The other Hamilton conqueror seeking career revival

On his rise through the ranks before reaching Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton was usually a cut above the rest. But he never truly asserted himself over a Mercedes-backed fellow Briton who traded single-seaters for touring cars and is now seeking new opportunities after a year largely spent on the sidelines

The events of a Formula 3 Euroseries race at Magny-Cours on the 2004 French Grand Prix support bill provided a fascinating snapshot of two rising British stars.

The winner on that Saturday had converted pole to a relatively easy victory, at least once ASM team-mate Alex Premat had served his penalty for a jump start. It was the third of the season for the Mercedes-backed British Formula 3 graduate, who would go on to score another four on his way to a dominant title. Meanwhile his McLaren-supported rival’s Manor Motorsport machine hadn’t been hooked up in the wet-dry qualifying and from 20th tangled with German driver Robert Kath.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.