He's endured a barrage of criticism from former Formula 1 greats about his aggresive driving style, including former three-time world champion Niki Lauda who has called him "dangerous".
But Lewis Hamilton's all-or-nothing committment to driving, especially overtaking, has seen him bounce back this season and prompted Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali to state that the 2008 world champion is still a driver he would be willing to sign to drive for the famous Italian team.
Domenicali, did however state that he is being 'realistic' about his chances of signing Hamilton as the British driver has a long-term contract with archrival McLaren. Hamilton has also previously stated his desire to see out the remainder of his F1 career with McLaren. As a nine-year-old karting sensation, Hamilton famously approached then McLaren team principal Ron Dennis about a possibility to drive for McLaren someday.
His continued success in karting prompted Dennis to fully support Hamilton through the junior racing series and then give the Briton an F1 race seat with his team in 2007.
Rumors of Hamilton defecting to Red Bull Racing surfaced this year as well following the Monaco Grand Prix.