About Me
I was the much-talked-about 2006 GP2 champion, as I fought off stiff competition from McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa to become Fernando Alonso’s 2007 team mate. Although I initially took up racing as a hobby, it swiftly became my vocation and after cutting my teeth around my home town of Stevenage, I eventually turned my attentions to national events. Winning came naturally and by the age of 10 - with a little less than two years’ experience - I was crowned the youngest-ever winner of the British Cadet Kart championship. Equipped with an assured racing style that belied my years, it wasn’t long before my trophy cabinet was groaning under the weight of more karting titles. McLaren’s Ron Dennis was one of the first to notice my swift rise through the ranks and in 1998 he signed me to the team’s young driver programme. Indeed, Dennis’s belief in my talents was such that the contract even included an option, should I ever make it into Formula One racing. At this stage, however, it was McLaren’s financial support that proved the bigger blessing for me. At once able to compete on a much larger stage, as a young British driver I won a multitude of European karting titles with ease. And by the age of 15 I was grabbing further headlines, this time for being crowned the sport’s youngest number one - a record that I still hold. But it was my talent, and not my youth that really singled me out, and as a result offers to race in other series began to flood in. Eventually in 2002 I opted for the highly-competitive British Formula Renault series. Fears that I wouldn’t cope with such an upswing in horsepower proved short-lived. Attacking single-seater racing with the same resolute determination that had bore fruit throughout my karting days, I finished third in my debut season, before taking the crown a year later after a record-breaking 10 wins, nine fastest laps and 11 pole positions. Although my subsequent move to the Formula Three Euro series was less straightforward, I eventually found my feet, improving on fifth in the standings in my debut year to win the title in my second. Driving for the dominant ASM team undoubtedly helped, but, with 15 race wins to my name, I eventually stormed the opposition. Then there was my foray into GP2 in 2006 proved equally thrilling. At my very best, I stunned onlookers with a string of spectacular performances. Out racing my more-experienced team mate Alexandre Premat and a resurgent Nelson Piquet Jr with my bold driving style, I won the title and, perhaps more importantly, the Formula One paddock’s admiration.
With my race pace and skillful consistency drawing comparisons to a young Fernando Alonso, long-time guardians McLaren - shy of a second driver to pair up with
incoming champion Fernando Alonso for the 2007 season - decided late in 2006 to see how I would cope in a Formula One car. They were not disappointed and rewarded me, because of my impressive testing times and mature approach with a race seat. An out-of-character move for a traditionally conservative squad maybe, but one which few doubt will pay dividends - for team and me alike.
