Highlights

Hamilton hopes to attract new F1 audience

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-25 13:31

Lewis Hamilton hopes to open up Formula One to a new audience, much as Tiger Woods did in golf, after being confirmed as a McLaren driver on Friday.

The 21-year-old, whose paternal grandparents emigrated to Britain from the island of Grenada in the 1950s, will become the first black grand prix driver when the 2007 season starts in Australia in March.

Narain Karthikeyan was the first Indian to race in Formula One in 2005 and there have been Asian drivers in what has otherwise been a predominantly white man's sport since the championship started in 1950.

"The only time I ever really think about it is when people bring it up," the Briton told reporters in a conference call on Friday when asked if he saw himself as a trail-blazer for Afro-Caribbean drivers.

"I feel like any of the other drivers that are out there that it is a dream for me to get to Formula One.

"But what comes with it is that hopefully it can be of some influence, it can encourage other ethnic groups to get involved in the sport. It doesn't have to be just for one group of people, it can be for everyone," he added.

"People that can relate to the path that I've taken will see that it's possible and will try also to get into the sport."

TIGER TAG

Comparisons with Woods have been made since Hamilton first began to make waves in the junior categories of motorsport.

He has won every series he has competed in and ends this year as GP2 champion, one rung below Formula One, at the first attempt.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis first became aware of him when, as a 12-year-old in a rented black tie outfit, Hamilton walked up to him at an awards ceremony and looked him straight in the eye while offering an outstretched hand.

"We're very aware of the ability for Lewis's colour to be used as a headline or certainly contained within the first sentence of any of the stories that will come out of today and be published in the future," said Dennis.

"But for us, it's just immaterial. He's been in the McLaren-Mercedes family for nine years. We don't hide from the fact that he's from a mixed race background, but this doesn't matter.

"The sort of Tiger Woods label makes you smile, and you could even argue that its a compliment to the youngster," he added. "But it's just not relevant to our objective. He's in our team because he's earned the opportunity."

Hamilton revealed that he was summoned to Dennis's house on September 23, before the final three races of the season, and told he had got the drive.

"It didn't really kick in, if I'm honest," he said. "Inside you are all excited but you have to put on a professional face.

"You could see that he was very excited about it and was smiling. He even said to me 'you should be smiling'. I said 'I am inside'."

The Briton confirmed also that there had been a discussion about whether he should compete in the final race of the season in Brazil.

He said that he had told only those closest to him -- his father Anthony, a former British Rail employee turned IT company boss who is separated from Hamilton's mother, and brother Nicholas, who has cerebral palsy.

Dennis compared Hamilton's story, from a background outside the sport and with money in tight supply, to that of 'My Fair Lady' -- the rags-to-riches musical of George Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion'.

Hamilton said he had not seen the film but agreed that his was also a nice tale: "It's the end of one story and the beginning of a new chapter," he said.