Young Lewis Hamilton's INSANE Driving Style

44 Lewis Hamilton, Lewis Hamilton started on the back road again, he comes through on 47, so through goes Hamilton, up into 5th place now, in car 44, so Hamilton is on a charge, he needs to be after his qualifying position. My car feels really powerful when I'm in it, but imagine being in a Formula 1 car. Lewis Hamilton started karting at just 6 years old, and he's been winning ever since, but what made his driving style so special? And how did he develop it into a weapon that delivered 7 world championships, a record number of race wins, and more pole positions than anyone in history? The truth is, Lewis didn't wait until age 6 to start learning how to drive, he was already racing, just in a different way. Before he ever stepped into a real kart, Lewis spent hours mastering remote control cars, it taught him something priceless, focus, precision, and full control over a machine. Just watch this early footage, Lewis is racing an RC car while being interviewed, but he doesn't break concentration. Someone who's preparing for those very same championships is Lewis Hamilton, who's only 7 years old. How long have you been racing karts for already Lewis? About a year. So you must be pretty good at it, is it easy to do? No. What do you have to do then? This is the brake. That's the brake, oh you need the brake. And these are the steering. That's your steering wheel, right and left. Ok, now, do you think I'll be able to have a go? Yeah. You sure? He barely even looks up, even back then he was locked in, laser focused, and that mindset never left him. And once he finally stepped into a real kart, he didn't just drive fast, he drove different. Lewis Hamilton officially began karting in 1993, that same year, at just 10 years old, he became the youngest driver ever to win the British Cadet Karting Championship. Lewis Hamilton is still in 4th place, but he's under attack now. So, James Holman is getting a public warning, and through goes Hamilton. Well, wasn't that just neatly done. Oh, and taking it back, no he doesn't, yes he does. Oh, and he flicks the tyres there. Hamilton in all sorts of shape, well. Edward Tilly, oh, and Hamilton again, messing with Edwardson, and goes through. He is pushing and shoving Lewis, and you wonder why. I've caught up now, we are on the last lap, that's for certain. I've looked, and there it is, it's going to be down to Hamilton. Is he going to make that podium position? Well, we've seen him push and shove, we're looking at Lewis Hamilton in 4th place on 44 at the moment. 26 Russell Park holds him out, just a couple of minutes left to go, then Hamilton is charging already. Sheeter is there, and so is Bauer. Hamilton hooks his rear end right on 26 Russell Park's bumper, and has gone through. It was at that very race where something remarkable happened. Lewis walked up to McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, handed him his autograph book, and said confidently, Dennis smiled and wrote back, But karting wasn't all smooth sailing. It was, like Formula 1, a sport dominated by white drivers. When Lewis wasn't winning, no one paid much attention. But the moment he started beating others, the issue of his skin color suddenly became a problem. Racism, both subtle and direct, crept in. Parents of other drivers complained. Whispers turned into tension. And for a young black boy with limited financial backing, the track became more than just a race. It became a battlefield. Yet through all of it, Lewis kept rising. He didn't have the fastest kart, he didn't have the biggest support team. But lap after lap, race after race, he outdrove the competition. So for anyone who says Lewis only won championships because of dominant cars, they've forgotten this part of the story. They've forgotten the years when Lewis had the slowest kart on the grid, the smallest budget, and the heaviest burden. And yet, even then, he still qualified ahead of kids with more power, more money and more privilege. That's not luck. That's not politics. That's Lewis Hamilton. That's pure, natural talent, sharpened by struggle and tested against the odds. By age 11, Lewis Hamilton wasn't just winning. He was dominating. In 1996, he reclaimed the British Cadet Karting Championship. That is 26 Russell Park. So Lewis Hamilton really is joined, well, at the axle with the man in front. Also on the inside, brilliant braking manoeuvre there from Moss. Holding out Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, of course, has been the National Formula Cadet Champion in 1995. And he won round one of this cadet class. Will he be able to make it two out of two? Certainly got some tough opposition here. Russell Park takes a look over his shoulder. Ben Moss is one side of him, but there goes Lewis Hamilton straight under Moss. Moss goes back two spaces, all in the space of half. Andrew Swales leads. Lewis Hamilton second. Third is Ben Moss. Hamilton snaps out of the slipstream. Is he going to go for it again into this right hander at the end of the straight? He checks up the inside to see if anyone has overtaken him. No, not this time, but it was close. Lewis Hamilton leads again. Second title, same fire, even more control. At just 11 years old, he wasn't just fast. He was in full control. He had pace, racecraft, and a deep understanding of the track. All well beyond his age. From that point on, something special started to emerge. In 1998, he won yet another karting championship. But this time, in dramatic fashion. Starting from the very back of the grid, Lewis carved through the field with aggressive, calculated overtakes. The karting world was starting to take notice. Lark Hall was chaos. But through the spray, through the carnage, through goes Hamilton. Then came the 2000 Elfmasters Final, one of the most prestigious karting events in Europe. Lewis wasn't in the fastest kart. In fact, his equipment was clearly underpowered compared to the frontrunners. His main rival that day, B. Besson, had the pace advantage. But Lewis had something else. Race IQ, tyre management, and raw determination. Lap after lap, he held position, waited for the right moment, then attacked. Despite the odds, he won. And that single victory stunned the paddock. The buzz was growing louder. This kid could be something big. But it was at the 2000 Karting World Cup where everything clicked into place. Lewis and Nico Rosberg, two future F1 stars, were teammates at Team MBM. Rosberg started second, Lewis started sixth. From the lights out, Rosberg had the upper hand. But Hamilton wasn't rattled. He picked off positions, one by one, and by the final lap, it was a two-driver showdown. Then came one of the most memorable defense drives in karting history. At final lap, other drivers breathing down his neck, Hamilton didn't blink. He blocked every move, placed his kart perfectly, and raced with a composure and instinct rarely seen, even in today's Formula One. That wasn't just a final lap. It was a glimpse into the future. It was Lewis Hamilton writing the opening lines of a story that would one day reshape motorsport forever. Lewis Hamilton's driving style in karting was something rare, fully controlled. Most young drivers race with raw aggression. It's natural. They're full of adrenaline, eager to prove themselves. But in those early years, what separates good from great is control. The ability to stay composed under pressure, to drive with your head, not just your hands. And young Lewis, he had that control from the start. Even when rivals got aggressive or conditions turned tough, he stayed calm, cool, collected. Even when others mocked him because of his skin color and he didn't respond with anger. He responded with lap times. He let his racing do the talking. That mental strength, that ability to stay locked in, wasn't something he developed later in Formula One. It was already there, deep inside him, long before he reached the global stage. In 2001, Lewis made the leap from karting to cars, earlier than most of his rivals. Why? Because he had the talent, the focus, and most importantly, the control to handle it. And in just his second season, he proved it. He won the Formula Renault Championship, with 10 wins in 15 races. That kind of dominance is almost unheard of at the junior level. From there, his rise only accelerated. He stepped into GP2, the final step before Formula One. And again, in his debut season, he beat Nelson Piquet Jr. to win the championship. No second chances, no warm-up year, just results. And just like that, the kid from Stevenage, who once asked Ron Dennis for an autograph, was now becoming the first and only black driver in Formula One. He joined McLaren, and in his rookie season, he shocked the world. I've covered Lewis Hamilton's F1 journey, from his debut season to championship glory, in a full video. It dives into just how special he truly was, and still is. Click the video on your screen to watch that next. And before you go, hit subscribe so you don't miss more deep-dive stories from the world of F1.