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This article first appeared in GP Racing magazine.
It's touching that Lewis Hamilton still takes unfakeably genuine pleasure at receiving reader awards from F1 Racing. As we hand over frames celebrating his 'Driver of the Year' and 'Qualifier of the Year' accolades, that brilliant 'Aw, shucks' beam cracks irrepressibly across his face.
For a man who has achieved so much, so young, and for whom material rewards are now little more than a means of keeping tabs on his market worth, offering a gift garnered solely on merit - and, moreover, one whose recipient is adjudicated upon by our readers, his fans - remains a means of connecting with the essence of Lewis, untouched by celebrity or wealth.
"It's so great to have this," says the now four-time world champion, "and to be voted Driver of the Year by fans... Wow. All I can do is thank them and for giving me their support wherever I am in the world. We all travel so much in F1, but I still remember growing up in Stevenage and I hadn't even contemplated that one day somebody would follow me."
