F1 ace Hamilton wrongly expelled from school for breaking pupil's fingers

Lewis was one of six teenage boys excluded in 2001 when a 15-year-old classmate suffered two fractured fingers, bruising and an injured arm.

But when his parents protested his innocence, Lewis - who was studying for his GCSEs - was cleared of any wrongdoing and reinstated two months later by a local authority appeals panel.

The inquiry concluded Lewis had been wrongly identified and he received an apology from education chiefs.

Lewis, 22, who drives in today's US Grand Prix at Indianapolis and won last Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, was a 16-year-old pupil when fellow Year 11 student Sebastian Webber was attacked in the lavatories at John Henry Newman School in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Vincent Hayward, Lewis's form teacher at the time, said: "It happened during the lunch hour. They took this lad to the toilets and gave him a bit of a going over."

Former pupil Michelle Vooght said: "I remember the incident and it was other boys, not Lewis. He was a nice boy, friends with everyone and genuine.

"He was self-confident, but he'd never brag about his racing. He'd get dropped off at school in a Mercedes with "Lewis Hamilton" down the side."

Another ex-pupil Sean Beahan said: "A lot of people had their names dragged into the attack incident and it was later found that Lewis and a few others had done nothing wrong."

Sebastian Webber, now a 22-year-old DJ in London and New York, refused to comment.

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At his family home - a farmhouse at Hinxworth, near Baldock, Hertfordshire - a man who identified himself as his father said: "I haven't got anything to say about it. Sebastian is getting on with his life."

Hertfordshire County Council spokesman John Ryan said: "Lewis was cleared of all involvement after an independent review. He was originally accused by one of the teachers. It was basically an administrative cock-up that led to the accusation and it boils down to mistaken identity."

Lewis first began driving on dodgems at amusement arcades when he was five.

And even then, his father, Anthony - now his manager - realised he had remarkable hand-eye coordination.

His big break came at 10 when he approached McLaren supremo Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony - and told him he wanted to drive for his team. When he was 13, Mr Dennis started to sponsor him and has since invested £10million in his talents.