Former Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton Caught Reckless Driving
March 26 2010, Published 10:30 a.m. ET
When you are one of the fastest men in the world on the race track guess it’s inevitable that it’s going to affect your driving off track – especially when it comes to obeying the rules of the road.
That’s certainly the case for Lewis Hamilton – the British McClaren driver, and former Formula One world champion, was pulled over by Australian police Friday and had his silver Mercedes impounded for 48 hours under what the Australians call “anti-hoon” laws.
Hoon driving is a term for reckless driving - Hamilton was busted after doing a “burnout and fishtail”.
The alleged incident happened hours after Hamilton clocked the fastest time in Friday's practice sessions before Sunday's Australian grand prix. Hamilton was pulled over close to the Albert Park circuit and taken back to his hotel in a police vehicle.
In a statement, Hamilton said: "This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police.
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"What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it."
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Hamilton will be summonsed for improper use of a motor vehicle. He is likely to face a fine if found to have to committed an offence. "It's something that will be settled in court and would be a monetary matter," said a police spokesman. "None of these court times or dates have been set as yet."