Lewis Hamilton


Lewis Hamilton

Born
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton[1]

(1985-01-07) 7 January 1985 (age 39)[2]
OccupationsRacing driver
FamilyNicolas Hamilton (half-brother)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
2024 teamMercedes[3]
Car number44[note 1]
Entries335 (335 starts)
Championships7 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Wins103
Podiums197
Career points4647.5
Pole positions104
Fastest laps65
First entry2007 Australian Grand Prix
First win2007 Canadian Grand Prix
Last win2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Last entry2024 Australian Grand Prix
2023 position3rd (234 pts)
Signature
Websitelewishamilton.com
Previous series
2006
200405
200203
2003
2002
2001
GP2 Series
Formula 3 Euro Series
Formula Renault UK
British Formula 3
Formula Renault Eurocup
British Formula Renault Championship
Championship titles
2006
2005
2003
GP2 Series
Formula 3 Euro Series
Formula Renault UK
Awards
2022
2020
2014, 2018, 2020–21
2008
2007–08, 2014–15, 2017–20
2006–07
2003
FIA Action of the Year
Sportsman of the Year
FIA Personality of the Year
Breakthrough of the Year
International Racing Driver Award
AS Rookie of the Year
Autosport British Club Driver of the Year

Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE HonFREng (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver competing in Formula One, driving for Mercedes, and has also driven for McLaren. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Michael Schumacher), and holds the records for most number of wins (103), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (197), among other records.

Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, he began karting in 1993 at the age of eight and achieved success in local, national and international championships. Hamilton joined the inaugural McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 1998, and progressed to win the 2003 British Formula Renault Championship, 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series and the 2006 GP2 Series. This led to a Formula One drive with McLaren-Mercedes from 2007 to 2012, making him the first black driver to race in the series. In his debut season, Hamilton set numerous records as he finished runner-up to Kimi Räikkönen by one point. In 2008, he won his maiden title in dramatic fashion—making a crucial overtake on the last lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, the last race of the season—to become the then-youngest ever Formula One World Champion. Following six seasons with McLaren, Hamilton signed with Mercedes in 2013.

Changes to the regulations for 2014 mandating the use of turbo-hybrid engines saw the start of a highly successful period for Hamilton, during which he won six further drivers' titles. Consecutive titles came in 2014 and 2015 during the intense Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry. Following teammate Rosberg's title win and retirement in 2016, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival in two championship battles, in which he twice overturned mid-season point deficits to claim consecutive titles again in 2017 and 2018. His third and fourth consecutive titles followed in 2019 and 2020 to equal Schumacher's record of seven drivers' titles. After surpassing 100 race wins and pole positions and finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen in 2021, Hamilton has not managed to win races during Formula One's current ground effect era with Mercedes. Hamilton is set to join Ferrari for the 2025 season.

Hamilton has been credited with furthering Formula One's global following by appealing to a broader audience outside the sport, in part due to his high-profile lifestyle, environmental and social activism, and exploits in music and fashion. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of activism to combat racism and push for increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally (Time 100), and was knighted (Knight Bachelor) in the 2021 New Year Honours.

  1. ^ Hamilton, Lewis (2007). Lewis Hamilton: My Story. HarperSport. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-00-727005-7.
  2. ^ Kelso, Paul (20 April 2007). "Profile: Lewis Hamilton". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Hamilton extends Mercedes F1 contract until 2025". Motorsport.com. 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Hamilton to keep 44 as car number". GP Update. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  5. ^ "World champion Hamilton runs number 1 on his Mercedes in Abu Dhabi". Formula 1. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.


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