Pre-university studies in the historic city of Cambridge
Nationality: British
Courses: Lewis joined us to study GCSEs in a variety of subjects
Achievements: World Famous F1 Racing Driver!
Ambitions: Win the F1 World Championship
What does he say about us? Find out on our dedicated Lewis Hamilton web page.
Lewis Hamilton
LEWIS HAMILTON:
"That's why it [CATS] was so good. They worked with me."
As a former student of CATS Cambridge, we are obviously delighted to watch Lewis Hamilton's growing success in the world of Formula One racing. This was always Lewis' dream and we were proud to offer our support during the time he was with us. Find out what he says about CATS Cambridge.
As the Season unfolds we will be tracking Lewis' progress on this page. Read our race reports for an update on the latest action on the racetrack.
| Date | Winning Driver | Time |
| Australian 16/03/2008 | Lewis Hamilton: McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34:50.616 |
| Malaysian 23/03/2008 | Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari | 1:31:18.555 |
| Bahrain 06/04/2008 | Felipe Massa - Ferrari | 1:31:06.970 |
| Spanish 27/04/2008 | Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari | 1:38:19.051 |
| Turkish 11/05/2008 | Felipe Massa - Ferrari | 1:26:49.451 |
| Monaco 25/05/2008 | Lewis Hamilton: McLaren-Mercedes | 2:00:42.742 |
| Canadian 08/06/2008 | Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber | 1:36:24.447 |
| French 22/06/2008 | Felipe Massa - Ferrari | 1:31:50.245 |
| British 06/07/2008 | Lewis Hamilton: McLaren-Mercedes | 1:39:09.440 |
| German 20/07/2008 | ||
| Hungarian 03/08/2008 | ||
| European 24/08/2008 | ||
| Belgian 07/09/2008 | ||
| Italian 14/09/2008 | ||
| Singapore 28/09/2008 | ||
| Japanese 12/10/2008 | ||
| Chinese 19/10/2008 | ||
| Brazilian 02/11/2008 |
What Lewis says about us
The tables were turned when Lewis wrote his own school report about us in his autobiography, My Story. We were delighted by what Lewis had to say - read his comments for yourself in this extract from the book:
from 'Lewis Hamilton: My Story'
"CATS, as it is known, was a fantastic place. The teachers were professional and the pupils too... It was a really good experience. I had the opportunity to stay at the College, but I did not want to share dorms with people who I did not even know and I thought I would miss my family. To be honest, looking back now, I should have boarded because it would have been good to live on my own and to spend time with people of my own age who were not from the motor racing world.
There were people of all backgrounds: wealthy kids and not-so-wealthy ones. It was a real mixed bunch. It was a pleasurable experience for me. The staff were really nice: they spoke to you on the level and not as if they were above you. I also felt more fulfilled and began to value myself differently. I was happier.
I liked design, technology and music, but my Dad wasn't keen on me taking music and recommended that I do business studies. He thought that it would be more useful and relevant in motor racing and that it would give me a better chance at a decent job should I ever need it to fall back on.
I really enjoyed CATS and the city of Cambridge itself. Before I went there, I just thought, "I'm going to be a bum!" I never said to myself "I'm going to be a professional racing driver" or anything like that. It did not cross my mind. Once I went to College I realized that I could enjoy more things and I bucked up my ideas a lot. I felt like I really wanted to do well. Something clicked for me. It was a much smaller class and I got on well with my teachers... I was even learning and understanding my science studies! But I am the kind of person who wants to be able to do everything. Aside from music, I particularly wanted to learn French. It turned out to be my best subject. I almost aced French.
I had to work hard to catch up on the work I missed [because of the Formula One training days]... It was the first time in my life in my academic work that I actually thought to myself, "I can do this and I can do well in exams."
When I went to CATS, they were willing to give me time. They were totally open to my racing. They didn't even ask about it. They were just..."This is what you have to do, if that's what you want to do then go and do it..." They never said, "Oh, Lewis, you shouldn't be taking this time off." They never questioned it. Instead it was, "Well, how can we work around it?" And that's why it was so good. They worked with me."
Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright Lewis Hamilton 2007.
