KEY POINTS:
The 13-year-old boy who approached McLaren chief, Ron Dennis, at an awards ceremony stuck out his hand and said politely: "Hello, I'm Lewis Hamilton and one day I'd like to drive for McLaren."
A week later, having checked out the young man's credentials, Dennis called Hamilton's father Anthony,
offering to underwrite his son's racing career.
Next year the 21-year-old Brit from rural Hertfordshire, just north of London, will drive for revamped McLaren-Mercedes in the F1 world championship, as teammate of title-holder Fernando Alonso.
"It's a dream come true," says Hamilton, not surprisingly tagged "the Tiger Woods of the track". "To be racing with McLaren has been my goal since I was very young.
"I have grown up with McLaren and Mercedes and wouldn't be where I am today without their support and guidance. I'm aware that this will be a challenge and I know there will be a lot of attention on me. But the team have told me to relax, do the best I can and enjoy the opportunity."
He has the full confidence of Dennis, who insisted that only Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen ranked better than this son of a former railway worker. "We reviewed the whole grid and, if you take out the top three, one of whom has retired, there is no one who really shines," said Dennis.
"If all the cars were equal, Lewis would beat most of the drivers who currently sit on a Grand Prix grid.
"I am distinctly unimpressed with the majority of the drivers in F1 today. There are many I would not put in a McLaren. Lewis is well equipped to deal with the drivers that fall into that category."
"Of course we have reservations; Lewis is an unproven product. But having the world champion in one of our cars means that we can be less conservative and take the opportunity to give Lewis his chance."
Hamilton's biggest challenge will be living with Alonso, who is in his prime and making the switch from Renault after beating Michael Schumacher to the title two seasons on the trot. But Dennis said: "If we give both drivers a competitive car we stand every opportunity of winning both team and driver championships.
"As a Grand Prix team we exist to win and the expectations for Lewis are not realistic. In the initial races the important thing is not so much where he finishes but how he conducts himself.
"One of his greatest qualities is an ability to never give up. Ultimately he will win. And I believe it will come sooner rather than later."
Hamilton has been a part of the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme since its inception in 1998, and with Dennis' backing he won the McLaren-Mercedes Champions of the Future kart series before going on to the British Formula Renault Championship in 2003. Two years later he dominated the Formula 3 Euro Series, before winning this year's GP2 championship in style.
Pedro de la Rosa will revert to test driver.
Hamilton, the first black driver in F1, is highly regarded. And the youngster was quick to brush off fears from David Coulthard, the former McLaren driver, that he has made it into F1 too soon. The Scot was quoted in the British media as saying Hamilton could struggle alongside Alonso. "I believe McLaren have given him his break way too soon. If Lewis struggles alongside Alonso, it could destroy his confidence."
But Hamilton said: "I value David's opinion. He is extremely experienced and I have always looked up to him. I think in some ways he could be right. But I have done all I needed to do coming up to F1. I have plenty of time to do the testing and so we will have to wait and see."
Meanwhile, the prodigy endured a shaky opening to the Formula One testing session at Barcelona this week, with his McLaren stalling after only a couple of laps but soon resuming.
- INDEPENDENT
