Hamilton shows karting support as he revisits his roots
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton revisited some old friends and demonstrated his commitment to help nurture the next generation of young racers aiming to follow in his footsteps, as he lends his support to the new Formula Kart Stars Championship. Formula Kart Stars is the new name for what used to be known as the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow kart championship.
Formula Kart Stars (FKS) is the premier UK karting championship, and one that aside from the reigning Formula 1 world champion has produced other leading talents of the calibre of ex Super Aguri grand prix star Anthony Davidson, McLaren test-driver Gary Paffett and current DTM front-runner and title contender Paul di Resta amongst many others.
Lewis prevailed in the cadet class of what was then known as McLaren-Mercedes Champions of the Future in 1996, what would prove to be the catalyst for his meeting with McLaren team principal Ron Dennis. The rest – well, the rest, as they say, is history.
Though he has since risen through the motorsport ranks to the heady heights of F1 superstardom and world championship prestige, the 24-year-old has always retained a keen interest in the category in which he was first discovered.
He was understandably enthusiastic about his trip down memory lane to PF International in Lincolnshire, scene of many a past triumph and the launch of the FKS 2009 season – and an occasion for the current crop of young karting talents, all eager to carve out F1 careers for themselves, to grill him in a ‘Question Time’ style Q&A session.
“It was fantastic for me to have the opportunity to catch-up with the latest crop of Formula Kart Stars. It’s really cool to see how determined and competitive they are, I can remember being exactly the same!” Hamilton said. “I enjoyed my time in the Championship massively and, more importantly, learnt a huge amount. This is the real grass roots of the sport, and gives kids an opportunity to compete and develop as a driver, and also to get a full understanding of the dedication that is required. Hopefully I gave them some good advice the most important of which is not to neglect their education in their drive to succeed in motorsport!”
“Lewis is a patron of the championship and sponsors a special prize in our Mini Max class,” explained series director Carolynn Hoy. “He has always been supportive of the championship and has remained involved ever since he raced with us more than ten years ago.
“When he was racing in Formula Renault and Formula 3 he would come to the Autosport Awards each year and give out the prizes. He is still very interested in what’s going on in the championship and goes onto the website (www.formulakartstars.com), and I’m sure our competitors would be delighted to know that he actually does know who they are and what they’re doing.
“It was fantastic to have him there. It was great for the kids, because his presence and the fact that he took time out to go and meet them only served to endorse their sport.”
Hoy added that right from a very early age Hamilton had displayed clear signs of greatness – particularly in his overtaking prowess – and that, having benefited immensely from his own experience of racing abroad early on in his career, he was also full of praise for the exciting, new-for-2009 International programme, which will see predominantly home-grown drivers competing at European tracks whilst still under our umbrella.
