One for the road

INTRO: Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton gets behind the wheel of a London cab in a bid against drunk driving.

MOREINFO:

SCRIPT:

MORE INFO:

Hamilton along with double world champion Mika Hakkinen of Finland drove cabs across Tower Bridge towards City Hall to hail public transport drivers who get people home safely as "the real champions."

STORY:

Lewis Hamilton is the Formula One world champion.

But for at least one day, he could be found behind the wheel of one of London's iconic black cabs to back an anti-drunk driving campaign.

Hamilton along with double world champion Mika Hakkinen of Finland drove cabs across Tower Bridge towards City Hall to hail public transport drivers who get people home safely as "the real champions."

Hamilton, who is the youngest driver to win the world title, says he wants to enjoy life a bit more that he did this year.

SOUNDBITE: Lewis Hamilton is the Formula One world champion, saying (English):

"There was so much pressure on me this year, that I didn't go out, I didn't socialize, I've stayed at the hotel every night at the race weekends. So I, people say you get to travel to all this countries but I never really get to see anything because I'm in my hotel room the whole time. So I want to enjoy it more."

Now that he has a taste of the street life in London, a new kind of race may be on.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.