Formula one: Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Australian grand prix | Sport | The Guardian Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Australian grand prix • Jarno Trulli's third-place finish reinstated for Toyota • McLaren deny withholding any meaningful evidence Lewis Hamilton, left, has been docked the points he received for finishing third at the Melbourne grand prix. Photograph: Mark Horsburgh/Reuters Thursday 2 April 2009 05.14 EDT First published on Thursday 2 April 2009 05.14 EDT Close This article is 7 years old The FIA says it has not ruled out further sanctions after Lewis Hamilton and McLaren were disqualified from the Australian grand prix for "misleading" stewards during an inquiry into the latter stages of race . McLaren said they are disappointed by the decision, which they believe was 'harsh', but the team say they will not launch an appeal. Hamilton finished fourth at the season opener in Melbourne on Sunday before being upgraded to third after Jarno Trulli, of Toyota , was adjudged to have illegally overtaken the world champion under the yellow flag on the 57th lap.

After taking part in the podium ceremony, Trulli was belatedly handed a 25-second penalty, which relegated the Italian driver from third to 12th place. However, Trulli's podium finish has now been reinstated on appeal and Hamilton and McLaren's classification annulled after the 23-year-old provided "evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on 29 March". In response to the ruling, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh argued: "As we see it, during the closing stages of the race under difficult conditions, there was a safety car incident where Trulli fell off the circuit and Lewis legitimately passed. Lewis didn't do anything abnormal and it was clear Trulli shouldn't have passed him. But we have to accept the decision. Obviously we are disappointed by what happened but, in the circumstances, we are not going to appeal." It has been suggested that the FIA arrived at the decision because McLaren withheld information about a radio conversation that took place between Hamilton and the pit during the course of the incident. "What I understand is that there's a belief that the team was not explicit enough in terms of the content of the radio conversations," Whitmarsh continued.

"We don't believe that those radio conversations had an effect on the fact that he was passed by Trulli under a safety car period. The problem is that the stewards believe that the team was not explicit enough in releasing that information. We don't think that affected the outcome of their [original] decision. I believe that it was a harsh decision. I think the facts of the case are that Lewis made a legitimate pass and subsequently was repassed. "We felt that the decision of the stewards in the immediate aftermath of the race was fair but the stewards now believe that the radio conversation – that was listened to and heard by the FIA – because it was not sufficiently contained in the submission that we made and that we withheld that was the reason that they came to their decision today. "As you would imagine Lewis is extremely disappointed.

It's a harsh decision but I think that experience has told us that you have to accept these decisions and these things that come along and you focus on this weekend and the races beyond that." The FIA detailed the reasons for their ruling in a statement which read: "The stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian formula one grand prix, consider that driver No1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29 March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. "Under Article 158 of the International Sporting Code the driver No1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are excluded from the race classification for the 2009 Australian grand prix and the classification is amended accordingly." "Given the seriousness of this matter, we cannot not rule out further action at this stage," an FIA spokesman said after announcing the decision. If the FIA was to pursue the matter, it would go before the world motor sport council.

The same body fined McLaren Mercedes a record $100m (£68m) and stripped the team of their constructors' points in 2007, also for breaching article 151c, in a spying controversy involving Ferrari data in the team's possession. Trulli admitted he felt justice had been done by the decision to reinstate his third place in Melbourne, and thanked the FIA for its action. "It must have been really hard, but it had the common sense to really try and understand what was going on," he said. "I have been always honest and it has paid off. "I don't know the evidence or what they investigated on. I cannot comment on it. I am just happy I got my position and what I did on the track," he told Autosport. "Honestly, it was a controversial end of the race and it was hard for anyone to understand.

But again I would like to thank the FIA because it had the strength to reconsider the case, giving new evidence and understanding what was going on." Lewis Hamilton Disqualified From The 2009 Australian Grand Prix | The F1Fanatics Blog Drivers Lounge Lewis Hamilton Disqualified From The 2009 Australian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton has been sensationally disqualified from an epic Australian Grand Prix after allegedly lying and misleading race stewards after a hearing into Jarno Trulli’s alleged overtake under yellow flags. In a weekend which saw the race stewards very busy, handing out multiple penalties it was found or at least alleged by Lewis Hamilton that Jarno Trulli have overtaken him under the yellow flags as the cars got into position behind the safety car after Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica had tangled. Post race, Trulli wa shanded a 25 second penalty and subsequently demoted to 11th position. Hamilton was raised to 3rd. However, in a new hearing at Malaysia after new evidence was brought forward, from race team radio’s it is found Hamilton was misleading the race stewards and has been disqualified.

A statement issued by the stewards said: “The Stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. “Under Article 158 of the International Sporting Code the driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are excluded from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix and the classification is amended accordingly.” Trulli takes his 3rd place back and the points table is adjusted [see right]. Share this post: Formula One: Hamilton disqualified from Australian GP for lying | Autoweek The FIA determined that defending world champion Lewis Hamilton lied about events at the end of the Australian Grand Prix. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Formula One: Hamilton disqualified from Australian GP for lying April 1, 2009 Email PRESS RELEASE: Penalty Imposed On Driver No.

