McLaren's Lewis Hamilton became Formula One's youngest champion at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday at the age of 23 years and 301 days.
Here are some facts about Hamilton:
* Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on Jan. 7, 1985 in Stevenage, England. His parents divorced when he was two.
* His paternal grandfather emigrated to Britain from the Caribbean island of Grenada in the 1950s and worked for the London Underground transport system. Father Anthony worked for British Railways.
* Hamilton's motorsport career started at the age of eight and he had won his first British karting championship by the time he was 10. Hamilton was signed up to McLaren's young driver programme on a development contract in 1998.
* He was European kart champion in 2000.
ROAD TO VICTORY
* In 2003 he was British Formula Renault champion with 10 race wins.
* Hamilton won the Euroseries F3 title in 2005 with 15 victories, 10 fastest laps and 13 poles. He also won the Monaco F3 grand prix.
* Winner of the GP2 championship in 2006 in his first season in the Formula One feeder series. Racked up five wins and six fastest laps including victory in Monaco and a double success at Silverstone.
FORMULA ONE
* Took his first Formula One victory in Canada in June last year, becoming the first black driver to win a grand prix.
* Hamilton is the only driver in Formula One to finish his first nine races on the podium. In 2007, he won four times with six pole positions.
* This season he has five wins and seven poles.
