Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 Formula Renault UK Winter Series. He finished fifth overall in the winter series. This led to full Formula Renault UK seasons in 2002 and 2003. Hamilton finished 2002 in third place. In 2003 he won the championship with ten wins and 419 points. Since he had enough points to win the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season. He made his debut in the British Formula Three Championship at the season finale. He did show his speed at both the Macau Grand Prix and Korea Super Prix. In Korea, he qualified on pole position in his first visit to the track. It was only his fourth F3 race.