1 Lewis Hamilton And Competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes After meeting with Lewis Hamilton in Malaysia ahead of this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix, the FIA has excluded the defending Formula One world champion from the results of last weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix--and not, directly, for an on-track incident. The FIA determined that Hamilton lied to the FIA stewards in Melbourne about his actions behind the safety car toward the end of the race. Just as the "SC" boards were being shown, Jarno Trulli went off the track under pressure from Hamilton, who overtook the Toyota. Concerned that he might have made the pass under yellow, the McLaren-Mercedes driver slowed behind the safety car and moved over, effectively giving Trulli no choice but to repass him for third position. However, Hamilton is said to have denied that such was the case during a post-race investigation by the stewards, who handed Trulli a 25-second penalty for passing under yellow, which promoted Hamilton to a third-place finish.

But in Malaysia, FIA stewards Steve Chopping, Olafur Gudmundsson (both of whom had been in Melbourne) and Surinder Thatti reviewed McLaren radio transmissions that showed that the team had instructed Hamilton to move over. The stewards concluded that Hamilton and his team had acted "in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards." Hamilton and his car were excluded from the Australian results, and Trulli's Toyota was reinstated in third place behind the Brawn GP cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. McLaren said it will not appeal the decision. At the first hearing following the Australian Grand Prix, the Stewards did not have the benefit of the radio exchanges between driver No. 1 Lewis Hamilton and his Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, nor did they have access to the comments to the Media given by Lewis Hamilton immediately after the end of the race. From the video recordings available to the Stewards during the hearing, it appeared that Jarno Trullis car left the track and car No. 1 moved into third place.

It then appeared that Trulli overtook Hamilton to regain third place, which at the time was prohibited as it was during the Safety Car period. During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the Stewards and the Race Director questioned Lewis Hamilton and his Team Manager David Ryan specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and the Team Manager stated that no such instruction had been given. The Race Director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted that he had not done so. The new elements presented to the Stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened Stewards Meeting clearly show that: a. Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the Stewards Meeting, he gave an interview to the Media where he clearly stated that the Team had told him to let Trulli pass. b. Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the Team contain two explicit orders from the Team to let the Toyota pass.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place. By Quentin Spurring Hamilton disqualified from Australian Grand Prix - CNN.com Hamilton disqualified from Australian Grand Prix Story Highlights Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix Stewards says Hamilton and McLaren presented "misleading" evidence Hamilton was involved in incident with Toyota driver Jarno Trulli (CNN) -- Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix after presenting "misleading" evidence to stewards. Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty by race stewards after last weekend's Australian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver and Toyota's Jarno Trulli were called to an FIA hearing in Malaysia -- the site of the next grand prix -- Thursday to discuss an incident during last weekend's Australian race. Trulli finished third at Melbourne's Albert Park, only to later be handed a 25-second penalty by race stewards which relegated him to 12th position and saw Hamilton lifted into third.

McLaren had complained that the veteran Italian illegally passed Hamilton under yellow flags following an accident late on involving Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber. Trulli had decided not to appeal the original decision but the FIA, the sport's governing body, said it had received new information and pressed ahead with a second hearing. Don't Miss Button warns rivals will close gap "The stewards, having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1, Lewis Hamilton, and the competitor, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009," the FIA said in a statement. It said Hamilton and McLaren had violated its rules and were retrospectively disqualified from the race.

Lewis Hamilton | The Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom) is a British racing driver who currently drives in Formula One for the Mercedes team, having driven for McLaren from 2007 to 2012 . He is a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion , taking the title in 2008 with McLaren, and in 2014 and 2015 with Mercedes. He was quite successful in kart racing, securing a Formula One contract at a very young age after being entered into the McLaren development program. He was the youngest driver to win the Formula One World Championship at the age of 23 years and 300 days, a record that has since then been broken by Sebastian Vettel . Hamilton is often labelled as the first 'black' Formula One racing driver. In 2008 , he was racially, verbally attacked by fans in Spain and a website. This led to the Race Against Racism campaign, launched by the FIA .

Throughout his career, he has had a fair bit of visits to the stewards. At one point during his 2009 season, he considered leaving the sport after lying to the stewards about an incident during the 2009 Australian Grand Prix . During the 2011 season, he had a strong rivalry with Felipe Massa on Ferrari . The pair came together several times during the season, but later patched things up. In 2013 , he signed a contract with Mercedes for three years. He replaced the retiring Michael Schumacher , as Nico Rosberg 's teammate. The two had previously been partnered in their karting careers. For the 2014 season, drivers were required to choose a permanent racing number. Hamilton chose 44 because that had been his number during his karting career. Lewis Hamilton appears as a character in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. [1] Contents Edit Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK to Carmen Larbalestier and Anthony Hamilton. Hamilton was named after the American runner Carl Lewis. His parents divorced when he was two years old and when raised by his mother with his half-sisters Nicola and Samantha.

