Chilly temperatures and hail showers did not deter thousands of motor-racing fans from flocking to Paqpaqli Għall-Istrina yesterday for a glimpse of 2008 Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Known as a specialist wet-weather driver, even Mr Hamilton, 27, remarked on the grim December conditions that stopped some vintage cars from attending.

But the many fans that did turn up for the Community Chest fundraising event were treated to two mesmerising performances by Mr Hamilton in a McLaren MP4-26 F1 car.

The British racing driver put pedal to the metal on Taxiway Lima at the airport yesterday morning and afternoon, performing doughnuts at high speed that sent waves of spray into the air.

He also took President George Abela and The Sunday Times competition winner Pierre Farrugia on separate “hot laps” in a Mercedes B Class car.

Mr Hamilton had arrived on stage with President Abela at around 10.45am, asking a near-hysterical crowd “Kif int?” (How are you?)

He was present on stage as Vodafone handed over a cheque for €30,000 to the Community Chest Fund, which prompted the President to make light of the Vodafone “Raise your Game” slogan and quip: “Mhux ‘Raise your Game’, raise the funds!”

Mr Hamilton has been associated with McLaren since the age of 13 and has raced for the team in F1 since 2007, but he is leaving to race for Mercedes next year.

“Everyone has to have a change,” he said, when asked by the local media about his decision.

“It is about growing, doing something different, and 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, but he expects to make a big impact when rule changes that should favour Mercedes come into effect in 2014.

“We all have to takes risks in life,” he said.

“The target next year has to be podium finishes.”

In between performances, racing fans clamoured outside the Lufthansa hangar to get up-close to the F1 car as it was wheeled by McLaren engineers to the Lufthansa Technik hangar and back.

Mr Hamilton was here for a few hours on his first visit to the island. He was brought over by Vodafone in collaboration with Mercedes, The Times and The Sunday Times.

British High Commissioner Robert Luke, who hails from Hertfordshire, the same county as Mr Hamilton, told The Times: “We have seen today that he is a very down-to-earth person who has connected with the Maltese people and it was great that he could come here to Malta.”

Other highlights of the event were a race on the runway between an Air Malta plane and a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, as well as acrobatic shows from Hungarian stunt-rider Zoltan.

In the driving seat of the Ferrari was Chris Sultana, a member of the core team of Paqpaqli għall-Istrina, who flew past a mesmerised audience as the Airbus flew overhead.

“My wheels spun at the start line on our first run because of the rain and I took longer than expected to pass the plane,” said Mr Sultana afterwards.

The fastest ever Ferrari production car easily reached the plane’s airborne velocity of 250km per hour on the next run though, as the Airbus took off, circled around and made a low approach at 200 feet, creating a spectacle of power.

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