Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has escaped from his Australian driving misdemeanour with a fine following a court hearing this week.
The 25-year-old McClaren driver was arrested back in March of this year after he was caught by police performing driving stunts in front of fans on a public highway. Lewis was in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, he was arrested just two days before the event began.
The luxury car the champion driver had been caught performing tricks called “burnouts” and “fishtails” in was impounded following Lewis’s arrest. He was driving a borrowed silver Mercedes vehicle when police swooped on the driver after he was seen performing driving stunts outside of the Grand Prix race track in Albert Park.
The case came to court this week, with the F1 driver entering a guilty plea after admitting improper use of a motor vehicle.
Racing driver Lewis avoided conviction as it was his first offence. Lewis was not present in court this week but instead pleaded guilty to the charge through his solicitor. In court, Lewis’s solicitor read out a statement from the driver which described how the incident had affected him saying he’d felt “embarrassment, humiliation and distress” following his arrest in Australia.
The F1 star, who reportedly earns £20 million a year, was handed down a fine of $423 Australian dollars, which works out as approximately £288.
