Sports

Aussie Police Impound Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes Formula 1 Burnout

by Paul Conneally | March 26, 2010 at 07:12 am

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Former Formula 1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, could face charges after he was stopped and his Mercedes car impounded by Australian police.

Hamilton was stopped after deliberately performing a "burnout," spinning his wheels until smoke fills the air on Lakeside Drive. The road will form part of the Australian Grand Prix track, but was still open to the public for normal use when the incident occurred.

The Victorian police pulled Hamilton over and it is thought that he could be charged with "improper use of a vehicle." His car was towed away and will be held by police for 48 hours under what the Australian police call "anti-hoon laws".

In a statement released by his racing team McLaren, Hamilton said: ""I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. What I did was silly, and I want to apologize for it."

Hamilton was fastest in second practice for this weekend's Grand Prix at Albert Park. Hamilton hopes to regain world champion status from his teammate this year, current Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.Police report that Hamilton was very cooperative and agreed to a routine breath test at the time.

The former world champion, 25, was pulled over by Victorian police in Melbourne on Friday evening local time after officers witnessed him “deliberately losing traction”.