When he was twelve years old, his father gained custody for Hamilton. He was raised by his father and step-mother Linda and lived with his step-brother Nicolas Hamilton . His step brother began his racing career in 2011 racing in the Renault Clio Cup. Hamilton's father was responsible for Lewis' interest in racing, after he purchased him a remote controlled racing car. Hamilton took entered this car in many competitions in 1991, winning some against adult competitors. Formula One Career Edit Nico Rosberg (Left) and Lewis Hamilton (Right) partnered on TeamMBM.com in 2000. In 1993, Hamilton began his racing career racing karts in the Cadet class championship. He first met the McLaren team boss, Ron Dennis at the age of ten when Hamilton asked him for an autograph. Dennis called Hamilton after he had won the Super One series championship and signed him to the McLaren development program. This program was a contract that promised Hamilton a seat with the McLaren Formula One team at a later date, which made Hamilton to the youngest driver to secure a Formula One contract. Hamilton with his winning kart in 2000.

Hamilton advanced through the different ranks of karts and eventually joined the TeamMBM.com karting team in 2000, where he was partnered with Nico Rosberg . In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a special appearance in kart racing and raced against Hamilton. "He's a quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality." - Michael Schumacher In 2004, Hamilton was signed with the Formula Three team Manor Motorsport. He returned the sport again the following year with ASM Formule 3, managing to win 75% of his races that season and winning the championship. Because of his success in Formula Three, ART Grand Prix signed him for the 2006 in GP2. He was dominant and won the season. In late September 2006, he was signed with the McLaren Formula One team as the secondary driver. 2007 Edit Lewis Hamilton celebrating his first career win.

Hamilton was offered a position on McLaren for the 2007 season, racing alongside the defending World Champion, Fernando Alonso . Hamilton became a piece of history during his first Formula One race at the Australian Grand Prix , as he finished on the podium (3rd position) and became the thirteenth driver to finish on the podium in their début. Hamilton then placed second in the following four grand prix events, taking the lead in the World Championship and becoming the youngest driver to lead the World Championship. He earned his first pole position in the Canadian Grand Prix , followed by his first victory on race day. This was followed by another victory at the United States Grand Prix the next weekend. Following his third place finish in his home Grand Prix , he tied Jim Clark 's record of 9 consecutive podium finishes. Lewis Hamilton's accident while qualifying for the 2007 European Grand Prix. Later in the season, he was in a terrible accident while qualifying for the European Grand Prix . He was later released from the medical centre and cleared to race. During the race, the weather conditions escalated and Hamilton slid off of the track and into a gravel trap. He was lifted from the trap with a crane and placed on the track to rejoin the race.

He was the only driver to rejoin the race after receiving mechanical assistance before the FIA banned this action. The race was later stopped because the conditions were too severe, meaning Hamilton would finish in 9th position. This was the first time that he was not on the podium since joining Formula One. Hamilton faced his first race retirement during the Chinese Grand Prix after skidding off the track and into a gravel trap on lap 30. Now unable to receive mechanical assistance, he was stuck in the trap. Hamilton was unable to win the World Championship, finishing only one point behind Kimi Räikkönen . 2008 Edit Spanish spectators verbally abusing Hamilton and his family. During pre-season testing in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the upcoming season, Hamilton was verbally abused by Spanish spectators wearing black wigs, face-paint and t-shirts. In response to these attacks, the FIA began the "Race Against Racism" campaign. The attacks originated because of Hamilton's rivalry with his previous teammate, Fernando Alonso . "In 2008 we cannot have these kind of people in our world.

It's not only formula one, not only sport, it's normal life as well." - Fernando Alonso At the start of the 2008 season, Hamilton signed a five year multi-million pound contract with McLaren . His teammate for the season would be Heikki Kovalainen after leaving Renault at the end of the 2007 season. Hamilton was off to a great start of the season after gaining the pole position and winning the Australian Grand Prix . He regained the lead of the World Championship standings after winning the Monaco Grand Prix . He later gained the most meaningful win of his career in the British Grand Prix under poor weather conditions. "It is by far the best victory I've ever had. The conditions were bad and as I was driving I thought, 'If I win this, it will be the best race I've ever done'. On my last lap, I could see the crowd starting to rise to their feet, and I was just praying, praying, praying I could get the car round. I want to dedicate this to my family because we all know I've had some troubles of late, so this is for them." - Lewis Hamilton Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix .

He would later lose this victory after the FIA penalized him for cutting a chicane to avoid hitting Räikkönen. He was handed a 25-second penalty and dropped down to third position. Hamilton won the World Championship in the Brazilian Grand Prix . Hamilton required a 5th place finish in the race to win the Championship. It looked as though he was not going to complete his goal, as he was in 6th position on the final lap, but he managed to make a pass on the final corner and become the youngest World Champion. He grabbed the Championship only one point above Felipe Massa . 2009 Edit Lewis Hamilton privately apologizing to the FIA for lying during the stewards' hearing. It seemed like Hamilton would have a poor start to the 2009 season when he started from 18th position on the grid because the team decided to change gearboxes during the qualification session. He had better luck in the race, finishing 3rd after Jarno Trulli received a penalty for passing Hamilton while the safety car was on the track.

