ELEANOR OLDROYD ON FORMULA ONE On 24 November 2006 Lewis Hamilton signed the deal that would change his life, when, at the age of 21, he became a fully fledged driver for the McLaren Formula One team. Now 23-years-old, Hamilton stands on the brink of rewriting the record books because this Sunday, the boy from Stevenage could be crowned the youngest ever world champion in F1. This weekend I'll be in Brazil presenting BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of Hamilton sealing the title - I hope! Hamilton is in pole position as far as the championship standings are concerned, with a seven-point lead over Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Even if the Brazilian wins his home race for the second time in three years, all Lewis must do to take his place in history is to finish in the top five. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Of course, we've been here before...in fact, I've been here before. This time last year I was writing to you from Sao Paulo, when Hamilton had the title in his sights. Back then, the rookie also had a seven-point advantage over eventual winner Kimi Raikkonen, but a combination of a misjudged first corner and a dodgy gearbox saw the "Flying Finn" lift the trophy. This year, Hamilton insists he's better prepared - and I believe him. Certainly, in his pre-race press conference, he was showing no signs of nerves, smiling and joking with Massa. Think back 12 months and Hamilton came to Interlagos off the back of a terrible race in China. This time, he has the confidence of a victory in Shanghai behind him. The added complication could be the weather. Whilst it was incredibly hot in Sao Paulo last year, the forecast is for rain this Sunday. Hamilton, of course, thrives in wet conditions, but it's all adding to the intrigue about which way this title race will swing. As we saw 12 months ago, anything is possible in Formula One. Eleanor Oldroyd presents Radio 5 Live's coverage of the climax of the Formula One season. Eleanor was talking to Francesca Bent. |