Lewis Hamilton

Household name…

Lewis Hamilton is already a household name at the fair age of 23. His motorsport career started in 1993 when he was just 8 years old. By the age of 10 he had won his first British Karting championship. A further four British Karting championships followed in 1996 and 1997.

At the age of 13, Lewis was talent spotted and subsequently signed to the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme by McLaren Group Chairman and CEO Ron Dennis. The programme, established by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, provided Lewis with a long-term contract guaranteeing financial and technical support to help with his future motorsport career.

Driving technology…

Motor racing is at the cutting edge of technological advances. To develop the best, a whole team of engineers across a whole spectrum of skills have to work together and think about things like air flow, wings, suspension and handling. Ever heard of a ‘nosecone winglet’? Exactly. You also get to travel the world and be at the forefront of one of the most exhilarating sports in the world. Not bad, eh? How about studying a Motorsport Technology degree such as the one at Oxford Brookes featured in our university section?

Formula 1

• A Formula 1 car is more than man and machine – it is man, machine and a whole array of information technology. Whenever a car is on track, its every move is recorded by around 250 sensors in various parts of the car. The team receives information on approximately 1,300 different parameters, from basics like tyre pressures and engine temperature to more complex information on how the gearbox and engine behave.
• In Formula 1, time is always of the essence and if a team is to achieve its goals, the team’s engineers cannot wait for the driver to return to the pits for this vital information – instead it arrives directly onto their computers via a wireless antenna on the car.