It's been almost half a year but Lewis Hamilton has been fined 500 Australian dollars (290 pounds) after pleading guilty to performing a burnout in a hire car after leaving Albert Park in March.
Magistrate Clive Alsop of the Melbourne Magistrates Court commented on the 2008 World Champion's behaviour: “This isn't about somebody's character, this is about somebody in a responsible position behaving like a hoon. It doesn't show the general application of the level of responsibility and maturity that he must use every day on the race track.”
In a letter to the Australian court, Hamilton - who was not present to learn his fate - wrote: “I fully accept that I am a public figure and I consider that I have a duty to act as a role model to youngsters, particularly in relation to road safety matters.
“The publicity caused by this incident was immense and that in itself has been a form of punishment for me. I have found this very upsetting because I am passionate about road safety and I do voluntarily carry out activities to promote international road safety, particularly amongst young adults.
“I made a mistake in Melbourne, which I sincerely regret.”
GPUpdate.net Archive - 26/03/10: Hamilton fined in Melbourne for burnout
Amateur footage of the March incident can be viewed below:
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Lewis Hamilton
Teams
McLaren
Other
Get your official Formula 1 tickets at Sportstadium.com
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
