Hamilton heads for Switzerland
Lewis Hamilton says he is leaving Britain to live in Switzerland
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Monday, 29, Oct 2007 09:34
Formula one world championship runner-up Lewis Hamilton has announced that he is leaving the UK to live in Switzerland.
The 22-year-old, who missed out on becoming the first F1 driver to win the championship in his rookie season by just one point, said he was moving on to the continent to escape the glare of British media.
His decision comes after his local authorities in Stevenage announced plans to name a street after their favourite son.
"I've decided to move to Switzerland," the McLaren driver said.
"You lose your ability to go to places. You really struggle to live a normal life.
"It's been a really tough year. I've not been able to spend a lot of time with my friends, my family. You come home and everyone knows you, it makes it so much harder to do normal things.
"I can't go to the cinema. I go to the bathroom in a petrol station and people come in there for autographs. It's tough but I knew that was going to be the case."
Denying that the move to Switzerland, where high-earners pay less tax than they do in Britain, was financially-motivated, he added: "People don't come up to you. They leave you, they give you your space."
Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the current F1 champion, both live in Switzerland.