FOOLISH Hamilton??

Lewis Hamilton banned from driving after speeding at 40mph above legal limit

Last updated at 15:27pm on 18th December 2007 Comments (10)

Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton has had his driving licence suspended after being caught speeding in Paris, police said today.

The 22-year-old British driver, who stunned racing fans with a remarkable debut season on the track, has been banned for a month after being stopped on a French motorway.

Hamilton was at the wheel of a £100,000 Mercedes CLK when he was clocked at 120mph near the northern town of Laon on Sunday - more than 40mph over the speed limit.

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Lewis Hamilton was caught speeding on Sunday

Police stopped him, detained the car and fined him £430 on the spot (600 Euros).

"He was very polite and cooperative," said a police spokesman, who added Hamilton had since had the car collected for him.

He was then driven to a hotel in the town of Laon where he waited three hours for a friend to collect him.

A French motorway police spokesman added: "Patrols are used to pulling over speeding Britons on this stretch of road.

"But the officer at the scene was very surprised to see who was behind the wheel on this occasion.

"Mr Hamilton held his hands up to the offence straight away. He was not driving erratically, but he was considerably over the legal speed limit.

"He stopped straight away when we waved him down, and he was very polite and courteous. He paid his fine and agreed to hand his car over to police.

"He was then given an official notice of the offence and driven to hotel in Laon, where he was picked up later by a friend."

Lewis, who was thought to be heading from the UK to his new apartment in the Swiss capital Geneva, was banned in his absence from driving for one month by a judge in Laon yesterday.

A spokesman for McLaren said: "McLaren were made aware that Lewis was stopped for speeding in France whilst driving in a private capacity.

"We understand he has received a mandatory fine and suspension from driving in France for one month."

The spokesman stressed that the incident would not affect Hamilton's professional driving career.

The McLaren driver finished runner-up in his rookie season to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 world championship.

Hamilton, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is currently believed to be on a £400,000 contract, although bonus payments could mean his earnings will exceed £1 million this year.

And McClaren are set to spend a record £150 million in salary alone for a five-year deal, making him the highest-paid driver ever.

Since his sudden rise to fame, the youngster has managed to avoid negative publicity. But there have been a couple of occasion over the past couple of months that have raised some eyebrows.

Last month the star was pictured trying to escape the attentions of the paparazzi when he was seen leaving a party with notoriously fiery supermodel Naomi Campbell after the pair had met up at the Prince's Trust Future Investment gala in Camden Town, North London.

Earlier this year, Hamilton's revealed plans to move to Switzerland, saying that he wanted was to get away from the glare of the publicity he has received over the past year.

However, many people questioned if his real intention was to escape paying the huge amount of tax that his success on the track will soon mean.

He also came second at this year's BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, finishing behind boxer Joe Calzaghe.