Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton World Champion!

Lewis Hamilton secured the 2008 World Championship by one point after a dramatic final race in Brazil. It seemed all was lost until he managed to pass Timo Glock on the penultimate corner of the race to clinch the title and be crowned Lewis Hamilton World Champion!

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, the home-town boy, won the race and thought he had won the world title as well when he crossed the line with Hamilton in 6th position. The 2008 F1 season had one final twist, however, as Hamilton overtook Glock’s slowing Toyota to take the fifth place he needed - and with it be hailed as Lewis Hamilton World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton is now youngest world champion in Formula One history and he achieved it by the smallest of margins after a nail-biting Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton has put to bed the memories of exactly one year ago, when after a remarkable debut season he let slip a massive lead in the final two races and Kimi Raikkonen sneaked in to win the title. He made sure there were no similar mistakes this time around and kept all his fans on the edge of their seats until the last corner! If, like me you were shouting in despair at the TV when he dropped into 6th place with one lap to go, there seemed like there was no way back but Glock slowing on the 2nd last corner allowed Hamilton through into fifth and his first world championship title!

Lewis Hamilton World Champion - It was never in doubt!

Well done Lewis…. let’s hope this is the first of many more world titles in the years to come. Lewis Hamilton World Champion is now odds-on favourite to become BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008.

There is a fantastic array of official Lewis Hamilton Merchandise available to buy. Show your support for Lewis Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix and beyond.

Whether you are travelling to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone or having a Grand Prix party at home, the Lewis Hamilton Silverstone Bundle is a great way get behind the British Grand Prix ace.

The Lewis Hamilton merchandise bundle from OnPole consists of a selection of official Lewis Hamilton merchandise with a great saving on the individual item prices.

For only £59.95 you get the Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 Lewis Hamilton T-Shirt, Lewis Hamilton Cap & 2008 Lewis Hamilton Flag along with a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Lanyard/ticket holder. Top value!!

There is a fantastic selection of Lewis Hamilton clothing available now, including the new 2008 range of Lewis Hamilton t shirts and the official Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes Lewis Hamilton cap. Most of the Lewis Hamilton clothing comes in both adults and kids sizes with choices for ladies and men. Click Here to see the full range of Lewis Hamilton clothing.

If you want to learn more about Lewis Hamilton and his phenomenal rise to F1 fame and fortune there are plenty of Lewis Hamilton books and Lewis Hamilton DVDs available, from several Lewis Hamilton biographies to the 2007 F1 season review on DVD.

There is a great selection of Lewis Hamilton clothing available to buy including Lewis Hamilton t shirts and Lewis Hamilton caps.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 Lewis Hamilton Cap is the official design as worn by Lewis Hamilton on the 2008 Grand Prix circuit. The Lewis Hamilton signature is embroidered on both sides of the cap and the Mclaren Mercedes team logo together with the Union Jack is stitched on the back. The Lewis Hamilton cap is waterproof, comfortable and hardwearing. The Lewis Hamilton cap is top quality, available in adult and kids sizes, fully lined in rocket red and is fully adjustable with a metal buckle embossed with the team logo.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 Team Cap is also available to buy in stunning silver and rocket red.

To see the full range of Lewis Hamilton t shirts Click Here.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team Lewis Hamilton t shirt as worn by Lewis Hamilton on the Grand Prix race circuit in 2008. This high quality Lewis Hamilton t shirt is made from the latest high-tech fabrics and incorporates a unique air circulation venting system which shows the rocket red interior fabric when you move while wearing it.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 Lewis Hamilton T-shirt is made from a top quality stretch fabric ensuring a fantastic fit. The Lewis Hamilton t shirt features a striking Union Jack graphic with Lewis Hamilton’s emblazoned across it down the right hand side of the t shirt. This is the ultimate fans’ Lewis Hamilton t shirt, available in both adults and kids sizes.

The authentic Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 team race top is the authorized design as worn by Lewis Hamilton under their race suits. This Lewis Hamilton shirt has a tight sporty fit, available in adult and kids sizes.

The pressure is on for Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone in front of 90 000 expectant British Grand Prix fans. The McLaren driver has to start winning F1 races again to get his 2008 season back on track. What better place to do it than Silverstone! Lewis Hamilton’s last 2 outings have been marred by crashes and controversy. In Canada he drove into the back of Kimi Raikkonen’s stationary Ferrari in the pit lane which resulted in a 10 place penalty on the starting grid in the French Grand Prix, where he was also given a drive-through penalty during the race.

Lewis Hamilton is confident that he will not let these setbacks affect him and is keen to achive a great win at Silverstone to enable the British driver and his McLaren Mercedes team to “put the hammer down” in the second half of the F1 season to overhaul the Ferrari points lead in the championship.

Lewis Hamilton’s first race in his rookie season in Formula One was the Australian Grand Prix, qualifiying fourth on the grid and finishing a fantastic third place in the race, joining a select band of F1 racing drivers who have finished on the podium in their first. Lewis Hamilton’s second race in Bahrain saw him secure his first front-row grid position. He qualifyed and finished in second place behind Felipe Massa of Ferrari. Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton took the lead in the drivers championship after again finishing second in the race behind Brazilian Felipe Massa. Lewis Hamilton is the youngest driver to ever lead the World Drivers Championship.At the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton again finished in second place, this time in controversial circumstances behind his teammate Fernando Alonso. This was to set the tone for several high profile disputes between the two McLaren drivers that would rumble on throughout the season.

Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position and followed it up with the first victory of his F1 career in the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal. The following week, he won again in the United States Grand Prix, dominating the race from pole position

A battling third place behind Ferrari drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa in the French Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton strengthen his lead in the Driver’s Championship to 14 points. He secured pole position at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, sending his fans wild as he lead for a time but eventually finishing in third behind the two Ferraris.

