Karting: Lewis Hamilton lends support to young kart racers

McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton revisited some old friends and demonstrated his commitment to help nurture the next generation of young racers aiming to follow in his footsteps, as he lends his support to the new Formula Kart Stars Championship.

Formula Kart Stars is the new name for what used to be known as the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow kart championship.

Formula Kart Stars (FKS) is the premier UK karting championship, and one that aside from the reigning Formula 1 world champion has produced other leading talents of the calibre of Anthony Davidson, Gary Paffett and Paul di Resta.

Lewis prevailed in the cadet class of what was then known as McLaren-Mercedes Champions of the Future in 1996, what would prove to be the catalyst for his meeting with McLaren team principal Ron Dennis. The rest - well, the rest, as they say, is history.

Though he has since risen through the motorsport ranks to the heady heights of F1 superstardom and world championship prestige, the 24-year-old has always retained a keen interest in the category in which he was first discovered.

He was understandably enthusiastic about his trip down memory lane to PF International in Lincolnshire, scene of many a past triumph and the launch of the FKS 2009 season - and an occasion for the current crop of young karting talents, all eager to carve out F1 careers for themselves, to grill him in a 'Question Time' style Q&A session.