Lewis Hamilton thought his Formula 1 dream was over when he was expelled from school.
The driving sensation, 22, has revealed that he was excluded from lessons in 2001 after he was wrongly accused of kicking a fellow pupil.
He was then 16 and preparing to take his GCSEs and already attached to F1 giants McLaren when he was expelled.
He and his dad were so worried that he had wrecked his career before it had even started, that his dad, Anthony, 47, begged Tony Blair, then Prime Minister, in a letter to save his son’s Formula 1 dream.
Hamilton was innocent of the attack which left a 15-year-old pupil suffering two fractured fingers, bruising and an injured arm.
Hamilton makes the admission in his new book, Lewis Hamilton: My Story, which is being serialised in the newspaper.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: ‘My career nearly ended before it had started because of a case of mistaken identity.
‘I was not involved in the attack but knew the boys involved. My career was on the line for something I didn’t do. I’m so careful not to ruin what I’ve got.’
The attack happened in the toilets at John Henry Newman Catholic School in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Hamilton said he knew he was innoncent but the headteacher thought he was guilty and expelled him.
But he was allowed back after two months when an inquiry concluded had been wrongly identified.
