Aircraft

Lewis Hamilton, the Grand Prix racing phenomenon that burst onto the Formula 1 scene in 2007 and so nearly won the world championship at his first attempt, spends as much time at 40,000ft as he does at 200mph.

But despite his high profile from the moment he turned up at Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix last year, until he was signed up to be an ambassador for Bombardier’s Learjet range in June, Hamilton had been travelling around Europe using regular airlines.

Becoming “the face of Learjet” at last year’s Paris air show changed all that, as he can now jump on board his personal transport to travel to test sessions, races and personal appearances in Europe from his new home in Geneva.

I joined Hamilton last week for a trip by Learjet 40 from the TAG Aviation business terminal at Farnborough in the UK to the Bombardier factory in Belfast, where he made a guest appearance as part of Shorts 100th anniversary celebrations.

Listen to my interview with Lewis as he explains how his role with Bombardier has transformed his life, as well as his thoughts on the prospects for some more close racing in the 2008 F1 season.