Following a high speed crash during qualifying for the European Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton only qualified in tenth position on the grid. An eventful race in a downpour saw Hamilton finish a lowly ninth position, his first non-podium and zero points finish of the season, allowing Alonso and Massa to cut his lead in the championship standings.

Lewis Hamilton recorded his third victory of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix after starting the race in pole position. However there was a highly controversial incident in qualifying where teammate Fernando Alonso was judged to have prevented Hamilton from leaving the pit lane in time to complete his final flying lap. Alonso had already set the fastest time, but was penalised and demoted to fifth on the grid.

A disappointing Turkish Grand Prix saw Hamilton finish the race in fifth position following a puncture with 15 laps remaining. Fernando Alonso got back to racing again, winning over Hamilton in both the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix. This meant that Lewis Hamilton had only a two-point lead in the title race. He came back strongly however, winning the Japanese Grand Prix severely wet conditions. The Chinese Grand Prix saw more changeable weather conditions; tyre problems forced Hamilton into the first retirement of his short F1 career.

This left an exciting climax to the F1 season with a three-way race for the World Drivers Championship between Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen going into the final raceof the season in Brazil. Unfortunately for Hamilton fans, he didn’t secure the title, with Raikkonen winning the race and becoming the new Formula One World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton has experienced a phenomenal debut season in F1 motor racing. The British rookie racing driver is set to become one of the all time greats in the history of Grand Prix racing as his meteoric rise continues. Lewis Hamilton has been nurtured for several years by his team McLaren and has eventually realised his dream to drive a Formula 1 car in his debut season in 2007. This is made all the more special because McLaren chief Ron Dennis has gone against the team’s normal driver recruitment policy, where they have previously only employed the services of drivers who have a proven track record in an F1 car.

The inexperienced Lewis Hamilton was given the drive partnering current world champion Fernando Alonso, a perfect learning environment for him and he has brought a breath of fresh air to British F1 motor racing. Despite a number of high profile disagreements with his team-mate Alonso, he has taken the world of F1 racing by storm in his rookie season in 2007. After finishing third in his debut race, he continued to a record-breaking 9 consecutive podium finishes in his first nine races, including 2 victories. He went on to record a total of 4 race victories, 12 podium finishes and 6 pole positions. Hamilton eventually finished the F1 Drivers Championship in second place, 2 points behind Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. If it weren’t for a couple of errors in the last 2 races of the season, Lewis Hamilton would surely have become world champion.

From an early age, Lewis Hamilton showed great promise as a motor racing driver. He started out in kart racing aged 8 and was signed up to the McLaren young drivers programme at the age of 13. In his early racing career Lewis Hamilton won a string of titles, with comprehensive victories in the European F3 and World GP2 championships.

Lewis is a friendly, likeable, driver who really has his head screwed on right. He has shown with his successes through the early years of his career that he is a born winner and can withstand the toughest of circumstances both on and off the circuit, maintaining a calm demeanor and not losing his focus.

Lewis Hamilton’s driving style was epitomised during his rookie year in the GP2 series – the step below F1, when he first came to the attention of the wider motor racing world. Lewis has always shown consistent speed, but he has developed into a gritty, courageous driver with a smooth driving style and has drawn comparisons to racing drivers from a bygone era. Lewis Hamilton has a ruthless winning mentality which, when combined with his courage and breathtaking speed makes him a formidable racer and it is little surprise that he has made such an impact on the F1 racing scene in his rookie season.

This is early proof that Lewis Hamilton is a very fast learner. After a further year gaining knowledge in the prestigious F3 Euroseries, he won the F3 title in 2005 with a comprehensive 15 race wins and 13 pole positions. A year later he won yet another championship, winning the GP2 series championship in his rookie year. The GP2 race series is the step below Formula One. This video shows the raw talent of Lewis Hamilton in a GP2 race at Silverstone in 2006, with a phenomenal overtaking move into Becketts he overtakes 2 cars at once!

It is clear that Lewis Hamilton has gained extensive experience on the McLaren young drivers programme and has been extremely successful throughout. Those who had not heard of Lewis Hamilton before he burst onto the F1 scene should not be surprised at his early successes in a Grand Prix car. Lewis Hamilton has a great race pedigree and is a proven winner.

A 10-year old Lewis Hamilton apparently told Ron Dennis that he wanted to race in Formula 1. It is said that Ron replied “…. Speak to me when you’re eighteen son”. However, McLaren ended up signing Lewis to their young drivers programme when he turned 13 years of age and provided support for his fledgling career as he progressed through the ranks of karting and car racing, culminating in Lewis Hamilton being given a full-time McLaren F1 Grand Prix drive for the 2007 season.

This BBC News video report from 1998 shows a 13-year-old Lewis Hamilton just after the McLaren motor sport team had signed him. Even at this young age he shows his desire and ambition to succeed in Formula One.

Lewis Hamilton was born in the Hertfordshire town of Stevenage in January 1985. From a modest English family background, Lewis began racing go-karts when he was aged 8. It is very common for many of the top motor racing drivers to start kart racing from a very young age. Karting is just like F1 racing only much smaller; there is even a karting World Championship series. Young drivers gain valuable racing experience together with a grounding in all the qualities required to become a successful motor racing driver as they climb up through the ranks. It goes without saying that many of the top F1 teams keep a close eye on the karting arena to get an early idea of potential future racing superstars.

The McLaren motor racing team signed Lewis Hamilton when he was aged just 13. Take a look at a BBC News report from 1998, where a young Lewis Hamilton demonstrates his Formula One ambitions - click here.