The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Hamilton gets ready to meet America

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Friday, Jun 15, 2007
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Hamilton gets ready to meet America

MONTREAL: Lewis Hamilton has burst onto Formula One unlike any rookie before him.

In his first six starts, the McLaren driver has finished in the top three every time, culminating with a win from the pole in the Canadian Grand Prix here on Sunday. And the victory appeared to be no fluke as Hamilton led in all but three of the 70 laps and was never really challenged.

Now the first black man to race in the 61-year history of F-1 heads for the U.S. Grand Prix at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading teammate and two-time World champion Fernando Alonso by eight points at the top of the standings.

The comparisons to Tiger Woods are inevitable.

Like Woods, Hamilton has been a winner at every level on the way to the big time. And, like Woods, the slim, well-spoken, 22-year-old Englishman is mature beyond his years and seems to produce best when under pressure or in the spotlight.

Woods is from mixed parentage — African-American and Thai. Hamilton's paternal grandparents came to Britain from Grenada in the 1950s, and his mother, who separated from his father when Hamilton was two, is white.

Inseparable

Like Woods and his father, Hamilton and his dad, Anthony, are practically inseparable.

``We're a close family,'' Anthony Hamilton, whose other son, the 15-year-old Nicolas, has cerebral palsy, said. ``We have always spent a lot of time together and we still do. Lewis hasn't really changed. He's just doing what he's always wanted to do.''

After his big win on Sunday, Hamilton was asked how he would celebrate.

``I'll spend some time this evening with my dad and some friends and we'll enjoy this for a while before we start thinking about Indy,'' he said— AP

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