Lewis Hamilton has been hailed as the saviour of Formula One after his debut season in Formula One.

Bernie Ecclestone praised Hamilton’s impact on the sport following his ground-breaking debut season in the first year after the retirement of seven-time champion, Michael Schumacher.

With the race for the title going down to the final Grand Prix in Brazil, Ecclestone believes the rise of a new star was a key behind the sport’s surge in popularity.

"The year could have been disastrous and boring, but fortunately along came a youngster called Lewis Hamilton and saved the season. It was phenomenal," he told FHM Magazine.

"This will be the big year of Hamilton, and I am not saying he should win the World Championship, but he will have to prove that he is competitive," Ecclestone added.

He said that Hamilton’s ability to converse with media was brilliant for the sport and was pleased with the 23-year-old’s ability to handle publicity.

"Hamilton’s attitude benefits us because he draws more attention and generates more publicity because he likes to talk," he explained.

Lewis Hamilton currently leads the Formula One World Championship by three points after winning the opening race in Melbourne and finishing fifth in Malaysia.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Motor Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.