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- - Hamilton's off (http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=51470)

Haha, and his home town is naming a street after him!

Now he needs himself a swiss miss. Then I'll reeeeeaaaaaaallllllllllly hate him :lol:

lol... i can understand the sentiment that people dont like him to leave his country, but i'd absolutely freak out if i were being recognised all the time, all the attention on your every move... i can definitely understand his decision

hmm. seems that i'll have to change my profession and getting professional race driver... we've got a lot of celebs here in switzerland. for sure taxes is a reason but i also thing it has to do with the swiss people. most of the people over here let those guys live and do and not permanently disturbing them. seems that they all know where one of the best places is to live on earth :wink:

hey dani - when can we expect your arrival here in switzerland? :D

I would say the reason for the move is 70% saving taxes and 30% increased privacy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronin005

he should of moved long ago, low taxes and a much more beautiful country. cant go wrong!!

and you have way better food :P

Yeah, he could have stayed in the UK and got privacy, moved to the Scottish Highlands and got himself a castle or something :)

I can only think of one person in the UK who has made £millions from motorsport and stayed here, Carl Fogarty. Can anyone think of anybody else?

He finally admits tax was an issue he considered for moving!

Quote:

British Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is moving to Switzerland in part to avoid the taxman.

Hamilton, 22, had claimed his decision to quit his home in England was due to the intense interest in his private life that has accompanied his meteoric rise during his rookie season with McLaren.

But, speaking on ITV1 chat show 'Parkinson', he conceded that the tax issue was also a major factor in the move.

Presenter Michael Parkinson asked him: "Well, you say you are going to avoid the photographers and all that, but I will imagine that you have been advised to do so because of the tax also?"

Hamilton replied: "Also, that definitely adds to it."

Stevenage-born Hamilton, who finished as runner-up to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the Formula One drivers' championship, maintained that he also wants to escape media attention.

"I am just a normal person and it's quite an unreal experience. I have come from nowhere and been leapfrogged into being this superstar, and it's a really, really weird experience," he said.

"It was just the other night I went to my book signing with my dad and we drove home, got out of the car and got ambushed almost by some people that followed us all the way home.
You sort of worry for a second, 'what do they want,' and that's becoming more and more usual," Hamilton related.

"I love my fans, I've got so many fans in the UK and all around the world, and it really makes a huge difference when I get home and I find I have all these letters. But I really want to live a normal life if I can, away from things and away from the race track. I just felt it was another way for me to do that."

"Also I'm going to learn French, that's something I've always wanted to do," he added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Hamilton told how he was targeted by school bullies because he was so good at sport.

"I was smaller than the others and I was never afraid to speak my mind and when they were selecting football teams I was always one of the hardest players and one of the better ones. People didn't really like that and so I occasionally got picked on."

Hamilton revealed that he learned karate in order to be able to fight back if he was pushed around.

He said: "I wanted to feel stronger and feel I wasn't going to be pushed over by anyone, to stand my own ground. It came in good use actually, when I was karting, when I had some sort of spiteful fights with people and I was able to defend myself."

"I was a bit like Bruce Lee. I didn't have to hurt anyone, I could just move out of the way and let them fall over my leg or that sort of thing. I thought it was pretty neat."

IMO the privacy was at least as important as the tax issue

if you look how some celebs are haunted from door to door, leaving a resturant is followed by 3 TV crews and 2345 photographers :roll:
things like this won't happen in Switzerland