Tags - drivers

According to McLaren Team principal, Malcolm Whitmarsh, Lewis Hamilton’s win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend will lift the beleaguered driver to new heights as he moves on during his troubled season.   "There is no reason why, in my mind, he cannot raise himself to another level now," said Whitmarsh.

With British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button recently winning Drivers’ World Championships in Formula One, and German Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest World Champion at 23 years 135 days in 2010 and retaining his crown this year, motor-racing has become a youthful business.

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According to Spanish website El Pais, Red Bull’s Mark Webber signed his new contract with the team believing he had no real alternative. Webber has been in the frustrating position of also-ran this season, less than a year after coming so close to his own drivers’ championship.

Until last weekend, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso held the record for being Formula One’s youngest double Drivers Championship winner. After the Japanese Grand Prix, he was forced to shake the hand of his successor, and has now set his sights on being F1’s youngest ever triple Champion.

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello has come out in support of rival Lewis Hamilton, saying he believes the pressure of the media has played a part in Hamilton’s poor results this season. Hamilton incurred his fifth drive-through penalty of the year at the Singapore Grand Prix 11 days ago, running into Felipe Massa's Ferrari.

Jenson Button has signed a new contract at McLaren and committed himself to what the team have called a "multi-year" deal. The 31-year-old's previous contract was due to expire at the end of next year but talks had been ongoing between Button's representatives and McLaren over a new deal.

*You do not need to be into sport, let alone Formula One, to appreciate, marvel and experience the full gamut of emotions guaranteed to take place when you sit down and watch "Senna," to be released on blu-ray and DVD on October 10th following its success at the cinema.

By Ian Stafford

*This weekend Brands Hatch circuit plays host to the British round of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) - Germany's top touring car series. *   It's set to be an important race with the championship finely poised between the Canadian driver Bruno Spengler of Mercedes and German Martin Tomczyk of Audi.