During the stewards' hearing for Trulli's penalty, Hamilton and McLaren told the FIA that they did not allow Trulli to pass, but a later investigation proved the opposite. Hamilton was then disqualified from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix and lost his 3rd position. According to Hamilton, this was the "hardest week of his life" and he had considered leaving Formula One. To prevent Hamilton from leaving the sport, McLaren's sporting director, Dave Ryan was forced to take full blame for the incident. The rest of the season was poor, as McLaren attempted to catch up to the rest of the teams' technologically. Hamilton would then suffer his first mechanical retirement in his Formula One career during the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . He managed to finish 5th in the World Championship, a weaker finish than his previous seasons. 2010 Edit For the 2010 season , Hamilton would be racing alongside a new teammate, Jenson Button . The 2010 season was followed by frequent visits to the stewards for warnings.

He first visited the stewards after the Malaysian Grand Prix , after weaving down a straight to prevent Vitaly Petrov from using the slipstream to gain time on Hamilton. He again visited the stewards in China after he was involved in a pit accident with Sebastian Vettel , but he managed to keep his 2nd place finish. Lewis Hamilton returning to the parc fermé after winning the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton was reprimanded and his team fined during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix when he was forced to stop his car on the track because of a lack of fuel. He went on to win the race and earn McLaren their third 1-2 finish of the season. Drama sparked in the European Grand Prix between his ex-teammate, Fernando Alonso . Alonso accused Hamilton of not following the safety car to gain time. This lead to a drive-through penalty for Hamilton after a lengthy investigation. Ferrari as still angry because they claimed that the penalty did not alter the race results. The pair later made up: "We are in touch – he has my number and I have his number. I just messaged him to see how he was doing and he said everything's cool.

He knows how the racing world works, and this is a tough year." - Lewis Hamilton Hamilton's record as the youngest driver to win the World Drivers' Championship was broken during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by Red Bull 's Sebastian Vettel . 2011 Edit During a press conference, Hamilton received some negative attention after calling Red Bull "just a drinks company": "I am 100 per cent certain that neither McLaren nor Ferrari will ever let that happen. They have not been there as long as our teams. Our teams have got status they would like to keep. For many, many years it has been McLaren and Ferrari at the front and now we have got a new team that has come and knocked us off the top. But I am really certain that either team will do absolutely everything in their power to make sure they can remain at the top. Red Bull are not a manufacturer, they are a drinks company. It's a drinks company versus McLaren/Ferrari history. I don't know what their plan is. Our team is building to become a bigger manufacturer, like Ferrari, and I can only see our team being there for a ridiculous amount of time.

It is a pure-bred racing team." - Lewis Hamilton Hamilton won his first race of the season in China . Lewis Hamilton's rear wing is damaged during the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix . He was punished by the stewards multiple times during the season. He felt that he was being attacked by the FIA: "It's an absolute f******' joke. I've been to see the stewards five times out of six this season." - Lewis Hamilton Hamilton was involved in the dramatic Monaco Grand Prix . He bumped Felipe Massa in the hotel hairpin and received a 20 second penalty, but was later crashed by Jaime Alguersuari . His car would have been damaged out of the race, but a red flag for another accident allowed the team to repair the damaged rear wing. Tempers flared after his teammate, Jenson Button bumped him into the pit wall while defending his position. The pair later made up. Lewis Hamilton wrecks Felipe Massa in the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix . There would be more drama after Hamilton wrecked Felipe Massa in the Singapore Grand Prix . Massa stated that Hamilton was "incapable of using his brain". Hamilton later told Massa to leave him alone.

He tangled again with Massa in the Japanese Grand Prix that year where he told the press that Massa needed to "grow up" and insulted the Brazilian's career. This feud continued for the duration of the season, until the final race of the season in Brazil where the pair hugged during the post-race conference. "I was pleased that Lewis came around to see me. It was a very nice gesture on his part." - Felipe Massa 2012 Edit Hamilton continued his McLaren career alongside Jenson Button . The 2012 season was off to a great start, after Hamilton qualified for pole position for the first race of the season in Australia . However, he was unable to win the race and finished the race in 3rd position. The same thing happened in the following race at Malaysia , gaining pole and 3rd place finish. Hamilton finished 3rd once again in the next race at China , making this his third consecutive third place finish. This streak came to an end in the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix , when Hamilton finished in 8th position after suffering from many poor pitstops. There was controversy after Hamilton was forced off of the track while attempting to overtake Nico Rosberg .

No penalty was given to either driver and Rosberg won the Grand Prix. Hamilton wins the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix . Hamilton had qualified in pole position for the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix , but was forced to stop track-side because of low fuel. After this incident had occurred during the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, the FIA had introduced a new rule banned this. Hamilton was then excluded from the qualifying results and forced to start for P24 on the grid. Despite this set back, he still managed to finish inside the points positions. After the drama in Monaco this previous season, it was important for Hamilton to had a clean and high finishing race. He succeeded in doing so, finishing the event in 5th position. His first victory of the season came in the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix , after he took the lead from Fernando Alonso with only 6 laps remaining. He snatched he second win of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix , with pole position and the win. Lewis Hamilton in mid-flight during an accident in the first corner of the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix . In the following race at Belgium , Hamilton and three others were involved in an accident in the first corner.