Great Britain, July 6th
A fabulous win for Lewis who, after qualifying in fourth, stormed into second place round the first corner of the race behind his teammate. It was not long before Lewis was in the lead as he was much quicker than Heikki Kovalainen and overtook him on lap 5. After this nothing stopped Hamilton on his way to a much needed Victory for the McLaren Team. Hamilton was just superb in the wet conditions with no one else really able to challenge him. Go Lewis!
France, June 22nd
Another frustrating race for Lewis fans after he was given a controversial penalty for apparently going over the track chicane while passing another driver. A defiant Lewis refused to be put off as he declared: "There's nothing you can do that can distract me... I'll keep battling, and trying to come back with a result."
Canada, June 8th
This was a big chance for Lewis, starting in Pole Position for the first time this season. From the first lap he was in control and he started to build a comfortable lead. But disaster struck on the 17th lap when Lewis crashed into rival Kimi Raikkonen during a routine pitstop. Although both drivers were unhurt the crash was enough to end both his and Raikkonen’s race. His next major rival, Kubica, was not involved in the crash and he continued in front with nothing stopping him from claiming his first ever victory with a great drive.
It’s all very tight at the top with 7 points between the top four drivers in the overall standings.
Monaco, May 25th
By far the most exciting race so far…Lewis started in third place behind both the Ferrari’s but before the first corner he had passed Raikkonen one of his biggest rivals. On lap 6 he lost control and punctured his back right tyre. However, the McLaren’s team used the opportunity to fill his tank up for nearly the whole race. Lewis carried on in fifth place, quite a distance behind the front runners. But while the others were making little slip-ups Lewis was driving superbly and after all their pit stops he was in front.
After a perfectly calculated final pit stop, the race was in the bag - Lewis was out in front and although a safety car came out and narrowed his lead he was untouchable with his pace. Lewis now tops the Leader board.
COME ON LEWIS!
Turkey, April 11th
Lewis finished second in the Turkish grand prix in an excellent race. The McLaren car that he was driving had quite a few problems and he was forced to stop three times due to problems with the durability of his front right tyre. Despite this he was in amazing form, pulling off an extremely impressive overtaking move over Massa the Ferrari driver and doing some incredibly fast laps in the middle part of the grand prix. This enabled him to pip Raikkonen and finish in second place behind Massa.
A vital result for Hamilton cutting the lead on Raikkonen by two points and really putting on the pressure especially after such an impressive performance. All eyes are now fixed on Monaco!
Spain, April 27th
True to his word, Lewis gave a masterful performance in Spain, and was rewarded with a third place finish. It seems though that his car was no match for the Ferrari’s and he is now 9 points behind Raikkonen. Lewis looked very comfortable but never had the speed to challenge for first. Hopefully the McLaren team will be able to get Lewis back into the running in the next grand prix.
Bahrain, April 6th
Lewis Hamilton has ground to make up to regain the lead after a weekend of misfortune. The race started sadly with Lewis stalling and falling from third on the grid to tenth position on the first lap. In the next lap he tried to make up ground but instead caught the back of his old teammate Fernando Alonso. Despite extensive damage to his car he battled on to complete the race, ending up in 13th place. With characteristic fighting spirit, Lewis has said that he is determined to give a better performance in Spain.
Malaysia, March 23
The race began well as Lewis was quick out of the blocks, jumping from his start position (9th) to 5th by the end of the first lap. It looked to be another race where he would finish on the podium. But his pit crew messed up a routine pit stop losing valuable minutes meaning he was unable to get past Mark Webber. Lewis ended the race in fifth place after he overtook a determined Australian driver.
Australia, March 16
Lewis gets off to a flying start finishing in first place!
1. Lewis Hamilton - 48
2. Felipe Massa - 48
3. Kimi Räikkönen - 48
4. Robert Kubica - 46
5. Nick Heidfeld - 36
6. Heikki Kovalainen - 24
7. Jarno Trulli - 20
8. Mark Webber - 18
9. Fernando Alonso - 13
10. Rubens Barrichello 11
11. Nico Rosberg - 8
12. Kazuki Nakajima - 8
13. David Coulthard - 6
14. Timo Glock - 5
15. Sebastien Vettel - 5
16. Jenson Button - 3
17. Sebastien Bourdais 2
18. Nelsinho Piquet - 2
19. Giancarlo Fisichella 0
20. Takuma Sato - 0
21. Anthony Davidson - 0
22. Adrian Sutil - 0
