Thankfully it's not like father, like son as Lewis Hamilton's dad crashes 330k Porsche into a hedge

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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That Lewis Hamilton has the driving skills of a champion, there is little doubt.


But he obviously didn't inherit those skills from his father.

The proof? It's pictured lying battered in a hedge  -  all £330,000 of it.

Branching out: Anthony Hamilton's borrowed Porsche Carrera in a hedge

Branching out: Anthony Hamilton's borrowed Porsche Carrera in a hedge

This is the damage that the Formula 1 driver's father left in his wake yesterday after taking a spin in a borrowed Porsche Carrera GT.

It appears that Anthony Hamilton somehow lost control of the car, which can reach speeds of 205mph, on a straight road.

He ploughed up a grass verge, crashed through a hedge, and came to rest in a front garden. Last night, Mr Hamilton wouldn't say who owned the car, but apologised profusely.

Off road vehicle: The £330,000 supercar came to rest in a garden after crashing through a hedge

Off road vehicle: The £330,000 supercar came to rest in a garden after crashing through a hedge

On the grassy knoll: The vehicle left a considerable mess on the lawn

On the grassy knoll: The vehicle left a considerable mess on the lawn

'This is my first crash in almost 30 years and it had to happen in someone else's car,' he said.

'Thankfully the only thing hurt was the car, and a bush fence  -  for which I am extremely sorry.'

If he found the car a little hard to handle, Mr Hamilton is in good company. Jeremy Clarkson once described the Carrera GT as was one of the fastest cars he had ever driven, saying it had 'a savagery that's hard to explain'.

Father and son: But Lewis and Anthony Hamilton's driving skill level appears to be somewhat different

Father and son: But Lewis and Anthony Hamilton's driving skill level appears to be somewhat different

The BBC Top Gear presenter said: 'I've been in some pretty fast machinery over the years but nothing prepared me for the neck-snapping, spleen-bursting, hammerblow explosion of power that came the first time I floored the Carrera's throttle.

'Even at 175 there was no let-up, no sense that the engine was having to fight the headwind.

'There was just more power, more acceleration, more speed and more of that amazing noise.'

Going for repair: The German-made car is taken away from the scene of the accident

Going for repair: The German-made car is taken away from the scene of the accident

The Carrera GT is not a car you want to crash. Only 1,270 of the two-seaters were made. A collector's item, it is is one of only 50 thought to be in the UK.

To be fair to Mr Hamilton, even the best take a spill once in a while.

Two weeks ago, his son, 23, crashed his McLaren Formula 1 car in Monaco. But, unlike his father, speed was on his side  -  and he went on to win the race.

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