After an investigation, it was determined that Romain Grosjean was the cause of the accident and was handed a one race suspension. Following this unfortunate accident, Hamilton was gifted with his third win of the season in the following race in Italy . He was set to win another race in Singapore , but suffered a mechanical failure midway through the race. In late September, it was announced that the 2012 season would be Hamilton's final season with McLaren , as the five year contract signed in 2008 would expire at the end of the season. Mclaren would not be renewing the contract. Shortly after this announcement, Hamilton signed a three-year contract with Mercedes , starting for the 2013 season. He would be replacing the legendary Michael Schumacher who was retiring once again from the sport. Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix and gained a pole position for the final race of the season in Brazil . He was involved in an accident during the closing laps for the race and was forced to retire, putting him into 4th position for the drivers' championship. 2013 Edit Hamilton's three year contract with Mercedes began for the 2013 season, as he partnered with Nico Rosberg .

The season began average for Hamilton, managing to earn and fifth position and two third positions in the first three races of the season. On the third race of the season, in China Hamilton earned his first pole position with team Mercedes. At the Monaco Grand Prix , teams Red Bull and Ferrari filed a complaint with the FIA. They claimed that Mercedes had participated in an illegal tyre test. The FIA did not penalize the drivers or team, but did warn the team about breaking the regulations. Lewis Hamilton retires from the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix after a collision with Sebastian Vettel . Hamilton achieved a pole position and win in the Hungarian Grand Prix , his first win for the team and the first British Mercedes driver to win a race since Stirling Moss in 1955 . Hamilton suffered his first and only retirement of the season in the Japanese Grand Prix , after colliding with Sebastian Vettel on the first lap of the race. Hamilton finished the season in 4th position in the Drivers' Championship, finishing two positions above his teammate who finished 6th. The combined effort of Hamilton and Rosberg placed Mercedes in 2nd position for the Constructors' Championship, this being the teams highest finish since their return to the sport.

2014 Edit Lewis Hamilton leading Nico Rosberg in the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. With the return of the V6 Turbocharged engines, all of the teams taking part in the 2014 season were required to redesign their cars. During pre-season testing, Mercedes had the best cars and were able to put in the most miles. For the 2014 season, drivers were also required to select a permanent number for their car. Hamilton chose number 44 because it was his number when he races karts. For the first race of the season, Hamilton snatched the pole position and was predicted to win the race since he had the most competitive car. However, things when poorly when Hamilton lost the lead to his teammate Nico Rosberg right off of the grid. Hamilton suffered from some engine issues, and was forced to retire to the pits on lap 2, leaving his teammate to win the race. Things improved in the next four races, winning all four of them and putting him in the lead of the World Championship. In the final qualifying session in Monaco, his teammate Nico Rosberg spun off the track, which brought out yellow flags and stopped Hamilton from getting pole position.

[2] There was controversy over this, as many felt Rosberg spun off the track to prevent Hamilton from getting pole position. However, Rosberg kept pole position after the stewards ruled that he did not commit offense. [3] Hamilton finished second behind Rosberg in the race. [4] While driving in the first qualifying session for the German Grand Prix , Hamilton crashed into the barrier at the Sachs corner after receiving a brake failure, having qualified 15th. [5] However, a gearbox change dropped him down to 20th, [6] but he managed to finish the race in third place. [7] [8] He was forced to start from the pit lane in Hungary when an oil leak caused his car to set on fire before he could set a time during qualifying. [9] However, he was able to finish the race in third place ahead of Rosberg, even though he was given team orders to let Rosberg overtake him. [10] Rosberg puncturing Hamilton's tyre in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

In the Belgian Grand Prix , Hamilton snatched the lead from Rosberg at the start, but later received a puncture on lap 2 after Rosberg clipped his tyre at Les Combes. The debris damaged his car floor, forcing him to eventually retire from the race at the end of lap 39. [11] Hamilton set pole position in Italy , but fell back into fourth place at the start due to a technical problem. However, he was to able to catch up, and took the lead after Rosberg went straight across the chicane at Turn 1, going on to win the race. [12] Hamilton took his seventh win of 2014 as well as the Drivers' Championship in the Singapore Grand Prix , [13] after Rosberg retired with electrical problems. [14] Hamilton went on to take three more consecutive wins in Japan , [15] Russia [16] and the United States , earning his 32nd career victory compared to other British drivers.

[17] [18] He finished second behind Rosberg in Brazil , after he spun off the track on lap 28 while Rosberg was taking a pit stop, which Hamilton took his pit stop at the end of the same lap the spin occurred on. [19] He won the final race in Abu Dhabi, becoming World Champion of 2014 as well as the fourth British driver to win more than one title. He stated in the podium interview that "it is the greatest day of my life." [20] 2015 Edit Despite being able to choose #1 for 2015 after becoming World Champion in 2014, Hamilton decided to keep #44 as his racing number, explaining that it is his favourite number and had been used in his previous days of kart racing, [21] and later saying that #1 is irrelevant for him. [22] [23] He also wrote an exclusive column of the season for BBC Sport . [24] Personal life Edit Hamilton announced in October 2007 that he had plans to move to Switzerland because he wanted to keep away from the media scrutiny experiencing him while he was living in the United Kingdom.

