Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton's first season in Formula One saw him partner two-time and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso. Hamilton is the first and, , the only black driver to race in the series. After finishing on the podium in his debut, Hamilton went on to set several records as he finished runner-up in the  World Drivers' Championship to Kimi Räikkönen by one point, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in a debut season (109). Throughout the season, Hamilton and Alonso were involved in a number of incidents which resulted in tensions between both drivers and the team, culminating in Alonso and McLaren terminating their contract by mutual consent in November. Following a successful first season at McLaren, Hamilton signed a multi-million-pound contract to stay with the team until 2012.