Jun 20, 2007 12:14 PM
2300 Views
Hamilton has said that he was influenced by the great McLaren teams of his youth.
"I first started watching Formula One when I was about five or six. I spent my weekends with my dad at his house and we always watched the Grand Prix together, " he told Formula1.com.
"The two red and white McLarens were the cars to be in, they were the most attractive and they had the two best drivers; Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. I always preferred Ayrton, he was a phenomenal driver and it was a shame to see him go."
When he was 12, Dennis signed Hamilton to McLaren's young driver program. Rarely has a young driver enjoyed the kind of support that McLaren gave to Hamilton.
Whatever Dennis saw in the young Hamilton he was rewarded with a slew of championships including the European Formula A, British Formula Renault, F3 Euroseries and the GP2 series.
His start in Formula One has been no less spectacular. Hamilton was the first driver to finish on the podium in three of his first four races after which he found himself the sport's youngest championship leader.
The BMW Sauber driver, Robert Kubica, who duelled with Hamilton in carting, rates him as the hardest driver he encountered prior to Formula 1.
Eddie Jordan has said Hamilton was a "more complete" driver than Michael Schumacher at the same age.
Yet world champion Nigel Mansell has tempered the praise with this observation: "He has lucked into a fabulous car; it looks really good and is long overdue.
"McLaren is a fantastic race team that has had wonderful drivers and won many, many championships and so what he did, yes, was very impressive but that's what he should have done anyway."
Jacques Villeneuve holds the record for the best rookie season in Formula One. In 1996, while driving for Williams, he finished second behind team-mate Damon Hill having set the rookie record for points(78), races won(four) and podiums(11).
His maiden victory in the Canadian grand prix was another explosive chapter in short story of his career. Hamilton's victory in his sixth race came faster than some of British motorsport's biggest names. Sir Jackie Stewart took eight races, Mike Hawthorn nine, Nigel Mansell 72 and Jenson Button 113 races before they recorded their first wins.
Whether Hamilton can surpass Villeneuve, Alonso, Schumacher or Senna only time will tell.