He also explained on the Parkinson television show that another reason was because of taxation along with wanting more privacy. [25] Hamilton began a relationship with Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger in November 2007 after first meeting her at the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards, where he was one of the presenters. [26] It was announced in January 2010 that they broke up so to focus on their different careers, [27] although they were both seen together at the 2010 Turkish [28] and Canadian Grands Prix. [29] They split for a second time in 2011, [30] but reunited again in January 2012. [31] However, they broke up again in July 2013, [32] [33] but appeared to get back together in November 2013, [34] being a couple through November 2014. [35] [36] However, in February 2015, they were reported to have broke up for a fourth time.

[37] In late October 2016, Scherzinger confirmed that they were no longer in touch, but that she wished him "happiness and success". [38] In early 2012, Hamilton transferred his personal residence from Switzerland to Monaco, also being a tax haven. [39] [40] [41] A waxwork of Hamilton in his McLaren race suit was unveiled by Madame Tussauds on 18 March 2009, costing about £150,000 and taking over six months to make. [42] Hamilton lent his voice to the car version of himself in the 2011 Disney/Pixar film Cars 2. [43] He also starred in McLaren's animated series Tooned alongside Jenson Button and Alexander Armstrong.

[44] Formula One Statistical Overview Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Mercedes Apologise to Lewis Hamilton, More | Bleacher Report Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Mercedes Apologise to Lewis Hamilton, More By Oliver Harden , Senior Writer May 25, 2015 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Ker Robertson/Getty Images 6 Comments For much of the afternoon, the Monaco Grand Prix was little more than a leisurely Sunday drive for Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton . The Mercedes driver had dominated the race from pole position and was on the verge of a fourth win of the 2015 season until his team threw it all away. When the safety car was deployed in the latter stages, Mercedes opted to call Hamilton into the pit lane when they didn't need to, with the British driver relegated to third by the chequered flag, forcing the team to plead for forgiveness. The only reason Mercedes were put in that position in the first place, of course, was due to the crash between Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean, which injected life into an otherwise dull grand prix.

Verstappen was one of the most impressive performers across the race weekend, but the sorry end to his day, which left his Toro Rosso car spearing into the barriers, has reopened the age-old debate over, well, his age. And one of the senior drivers on the grid, no stranger to the occasional on-track incident himself, has argued that the 17-year-old's collision with Grosjean can be directly linked to his lack of experience. While Verstappen's crash served to ruin Hamilton's race, it rescued Nico Rosberg's, who took his third straight Monte Carlo victories. The German, who has now taken back-to-back wins for the first time in his F1 career, has reignited his championship hopes, and Rosberg has responded to comments made by Bernie Ecclestone, who has revealed why he would prefer to see Hamilton win a third title this season. Ecclestone claimed Rosberg isn't a good ambassador for the sport, but one man who is, unquestionably, is Jenson Button, who won the championship in 2009.

McLaren-Honda have suffered a horrendous start to the season, but after securing the outfit's first points of 2015 in Monaco, Button is hoping the team can maintain their rate of improvement in the coming months. Closing this week's roundup is Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen, whose opinions are split over their clash following that fateful safety-car period. Here's the best of the fallout from the Monaco GP. Niki Lauda Admits Mercedes Made a Massive Error with Lewis Hamilton Gero Breloer/Associated Press Niki Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman, has admitted the team made a disastrous error of judgement when they decided to pit Hamilton in the latter stages of the Monaco Grand Prix. Hamilton had led every lap of the race and was seemingly on course for a fourth victory of the 2015 Formula One season when he headed for the pit lane during the late-race safety-car period. But after trading his soft-compound tyres for a set of super-softs, Hamilton would have been horrified when he rejoined the circuit behind team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with just a handful of laps remaining.

Despite the advantage of fresher, faster tyres, Hamilton was unable to pass either Vettel or Rosberg, who lucked into a second successive win, on the tight, twisty streets of Monaco, ultimately settling for third. Although Hamilton continues to lead the drivers' standings, his points advantage over Rosberg has been sliced from 27 to just 10 points in the space of just two races. Hamilton admitted in the post-race FIA press conference that he put forward the idea of pitting after the team had told him to remain on track, but Lauda has insisted that the blame lies firmly with Mercedes, who misjudged the gap between the British driver and his rivals. The three-time world champion explained that Mercedes were panicked into the decision, telling Autosport.com's Ian Parkes : It was heartbreaking for Lewis, for me and everybody in the team. Lewis did say he was not happy with the tyres, but then we over-reacted by bringing him in, which was a mistake. It was completely unnecessary, a huge mistake because this is Monaco where you cannot pass. I apologised to him and his team because we ended up destroying his race.

Felipe Massa Criticises Max Verstappen After Romain Grosjean Crash Mark Thompson/Getty Images Mercedes' mishap in the pits can be traced back to the crash between Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean on Lap 63, which resulted in the safety car being deployed. The incident marked the end of an eventful first Monaco Grand Prix for Verstappen, who after starting ninth lost part of his front wing in pursuit of Pastor Maldonado before suffering a painfully slow first pit stop. With a set of super-soft tyres bolted to his Toro Rosso, the Dutchman was in the midst of a strong recovery drive and was challenging the sister Lotus of Grosjean for 10th place when, as he tried to force his way past at Sainte Devote, Verstappen's front-left wheel collided with the Frenchman's rear-right, sparking a frightening accident. Despite a heavy impact—the rookie didn't remove his hands from the wheel as his car shot toward the barrier, which no doubt explains why he later complained of stiffness in his arms to BBC Sport —Verstappen was able to walk away but was handed a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada.

