Formula One: Hamilton fined for speeding 01/04/2008 00:00

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton was fined 578 euros (914 dollars) by a court here on Monday for speeding.

   LAON, France, April1, 2008 - Formula One star Lewis Hamilton was
fined 578 euros (914 dollars) by a court here on Monday for speeding.
   The 23-year-old Briton, who finished runner-up in the world drivers'
championship in his debut season last year, had already been banned for a
month after being caught speeding at 196km/h (122mph) in a Mercedes by police on a motorway near the northern town of Laon on December 16 last.
   The speed limit on French motorways is 130km/h (85mph).
   The McLaren driver had already paid a 600-euro fine in January.
   The car which was impounded was collected later by a friend of the driver.
   Hamilton did not attend the hearing but his lawyer Jean-Francois Veroux
said that "for him (Hamilton) it's as if he had made a mistake during a Grand
Prix because he is aware of his responsibility towards young people".
   Veroux added that his client was also willing to participate in a road
safety campaign.
   "He admitted the offence immediately and was really very polite," a police
spokesman said at the time, adding that Hamilton had said in his defence that
the motorway was "very clear" at the time.

AFP