ran until 1984. Among its champions were notable future Formula One drivers, such as Riccardo Patrese (champion in 1976) Alain Prost (1979), and the late Michele Alboreto (1980). The modern-day Formula 3 Euro Series was inaugurated in 2003 in

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