And for good measure, the 17-year-old has incurred the wrath of Williams driver Felipe Massa, Formula One's self-appointed health and safety officer. Massa, who survived a life-threatening crash in qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, has been directly involved in two of the biggest on-track incidents in the last 12 months, colliding with Force India's Sergio Perez on the final lap of last year's Canadian GP before rolling into retirement at the start of the race in Germany. But the Brazilian, one of the oldest drivers on the grid at 34, has suggested Verstappen's lack of experience may have contributed to the crash, telling Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble : What happened was very dangerous. It shows that maybe experience counts in F1. It was lucky that he was not hurt because he could have been very hurt with what happened. ... I think it was very dangerous for him, to be honest, because he is 17. If he is hurt then everybody will talk about it. They will say, why give the licence to a guy who is 17 and he is doing that? But he is not hurt, and everybody is happy. They need to do things in a better way.

Regrettably, it seems everything Verstappen does in his rookie campaign will be attributed to his age. When he gets it right, age will be nothing but a number; when he gets it wrong, he'll be too young to compete in the highest level of motorsport. Nico Rosberg Unwilling to Change for Bernie Ecclestone Dan Istitene/Getty Images Nico Rosberg may have entered Formula One folklore by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive Monaco grands prix since Ayrton Senna, but it seems he can't count Bernie Ecclestone as one of his biggest fans. In a joint interview with the official Formula One website ahead of the Monte Carlo race, F1 CEO Ecclestone admitted that he would rather see Rosberg's Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, become world champion, telling the German: "You are not so good for my business." Ecclestone claimed Hamilton's high-profile and celebrity lifestyle, including the British driver's fancy for the "red carpet, fashion business and music," is a huge attraction for F1, with Rosberg and his compatriot Sebastian Vettel, he says, struggling to get gain the support of the German supporters.

The 84-year-old claimed Vettel, despite having four world championships to his name, wouldn't be recognised in the street, and he also criticised Maurizio Arrivabene, the charismatic new Ferrari boss, who has been widely regarded as a breath of fresh air. Despite Ecclestone's rather brutal assessment of some of the most notable paddock figures, Rosberg has insisted that he is unmoved by the comments made by the sport's ringmaster. The 10-time grand prix winner, son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble : None of that surprises me because he has been very open about that all the time, criticising anybody who is not as out there in the world like Lewis is and his manner. The more you are out there, the better it is because you create more tension. That is obvious. He [Ecclestone] is the commercial rights holder, so what does he want? He wants a movement out there. And Lewis does a lot of that in his own way. I am a bit more reserved in that sense. ...

It is a straightforward thing but at the same time I care for the sport, I do think about it and I try to give a lot back to it in my own way. Rosberg might not be truly box office but, to his credit, he has led the way in terms of Formula One's increased presence on social media, frequently hosting Q&A sessions with fans . That might be more valuable to Ecclestone than he realises. Jenson Button Relieved to Get McLaren-Honda off the Mark Paul Gilham/Getty Images Prior to Sunday's race, McLaren-Honda was the only chassis-engine combination to have a 100 per cent record at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost winning every event during the manufacturers' historic alliance between 1988 and 1992. The team were never going to maintain that record this season, but for much of the weekend it seemed the Woking-based outfit were set to miss a golden opportunity to register their first points of the 2015 campaign.

Both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button once again failed to reach Q3 in qualifying, with the former's car coming to a halt halfway through the session and the latter being denied a chance to improve his lap time due to yellow flags. That misfortune continued into the race when Alonso was handed a penalty for colliding with Nico Hulkenberg, the Force India driver, on the opening lap before again stopping after 41 laps due to what the team claimed was an overheating problem. But Button, arguably the faster McLaren driver across the weekend, enjoyed a clean race on Sunday, ultimately finishing a comfortable eighth. And although the 2009 world champion—who failed to finish any higher than 11th in the opening five races and didn't even start the Bahrain GP—has admitted the team will not be satisfied until they secure a first grand prix victory since 2012, Button believes they achieved more than they anticipated at the Monte Carlo race. Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen Disagree over Stewards Decision Dan Istitene/Getty Images While Lewis Hamilton was the biggest loser of the late-race safety car, Daniel Ricciardo was one of the biggest winners.

Like Hamilton, Ricciardo headed for the pit lane after Verstappen's crash with Grosjean and took a set of super-soft tyres ahead of the restart. When the race resumed, the Australian made quick progress, pushing Kimi Raikkonen aside at Mirabeau and, after Red Bull team-mate Daniil Kvyat waved him past, challenging Hamilton for third. Having been unable to pass Hamilton, Ricciardo eased his pace dramatically at the end to allow Kvyat to reclaim fourth in a great display of sportsmanship. But Raikkonen believes the three-time grand prix winner should have been forced to give back fifth position too. The Finn was left less than impressed with Ricciardo's overtake at Mirabeau in a move that was not entirely dissimilar to the first-lap incident between Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg, which saw the Spaniard handed a penalty. The Raikkonen-Ricciardo incident was subject to a late investigation by the race stewards, who decided to take no action. And the 2007 world champion has argued that the authorities are inconsistent in their application of penalties, claiming it was "obvious" that the Red Bull driver deserved a penalty.

