When Michael Schumacher was in his pomp, sweeping away all-comers, the German sadly drained the sport of entertainment, resulting in millions of fans worldwide turning off their television sets.
Schumacher was not entirely to blame as he was the best driver of his generation, sitting in what was undoubtedly the best car, and with the opposition barely up to the task of mounting a challenge.
When Fernando Alonso dethroned the king for two successive years, a degree of enthusiasm began to be rekindled, but F1 was in dire need of an invigorating shot in the arm.
As the sport's first black driver, Hamilton provided that, a fact recognised last season by the two most powerful men in motorsport in F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley.
There will be some out there who will disagree, but without the 22-year-old from Tewin in Hertfordshire, Formula One - on the track, of course - would have been just another season.
Hamilton offered something different, with the colour of his skin an undoubted factor in proceedings, allied to his good looks, well-spoken manner, and as we quickly learned, his undoubted talent.
Hamilton proceeded to break a number of rookie records, but as if his astonishing rise to fame and fortune were not enough, his McLaren team then became embroiled in a gripping controversy.
Would Hamilton have won the world title if McLaren had not opened themselves up to the nefarious business of being in unauthorised possession of technical secrets belonging to bitter rivals Ferrari?
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