From anonymous middle England to a life of fabulous riches, a rock star girlfriend, a scarlet red private jet and a second Formula One world title.
Lewis Hamilton’s journey from his humble roots to become Britain’s most successful racing driver enjoyed another surge on Sunday when he extinguished the title challenge of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the season-concluding race in Abu Dhabi.
This second title followed his maiden drivers championship in 2008 for McLaren.
Born on January 7, 1985, Hamilton never had any doubts about where his future desires would take him once his influential father Anthony brought him a remote-control car.
Hamilton senior recognised that his son’s childhood passions could translate into a dazzling career, so he remortgaged the family home and took a string of jobs to fund the youngster’s passion.
They were the roots of a fortune which has now yielded an estimated STG68 million ($A124 million), a romance with pop singer Nicole Scherzinger and 2.46 million Twitter followers.
When he was just 10 years old, Hamilton, never one to lack self-confidence, famously approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and and told him: “I want to race for you one day … I want to race for McLaren.”
Three years later, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their young driver programme and he has not looked back.
Titles in karting, British Formula Renault, Formula Three and GP2 championships paved the way for a seat with McLaren in 2007.
One year later at 23, he was the youngest world champion in history after a dramatic fifth-place finish in a rain-soaked, chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix that secured victory by one point.
Tattooed and an unabashed devotee of bling, Hamilton divides fans and rivals alike.
His refusal to defer to double world champion Fernando Alonso during his McLaren days marked him out in the paddock as fiercely single-minded.
Some interpret that trait as petulance bordering on arrogance, although a need to abandon introspection is a prerequisite for any self-respecting racing driver who spends his Sundays chasing victories at 300km/h.
Others put Hamilton’s divisiveness down to his conditioning in his McLaren days.
At Mercedes, the team he joined for the 2013 season, Hamilton’s relationship with teammate and friend Rosberg has stretched to the brink of collapse by clashes at Monaco and an on-track collision at Spa.
Hamilton has thrived on such controversies with Rosberg appearing to lose the physical battle on the circuit and the mental duels off it.
When Hamilton won in the United States last month, it was his fifth straight win and 10th of the season, taking him past Nigel Mansell’s record of 31 wins by a British driver.
“I’m not changing my mindset. I just want to improve, not change,” said Hamilton.
“I’m driving better than ever this year, and I hope that’s obvious to everyone. I’m confident if I continue to do what I’m doing, and there are no doubts in my mind.”
After clinching the 2014 world championship under the Yas Marina circuit’s floodlights he said: “This is the greatest day of my life.
“2008 was a great year in my life. The feeling I have now is way, way past that. The greatest feeling ever.”
THE LEWIS HAMILTON FACTFILE
Nationality: British
Date of birth: 07 January 1985 (29 years old)
Place of birth: Stevenage, England
Residence: Lake Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 1.74m
Weight: 64kg
Marital status: Single
Hobbies: music, books, cycling, squash, tennis, cinema
GP debut: Australia 2007
Best World Championship position: 1st (2008, 2014)
First win: Canada 2007
Pole positions: 38
GP starts: 148
GP wins: 33
GP points: 1486
Teams: McLaren (2007-2012), Mercedes (2013-)
