All eyes on British hotshot Hamilton
Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. And in this case, appropriately enough, it was Hong Kong eyewear company Moulin International, which decided earlier this year that it would back Lewis Hamilton's beautiful dream to win the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix.
'Lewis has always wanted to win the Macau Grand Prix. But McLaren didn't want him to race here as they are worried that he could crash and get injured. So he had to get another sponsor and thankfully Moulin has stepped in and backed our trip,' revealed Hamilton's dad Anthony, soon after his son had grabbed pole position by winning the qualification race yesterday.
Briton Hamilton is contracted to Formula 1 giants McLaren. The team signed him up six years ago after seeing him race go-karts and believe they have a future champion in the making. And yesterday he drove with the aplomb of a champion in a race marred by a series of crashes on the grid.
'McLaren took him on when he was 13. They ran a karting series called Champions of the Future and in his first year, Lewis won the cadet car category. Ron Dennis [McLaren boss] signed him up and McLaren have kept an eye on him ever since,' related Hamilton senior.
Protective of their long-term investment, McLaren were quick to turn down Hamilton's request to back him financially in Macau this weekend. 'They felt that Macau can ruin your career if you don't do well. They said he could go if he was able to finance himself,' said Anthony Hamilton.
It all looked gloomy for the Hamiltons, who come from Tewin, a small town in Hertfordshire. But luckily help was just around the corner and it came from Hong Kong.
'Lewis is a good friend of Moulin chairman Ma Bo-kee's daughter and she has helped to arrange his visit to Macau. I hope he can win today and justify their faith in him. We are here because of them,' said Anthony Hamilton.
So far, the young hotshot has lived up to all expectations as he has dominated the last few days of practice and qualifying sessions to take pole position.
'It will be great if he can win. I pray that he does it,' added Anthony Hamilton.
