Compiled by Justin Hynes

Early days

1985 - Born January 7th, Stevenage, UK.

1993 - Begins karting, age 8. At age 10 meets McLaren boss Ron Dennis and tells him that he will one day drive for his team.

1998 - McLaren Mercedes sign Hamilton to their driver development programme, assuring the young driver of sponsorship and guidance.

2000 - Wins European Karting title. British Racing Drivers' Club nominate him as a "Rising Star" member.

2001 - Moves to single-seat racing cars in the British Formula Renault winter series. Finishes fifth overall.

2002 - Contests full Formula Renault season with Manor Motorsport. Takes three wins and three pole position on the way third in the championship.

2003 - Continues in Formula Renault, winning the title with 10 victories. Skips the final two races of the season to make his debut in British Formula Three series.

2004 - Moves to Formula Three Euroseries. Finishes fifth in championship. At the end of the year completes his first F1 test with McLaren at Silverstone.

2005 - Second season of Formula Three Euroseries, with reigning champions ASM. Dominated season, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. Wins the highly-regarded Marlboro Masters Formula Three event at Zandvoort in Holland.

2006 - Moves closer to Formula One, joining ART Grand Prix for the GP2 series run on the same bill as F1. Hamilton wins the title at his first attempt, taking five wins from the 21 races and winning with 12 points to spare over Nelson Piquet Jnr.

In November, Hamilton is announced as team-mate to newly-crowned double world champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren Mercedes.

2007 - Makes his Formula One debut on March 18th at the Australian GP and finishes third. Alonso is second behind Kimi Raikkonen. The battle between the three will continue all year, relationships souring as the championship tightens. Hamilton takes six wins, Alonso just two and Raikkonen two before the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix which the three enter with just seven points separating them. Raikkonen wins the race to take the title by a single point from Hamilton and Alonso, both on 109.

McLaren, meanwhile, are found guilty of being in possession of Ferrari technical information and are stripped of all constructors' points and fined €79 million.

The season so far

March - Hamilton starts season in best possible fashion, winning in Australia. A week later in Malaysia, Raikkonen takes his first win of the season with Hamilton only managing fifth.

April - Massa wins in Bahrain to launch his championship bid. Raikkonen is second with Hamilton a dismal 13th. In Spain Raikkonen wins again with Massa second. Ferrari look dominant as Hamilton manages third.

May - Massa wins for the third year in a row in Turkey. Hamilton charged back with a third-place finish. Raikkonen is third. In Monaco Hamilton wins. Massa is third but Raikkonen crashes out. Hamilton leads the title race on 38 points, three clear of Raikkonen who is a point ahead of Massa.

June - A chaotic Canadian Grand Prix sees Hamilton crash into Raikkonen at the end of the pitlane.

Massa manages just fifth as BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica takes his first F1 win.

A fortnight on and Massa scores a fortunate win in France after a dominant Kimi Raikkonen has an engine fire. The Finn still finishes second. Hamilton languishes in 10th and out of the points.

July - Hamilton takes an emotional home victory at Silverstone to extend his championship lead. Raikkonen is fourth while Massa retires after a spin.

In Germany Hamilton is again victorious, with Massa third. Raikkonen hits the beginning of a slump finishing third. Hamilton, now on 58 points, has a four-point advantage over Massa with Raikkonen three further back.

August - In Hungary, Massa storms away from the lights and delivers the drive of his season only for an engine failure to rob him of victory. Heikki Kovalainen takes his maiden win as Raikkonen is third. Hamilton finishes fifth.

Three weeks later at the new Valencia street circuit, Massa gets justice taking 10 points. Hamilton is second. Raikkonen begins to fade from view, an engine problem ending his race. Hamilton leads on 70 points. Massa lies on 64 with Raikkonen on 57.

September - Massa takes another fortunate win after Hamilton and Raikkonen bang wheels for a full lap in driving rain, Raikkonen eventually crashing out. Hamilton is penalised for cutting a chicane and passing Raikkonen. He is demoted from first to third, handing Massa victory.

In even worse conditions in Monza, Hamilton errs in qualifying and starts from the lower midfield to finish seventh. Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel takes a clinical yet hugely-emotional first victory for the little Italian team. Felipe Massa is sixth. Raikkonen is a dreadful ninth.

Two weeks later F1 gets its first night race, a stunning affair with a stunning result. Fernando Alonso wins from low down on the grid after safety car periods and penalties cause havoc. Hamilton struggles to third. Massa is a lowly 13th and Raikkonen's championship bid ends after he crashes out. Going to the final three races, Hamilton sits on 84 points, Massa is seven adrift and Raikkonen is rooted on 57.

October - In Japan, Raikkonen steals past polesitter Hamilton, the Briton launches a foolhardy move and is penalised. Massa later crashes into Hamilton and is penalised. Alonso, improbably, wins again.

Raikkonen finishes third. Massa takes two crucial points as Hamilton fails to score.

A week later in China, and after heavy criticism over he driving style, Hamilton silences the critics by delivering a flawless win. Massa is second with Raikkonen third. The final round beckons with Hamilton on 94 points, Massa on 87 and Raikkonen, now in fourth on 69 points, behind Robert Kubica.