©XPBImages

Lewis Hamilton's first season in F1 came after a busy spell of testing over the winter to prepare him for the pinnacle of motorsport. While Hamilton is in Colorado enjoying a Christmas break now, nine years ago he was spending much of December in Spain as he tested for McLaren at Jerez ahead of his F1 debut.

Best of 2015 ... Crashes

2015 F1 technical review

2015 F1 season: F1i's drivers review 10-1

2015 F1 season: F1i's drivers review 21-11

Use the red tabs on either side of the screen to scroll through more Formula One news and features

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Not a flying Keke or Mika, but a Finn nevertheless

He wasn't a flying Keke or Mika, but he was nevertheless a Finn and actually…

59 minutes ago

Heartbreak for Verstappen at the Nürburgring but ‘I’ll be back’

Max Verstappen’s bid to conquer the Nürburgring 24 Hours has ended in a cloud of…

2 hours ago

Button on racing’s mental toll: ‘As drivers, we’re flawed’

Jenson Button has offered a stark, unusually candid reflection on what really sits beneath the…

3 hours ago

Bearman admits F1 debut with Ferrari ‘was a crazy step’

For most young racing drivers, a call-up to Ferrari would feel like a dream. For…

4 hours ago

Verstappen leads Nürburgring 24 Hours in thrilling closing stages

With less than five hours remaining in the grueling Nürburgring 24 Hours, Max Verstappen has…

6 hours ago

Sainz samples new Madring: ‘You’ve created quite a cocktail’

The Spanish Grand Prix’s future home is still surrounded by construction barriers, deadlines and heavy…

22 hours ago