Lewis Hamilton

This is the story of the boy who proves fairytales do come true. The boy who grew up on a council estate, who, at the tender age of 22, came through against all the odds to dominate and revolutionise the world of motor racing. Thrown in at the deep end 'on a mighty whim' by F1 team owner Ron Dennis, Lewis Hamilton began his 2007 debut season with several podium finishes - and is surely in the running for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year 2007. He has done better than anyone could have predicted: not only has he had to combat his own nerves and fears; he has had to overcome a dissenter within his own camp. With behind-the-scenes insight into the intense rivalry between Hamilton and his team mate Fernando Alonso which threatened to derail the young Briton's dream, bestselling sports author, Frank Worrall describes how the rookie rose above his critics, keeping his dignity and emerging triumphant as he racked up sensational wins around the world.But the boy-wonder's stellar rise through the motor racing ranks from karting to the hotly contested F3 Superprix and onto the F1 podium was by no means straightforward. Lewis' racing career began aged just six, when his father, holding down three jobs to support his son's blossoming career, bought him his first go-kart. Life was always a challenge - against the backdrop of racial inequality, Lewis was faced with the heartache of his parents' divorce and his anguish for half-brother Nicholas, who suffers from cerebral palsy, but these setbacks only made Hamilton more determined to succeed. The breakthrough came when he was ten on meeting McLaren boss Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony. Lewis told him, 'I'm going to race for you one day...I'm going to race for McLaren.' Two years later he contacted Dennis and the big man signed him to McLaren's development programme.By 2007 he could hold him back no longer. This is the remarkable story of the boy who has been called 'The Tiger Woods of F1'. Hamilton's is a tale of glory against the odds which reads like the script of a Hollywood movie. But this is not fiction: this is the real-life story of a record-breaking season and a legend in the making.