Raikkonen told Autosport.com 's Ben Anderson and Scott Mitchell: "It's not very clear what you're allowed to do and what you're not allowed to do because someone can get a penalty for something and another cannot." "It usually is a penalty for these kind of things and this time not." Ricciardo, meanwhile, said he "appreciated" the decision, telling Motorsport.com's Andrew van Leeuwen how "it’s hard to get a clean move without a little contact in Monaco." And considering that Raikkonen tried to squeeze Ricciardo toward the apex at Mirabeau as he tried to defend the position, the stewards were probably right to view the clash as nothing more than a racing incident.

Nico Rosberg wins Monaco F1 Grand Prix from frustrated Lewis Hamilton | Sport | The Guardian Nico Rosberg wins Monaco F1 Grand Prix from frustrated Lewis Hamilton • Rosberg returns to top of drivers’ championship by four points Paul Weaver in Monte Carlo Sunday 25 May 2014 10.30 EDT Last modified on Monday 4 April 2016 11.27 EDT Close This article is 2 years old The Monaco Grand Prix, the most exuberant party in Formula One, has a habit of delivering anticlimax. In purely racing terms this was another – the front three on the grid finished in that order, with little chance of change. And yet nothing will be quite the same this season. The rest of the 2014 season will be all about Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, one of whom will be crowned world champion, but not any time soon. Mercedes, 141 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ race, have got that title sewn up too. But there is so much to play for, and the growing intensity of the rivalry between the two leading protagonists has brought to life what might have been another mundane contest.

Even before the weekend there was no real pretence that Hamilton and Rosberg were friends, even though they have been, even though they live beside each other in Monaco. We now know that they are the most committed of racing foes, even though there were signs of a professional reconciliation before night fell here. There was more anticipation at the start of Sunday’s race than there has been in F1 for a while. Hamilton’s promise to take a page out of his idol Ayrton Senna’s book – he later described this as “a joke” but it was no such thing at the time – lent a frisson to the first corner. That is one of the best places to overtake on a narrow street circuit where passing is notoriously difficult and Rosberg’s sluggish starts this season made him look particularly vulnerable. But Rosberg got off to a flyer and never had to look back. Hamilton was increasingly frustrated and thought he should have been brought in earlier after an accident for Adrian Sutil that led to the emergence of the second safety car on the 25th lap. He never looked likely to pass Rosberg and towards the end of he race he suffered a vision problem in his left eye as Daniel Ricciardo closed to challenge him for second place.

“What’s up, Lewis?” his team asked him. Hamilton replied: “I can’t see out of my left eye.” A short time after that Hamilton was told how close the Australian’s challenging Red Bull was. He replied: “I don’t care about Ricciardo – how close am I to Nico?” But by that time Hamilton was a hopeless 5.9 seconds behind the leader. For the first time this season Ricciardo went past his team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the championship table. He has been the better driver all year and leads the German 5-1 in qualifying, and was hardly hit by being disqualified in the opening race in Australia. Vettel retired with engine problems on Sunday. Kimi Raikkonen looked set for better things after passing his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso at the start, but a clash with Max Chilton in the second safety car period ruined his race. Once again it was the dogged Alonso, who was fourth, who finished the stronger of the Ferrari drivers. Nico Hülkenberg added to his burgeoning CV with a fifth-place finish, while Jenson Button, in the doldrums for much of the race, was sixth.

But the race was not all about the competition between the two leading drivers. The happiest story of the day was Jules Bianchi finishing ninth – helped by the eight non-finishers – to give Marussia, the smallest team in the paddock, their first points in Formula One . It pushed them up to ninth in the constructors’ table, ahead of Caterham and Sauber. If they finish in the top 10 – that is, ahead of Caterham – it will be worth £30m to the team. Marussia’s president and sporting director, Graeme Lowdon, said: “Formula One is difficult, that’s for sure. What we’re really pleased about is it’s a sign of progress. It is a sign of progress with very limited resource but with a very small team of people. We’ve got 197 people. The reason why you see a lot of happy faces at the moment is that everybody knows that they contributed. We’ve got no padding, no extra people, nobody that can hide. This is direct feedback to everyone that has worked so hard. “We got the entry in 2009 and we knew this was going to be an incredible challenge.

If we look along the way our first major commercial partner was Virgin and it was the fact it was a challenge that attracted them. We came in with our eyes wide open. Certainly the goalposts moved quite a bit since then, that’s absolutely sure.” Did this mean that Marussia were financially secure, he was asked. “The money within the sport is based on positions at the end of the season. We know from Brazil 2012 [when Marussia missed out to Caterham] that everything can change in the last few laps. That difference alone was potentially tens of millions.” So were Marussia going to have a big party? “Unfortunately we seem to have done this in one of the more expensive places to go out, and we have the smallest budget in Formula One. But I’m pretty sure me and John [Booth, the team principal] will buy everyone a pint.” The two Mercedes drivers refused to shake hands following their fifth one-two result of the F1 season, after Hamilton was upset by the team’s pit strategy Published: 25 May 2014

Question: Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from which 2009 Formula One Grand Prix?
Answer: Australian