ghoffman

F1 star Hamilton clocked speeding
British Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has had his driving licence suspended for a month after being caught speeding on a French motorway.
The 22-year-old was clocked travelling at 196km/h (122mph) in a Mercedes near the northern town of Laon on Sunday.

The McLaren driver was also ordered to pay a 600 euro (£430) fine.

Police described Mr Hamilton as "co-operative and courteous", and said they gave him a lift to his hotel after impounding his vehicle.

The speed limit on French motorways is 130km/h (85mph).

A McLaren spokesman told the BBC: "McLaren has been made aware that Lewis was stopped for speeding in France whilst driving in a private capacity.

"We understand he has received a mandatory fine and suspension from driving in France for one month."

Hamilton narrowly missed out on becoming F1's youngest champion this year, after leading the tournament for most of the season before fading in the deciding Brazilian Grand Prix.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...pe/7149915.stm

Published: 2007/12/18 13:03:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII

2000BSME

what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

yakisoba

Get these guys back on track ASAP! They are clearly done with the off-season...

wingman4rent

122 ehhh? It must have been a pretty sharp turn he was going around!

burners

Speeding tickets, pah! Here is my logical argument concerning such matters. Law enforcement has to travel at what speed in order to catch an "unsafe" speeder? If the law enforcement officer and the speeder have equal high-speed driving training/qualifications/experience then who is a danger to the public?

I guess Lewis will have to be chauffeured around France for the next 30 days. Standby for the next headline..."Hamilton's chauffer ticketed for speeding".

gonzalezfj

No, you just don't understand. The police are TRAINED for high speed driving, so they don't pose a danger to society when traveling at high speeds (remember NJ Gov. Corzine's police driver??).

We, members of the great unwashed, on the other hand, are unable to drive at high speed without killing ourselves and our fellow men.

I'll bet you the judge asked: Who is this guy Hamilton, anyway??

Frank Gonzalez

Lancer033

not sure about France, but most of Europe uses cameras and you just get the ticket in the mail a few days later or they'll have an officer with a radar who radios your plate to a road block several miles down the road where you just get waved over and have to pay the fine on the spot or go to jail (alway keep a credit card with you if you're going to speed), so no high speed chases.

heavychevy

How about him catching a taxi, and the convincing the driver to let him have the wheel I.E. Schumacher.

The media is so trivial, so what, its a traffic violation, so they had to call and tell his boss???

0RAAMaudio

I got busted for 105 in a 55 in pouring rain back in 1976 in my 510 Datsun with my winter rally setup. The Oregon State Patrol officer asked me why I did not slow down since I had a radar detector. All I could say was the volume was turned all the way down and I was busy reading my map so did not see it light up. I made a 400 mile drive with two gas stops and the ticket, half in a blizzard (snow), half in a downpour, in 4.5 hours, really. I did not get any press at all, now how sad is that

I am glad to see these "Gods" so worshiped are actually human beings, flawed and everything just like the rest of us.

Rick

P.S. I average one piddly **** minor speeding ticket every ten years now because I am smarter and know when to play and when not to but mainly I seldom do, I take it to the track, so much more rewarding and in the end, less costly!

Timz06

Big deal. I have spent a lot of time in France, and everyone is speeding. The highways are wide open in rural regions, and 200 kph is not unsafe.

I was never caught in France. Their enforcement seemed pretty lax. I did get caught in Belgium going 160, and it was pretty expensive.

Tim

0RAAMaudio

It is probably considered quite an honor to write up a celebrity these days, especially a famous F1 driver, talk about bragging rights back at the office!

I bet the officer(s) gets a nice interview or two, maybe promoted....

heavychevy

He's probably claiming he had to out drive Hamilton in the twisties to catch him.

see5

Off to rehab-