Hamilton promised $4m McLaren F1 LM for winning F1 title - Forgot to read FINE PRINT
So the rumored story begins like this.....
http://autoworld.files.wordpress.com...mclaren_f1.jpg
Mar 27th 2008 (Before 2008 F1 season began)
Autoblog
Ten years ago, Lewis Hamilton was only 13 years old and was already under the wing of McLaren chief Ron Dennis. A young Lewis visited the McLaren headquarters in Woking, England, and fixed his eyes on a bright orange McLaren F1 LM supercar sitting on display at the factory. Good taste, Lewis: only five roadgoing LMs were made, and each one is said to be worth about $4 million. Produced in 1995 to commemorate McLaren's win at Le Mans, it was the fastest supercar of its day, and with a 0-60 time of under three seconds, it remains one of the fastest to this day.
Ron Dennis has now promised Hamilton that if he wins the world championship this year – and locks up the constructors' title together with teammate Heikki Kovalainen – the car will be his. Not a bad bonus.
Nov 5th 2008 (After Lewis' F1 title victory)
Autoblog
Now that Lewis Hamilton has secured the Formula One championship, supercar fans around the world are asking when he'll get his hands on that rare McLaren F1 LM. The incredibly valuable supercar – initially reported at $4 million but now apparently worth closer to 8 – was promised to the budding young driver if he won the title. However, the condition was that he win both the drivers title and, together with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, lock up the constructors' title for the team, as well. Although he won the drivers' championship, the constructors' crown went to arch-rivals Ferrari, but since McLaren chief Ron Dennis is such a good sport, he's renegotiated the terms.
If Hamilton manages to repeat his title victory with a hat-trick – that is, take another two championships – he'll get his hands on the bright orange supercar. That's quite a challenge, but Dennis called it a "small price to pay for three world championships." Indeed, but by then McLaren will have a whole slew of supercars on the market for Lewis to choose from. In the meantime, he'd better keep his head down and focus on the prize.