Hamilton says he?ll quit Britain to avoid cameras

[Paul Kennedy]

Maybe a more correct headline would be:

 

 

"Hamilton says he?ll quit Britain to avoid tax"

 

 

Here is the story in the Times:

 

HE is rapidly becoming one of the great British sporting heroes, but Lewis Hamilton is already considering leaving his homeland behind.

 

The 22-year-old McLaren driver, who is leading the Formula One championship in his debut year, said the intensity of media interest in his life had left him feeling hounded.

 

?I?m definitely contemplating living outside the UK,? he said yesterday before qualifying in second place for today?s Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Fernando Alonso, his arch-rival and teammate.

 

Hamilton, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, said: ?I?ve always dreamt of living in London. But it?s becoming more and more difficult. Every time I go to London, cameras appear from God knows where.

 

?Pressure on the track doesn?t get to me, I?m able to manage it and get on with the job. But in your personal life, it affects you. I can be walking along the street and people look at you very differently.

 

?All they do is read what?s in the papers and all the rubbish that?s put out. You just have to brush it off, but some people can do that better than others.?

 

It has been reported that Hamilton is looking for a home in Monaco where many of his peers already have residences.

 

The principality?s low tax is a prime attraction for the F1 set.

 

However, he may find that moving to the Mediterranean offers him little respite. While holidaying earlier this month off the C?te d?Azur, he was remorselessly tracked by photographers.

 

?My whole holiday was in the papers,? he said. ?I was on the boat trying to relax but I couldn?t swim because I knew the cameras were waiting.?

[Peter T]

And the Mail suggests Switzerland.

 

However, you can't blame him. It's not as if he is a Beckham.

[milly]

In the build up to Sunday's race he was saying that in the space of a few days the paparazzi had linked him to four different women. He'd gone to the pictures with his best mate, his girlfriend and another friend and the next day the papers had photos of them leaving saying that Hamilton was going out with his fiend's girl! He said it was getting to be ridiculous, but I would imagine there would be a tax incentive to leave too!