Lewis Hamilton delights the crowd

It was a cold a blustery morning at Paqpalli Ghall-Istrina, but that did not dampened the spirits of thousands of racing fans who gave British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton a hero’s welcome as he arrived in a Mercedes sports car with President George Abela and later drove a McLaren formula one car on the taxiway.. Hamilton was on stage just after 10.30am near the Lufthansa hangar  to present the the President a cheque for €30,000 from Vodafone for the Community Chest Fund. Blowing his hands and stamping his feet against the cold, but wearing sunglasses nonetheless, Mr Hamilton asked the excited crowd kif int? (how are you?) before saying he was delighted to be in Malta for the first time. Hamilton, who will be leaving the McLaren team he has been connected to since the age of 13, will be driving for Mercedes next year. “Everyone has to have a change,” he said, when asked by the local media about his decision to leave. “It is about growing, doing something different, learning to communicate with new people.” “I know what I am doing,” he insisted. Quizzed further during his press conference, Mr Hamilton acknowledged that it will be “very tough” to win the championship next year,...