Lewis Hamilton's achievement in winning the Formula One World Championship has been recognised by a letter of commendation from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The 23-year-old Englishman became the youngest champion in the sport's history when, after finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, he took the title by just a point from race-winner and local hero Felipe Massa.
"To Lewis Hamilton esquire, I'm delighted that you succeeded in winning the Formula One World Championship to become the youngest-ever champion," the Queen wrote.
"I send you my warmest congratulations on your remarkable and historic achievement.
"Elizabeth R."
Hamilton himself returned in triumph Wednesday to the headquarters of his McLaren team in Woking, south-west of London, to thank the huge back-up team behind his success.
More than 1,000 McLaren employees greeted him as he drove in at the wheel of a Formula One car.
"I'm shaking like a leaf here. I've never seen you all before in one place," Hamilton, who has only been a Grand Prix driver for two seasons, said. "I am standing here today to say a big thank you to all of you including the people who work here on the night shift and weekends when I don't see all of you."
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
F1 Formula One Motor Racing
2008 Final Driver / Team Result Table
Hamilton makes history as youngest F1 champ
An emotional Lewis Hamilton admitted he was virtually lost for words and did not know he had succeeded when he became the youngest man to win the Formula One drivers' world championship this morning.
The 23-year-old Englishman, needing a top-five finish to be champion, only seized fifth place for McLaren-Mercedes again, after losing it, on the final lap of a tense, dramatic and rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix won by his title rival and local hero Felipe Massa of Ferrari.
As Massa triumphed and then celebrated, briefly, Hamilton caught and passed German Timo Glock of Toyota to turn his day from despair to joy after earlier appearing to have controlled his own race by cruising towards fourth or fifth place.
A late shower of rain then created chaos and saw Hamilton change tyres and fall back to sixth before he made his final desperate charge to recover and claim fifth.
But as he said afterwards Hamilton was not even sure that he had won the title when he finally crossed the line in teeming rain and near-darkness in front of 100,000 spectators at the Interlagos circuit.
"We did it, we did it," he said. "But honestly I did not know if we had when I crossed the line. I was thinking 'shoot!' I am just not sure - have I done enough? Did we get it?
"And they told me and I felt just ecstatic. We had made it. You can forget everything else that has happened before now. This is the best and it was the toughest race of my life.
"I have to thank everyone, my Dad, my family, my fans and supporters back home and the team. It would be great to do it again in the future, but I am not sure if my heart can take that final lap all over again."
His father Anthony Hamilton who has guided his career all the way from junior karting days when they were a poor family from a council estate in Stevenage, England, to the top, said: "This proves to everyone else, like us, that it can be done.
"It has come from 16 years of hard work and dedication and respect."
Massa who finished the season in style with a dazzling win in front of his home crowd ended up in tears as he stood atop the victors' podium.
He had won six races this season to Hamilton's five but missed the championship 98 points to 97.
"It has been such an emotional day for me, I drove a perfect race and everything went to well," he said.
"Then the rain came at the end again and I knew what was happening. We thought it was going to happen and it almost did, then I saw Lewis passing Timo Glock and I suddenly had such a lot of emotions.
"I was so emotional, but I am proud of the team, of my team, my family, the people here today and the whole season and the championship. It is one more day of my life, Lewis has won it and I am going to learn from this."
Driving with great control and judgement, Hamilton avoided the early problems that wrecked his bid to become the first rookie champion last year as he steered his McLaren-Mercedes to glory after a tense contest and an extraordinary final lap.
The 23-year-old Englishman, needing a top-five finish to be champion, only seized fifth place for McLaren-Mercedes again, after losing it, on the final lap of a tense, dramatic and rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix won by his title rival and local hero Felipe Massa of Ferrari.
As Massa triumphed and then celebrated, briefly, Hamilton caught and passed German Timo Glock of Toyota to turn his day from despair to joy after earlier appearing to have controlled his own race by cruising towards fourth or fifth place.
A late shower of rain then created chaos and saw Hamilton change tyres and fall back to sixth before he made his final desperate charge to recover and claim fifth.
But as he said afterwards Hamilton was not even sure that he had won the title when he finally crossed the line in teeming rain and near-darkness in front of 100,000 spectators at the Interlagos circuit.
"We did it, we did it," he said. "But honestly I did not know if we had when I crossed the line. I was thinking 'shoot!' I am just not sure - have I done enough? Did we get it?
"And they told me and I felt just ecstatic. We had made it. You can forget everything else that has happened before now. This is the best and it was the toughest race of my life.
"I have to thank everyone, my Dad, my family, my fans and supporters back home and the team. It would be great to do it again in the future, but I am not sure if my heart can take that final lap all over again."
His father Anthony Hamilton who has guided his career all the way from junior karting days when they were a poor family from a council estate in Stevenage, England, to the top, said: "This proves to everyone else, like us, that it can be done.
"It has come from 16 years of hard work and dedication and respect."
Massa who finished the season in style with a dazzling win in front of his home crowd ended up in tears as he stood atop the victors' podium.
He had won six races this season to Hamilton's five but missed the championship 98 points to 97.
"It has been such an emotional day for me, I drove a perfect race and everything went to well," he said.
"Then the rain came at the end again and I knew what was happening. We thought it was going to happen and it almost did, then I saw Lewis passing Timo Glock and I suddenly had such a lot of emotions.
"I was so emotional, but I am proud of the team, of my team, my family, the people here today and the whole season and the championship. It is one more day of my life, Lewis has won it and I am going to learn from this."
Driving with great control and judgement, Hamilton avoided the early problems that wrecked his bid to become the first rookie champion last year as he steered his McLaren-Mercedes to glory after a tense contest and an extraordinary final lap.
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