But who has more personality?

In which Lewis admires Chris Hoy’s cartoon muscles, and they pair don’t have a race-off, no doubt because Hoy’s insurers didn’t like the look of the slippery Wembley tarmac.

Er, why didn’t they just close the roof before the event?

Lewis finishes runner-up in BBC Sports Personality… again

Nigel Mansell first won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1986 - and he didn’t even win the F1 title that year. Damon Hill first won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1994 - and he lost out to Michael Schumacher that season. Just two examples of gallant losers winning the hearts of the British public.

Incidentally, both Mansell and Hill went on to win second Sports Personality awards, in years when they did win their sole championships (1992 and 1996, respectively).

It’s fairly clear that Lewis Hamilton is not as popular as Mansell and Hill were. In the light of Mansell and Hill’s successes, Lewis should have won two Sports Personality of the Year awards already.

Hamilton’s debut season was much more impressive than the respective seasons Mansell and Hill had in 1986 and 1992, yet he still didn’t earn enough votes to become 2007 Sports Personality - instead, he was beaten by Joe Calzaghe, a Welsh boxer with a relatively low profile; both Mansell and Hill would have beaten Calzaghe hands-down.

Lewis favourite to win BBC gong, but does he deserve it?

Lewis Hamilton was favourite to win last year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year, despite throwing away the world title in his first season in F1. In the end Lewis lost out to Joe Calzaghe, a boxer from Wales who is yet to taste defeat. So, two agonising second places in one year for Lewis - although losing out on the drivers’ title was, we imagine, slightly more galling than losing out to Calzaghe (and at least he didn’t lose out to Zara Phillips).

This time around, with the world title tucked into his racing overalls, Lewis is an even stronger favourite to win the Beeb’s annual award. But there is even stiffer competition in 2008, in the form of several gold medal-winning Olympians from Beijing (Chris Hoy and Rebecca Adlington offer the biggest threat), not to mention tennis star Andy Murray, who has had a fine year (see the full short-list here).

Does Lewis deserve to win the award? Does he have more personality than a daffy blonde swimmer or a dour Scottish tennis player? What constitutes personality anyway? So many questions, which you can answer by leaving a witty comment. If you can’t be arsed to leave a comment, you can just vote…

F1 world champ to race multiple gold medallist at Wembley

Lewis Hamilton will take on Chris Hoy in next month’s eagerly awaited Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium.

Lewis will race his McLaren Mercedes around the twisty circuit, while Hoy must rely on good old-fashioned pedal power. Slightly unfair, you might say, but the tight corners will greatly reduce Hamilton’s advantage over Hoy’s bike.

“It’s going to special, the atmosphere is going to be crazy,” said Lewis about the prospect of competing against his rival for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. “To see 80,000 fans for the first time since becoming world champion will be a great way to end a fantastic year.”

Crasher bonus! Jenson Button Vs Superbike Vs powerboat: