F1 : Looking slick - Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton's latest portrait

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Reigning 2008 FIA Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, became one of the most pictured British sportsmen in the world when he became the youngest driver to win the title.

But none of the portraits of the 24-year-old links him so completely to his sport as this stunning portrait in oil, commissioned to kick off National Oil Check Week, because the twist is that the oil used is Mobil 1 race oil taken directly from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car in which Lewis won last year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Mobil 1, technology partner to Hamilton’s Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, charged US artist David Macaluso with the creation of the picture of Lewis in typically triumphant pose to celebrate his title success and highlight Mobil’s role in the UK wide car maintenance initiative, which kicks off next Monday, 15 th June 2009.

A limited run of 50 prints of the painting have also been made and one of these special pieces of memorabilia can be won in a competition through Mobil in the run up to the British GP.

The painting will have its first public outing at the ExxonMobil VIP customer event, on the eve of Hamilton’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone.

2008 FIA Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton comments: “I'm very impressed with the oil painting. I've always known that the Mobil 1 in my race car is an important component that can give us an edge over our rivals in some circumstances, but I'd never have guessed you could use it to paint with, the oil gives this picture a unique look and feel.”

Macaluso, an expert in the use of motor oil as a painting medium, said: “I’ve been recycling used motor oil into paintings since 2005, so it was exciting to do a portrait of Lewis, and it was a privilege. When people look at my portrait of Lewis Hamilton, I want them to know it contains the Mobil 1 that circulated inside his Mercedes-Benz engine. History was made by Hamilton with this oil, and to experience this painting is to be eye to eye with that history."

“Painting with the Mobil 1 used motor oil offered a wide range of tones and was obviously a very refined product from its texture. It was extremely smooth and very particle rich, with all the engine dirt in perpetual suspension, making for a great painting medium.”