Never has a man been under so much pressure to perform in his debut season at the Formula1 stage as has Lewis Hamilton. Being the first ever 'coloured' driver in the sport, Hamilton received a lot of media attention as well as notice from the greats of racing. But it wasn't only because of his colour that he was receiving such limelight. His performances in the lesser arenas had been astounding and it was only a matter of time before the youngster burst onto the Formula1 stage and gained the success he was accustomed to.

There were a lot of early comparisons with the likes of the late Ayrton Senna. Words of promise from Michael Schumacher and other legends also built up on the hype of this young man. So with all the hoopla around his debut, Lewis Hamilton was the most famous Formula1 driver of the 2007 season, even before he had driven an inch in a Formula1 race.

In 1998, Hamilton displayed some extraordinary performances in the Junior Yamaha series as well as in the Junior International A series in 1999. McLaren noticed his talent and assured him of a Formula1 seat in 1998.

In 2001, he finished 5th in the Formula Renault Great Britain Winter Series. He stayed with Formula Renault in 2002 and despite 3 wins, 7 podium finishes and a massive 274 points, only managed a third place. In the same year he participated in the Formula Euro Cup as an 18 year old and finished at 5th place.

He had had enough of substandard finishes and decided to make amends in the 2003 season. He won the Formula Renault British Championships with a massive 419 points which included 10 wins and 13 podium finishes. Although the Formula Renault 2000 Series in Germany didn't go so well as he managed a 27th place finish only.

In 2004, Hamilton came into prominence as he widened his range of participation in various events. He came 7th in the Formula3 Masters cup, came in at 14th place in the Formula3 Macau Grand Prix and got an impressive 5th place at the Formula3 Euro Series with 1 win and 5 podium finishes. In 2005, he was crowned the Formula3 Euro Series Champion as well as the Formula3 Masters series. He took 15 wins in the Euro Series broadcasting his presence to the entire world of racing. He carried out testing duties as well for the Woking-based team in that year.

Hamilton was getting closer and closer to Formula1 and in 2006, he clinched the GP2 series title comprehensively with 114 points that included 5 wins and 14 podium finishes. He banged down the door at McLaren with his performances and in 2007, the team was forced to give him a start as the first Black Formula One driver in the history of the sport.
In 2007, Hamilton was there at the starting grid, waiting to create history, and how!!! He almost took the win on his first race in Formula1 alongside world champion team mate Fernando Alonso. He recorded eight consecutive race wins in his first 8 races of the season including wins at Canada and United States. His first race, where he finished outside the points table was way down in round 10, at the European Grand Prix.

The record books were being re-written and surely enough, a legend was in the making. Hamilton lost out on breaking more records and becoming the first driver to almost win the championship in his debut season. Although he led the standings going into the last day of the season, he was overtaken by both Alonso and eventual champion, Kimi Raikkonen, to the championship. The 'Spying Scandal' at the end of the season almost saw Hamilton being disqualified from the title race as would team mate Alonso. The duo was allowed to participate however but internal squabbles and unrest between the drivers over 'team lead' status were beginning to emerge. Alonso didn't like playing second fiddle to the rookie and did not like the fact that Hamilton was getting more attention from the media and the team for his wonderful showing in the season.

In 2008, Alonso will be moving back to Renault whereas Hamilton would now be paired with another rising star, Heikki Kovalainen. This time round, Hamilton will be looking to undo the missed chance of 2007 and will aim at becoming the World Drivers' Champion creating further history.