Friday 3rd April 1998

McLaren announced the signing of a 13-year-old karting whiz kid, Lewis Hamilton. Ron Dennis said Hamilton had the ability to go all the way to the top and made him a member of the team’s prestigious driver support programme. “We did not expect this so soon,” Hamilton’s father said. “When McLaren first spoke to us our reaction was one of disbelief. What McLaren is giving us is a complete package, making sure Lewis’s education stays on the right track and he keeps his feet on the ground. It is almost as if the motor-racing side is a bonus. But Lewis will have to produce the results they are looking for.”