24 August,2010 10:39 AM IST | | Agencies
British Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton was on Tuesday fined 500 dollars for doing a burnout outside the Australian Grand Prix circuit in March.
Hamilton did not appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
His lawyer, Sandip Mukerjea, said that the 25-year-old was overseas, but would plead guilty to the charge of 'improper use of a motor vehicle'.
Mukerjea said that Hamilton had publicly apologized over the incident and suffered "embarrassment, humiliation and distress" after he was denounced in the media.
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Magistrate Clive Alsop said that the McLaren driver was a role model for youngsters, which put the onus on him to behave responsibly.
"This is about somebody in a responsible position behaving like a hoon," News.com.au quoted Alsop, as saying.u00a0
He avoided conviction as it was a first offence.
Earlier, in March, Hamilton was caught by police executing a "burnout" and "fishtail" in front of fans outside the Grand Prix track at Albert Park, Melbourne.u00a0
He was in a borrowed Mercedes, which was impounded by state authorities.
