Lewis Hamilton

After establishing himself as a race-master with radio-controlled cars with a second-place finish in that national BRCA championship, Lewis Hamilton graduated to go-karts. His father gifted him with the kart and encouraged Hamilton’s racing interests provided he also achieved at school. 

Like many Formula One champions, Lewis Hamilton’s career started early with karting. His first year, 1993, he logged race wins and won cadet class championships. By 1995, he was the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship. Hamilton was 10.

The highlight of Lewis Hamilton’s karting career was being named European Champion in 2000 with the maximum points. The year previous he raced in the Intercontinental A before moving to Formula A in 2000 and Formula Super A in 2001.

Lewis Hamilton joined Manor Motorsport in 2002 following 2001 participation in the British Formula Renault Winter series. He placed fifth in that series and third in the 2002 campaign. In his third season, he secured the championship early and moved on to participate in the British Formula 3 championship.

Lewis Hamilton competed with Manor for the 2004 Formula 3 Euro series and earned fifth place in the championship

2005 was an eventful year for Lewis Hamilton with 15 of 20 round wins in the Euro Series championship as a driver for ASM. The same year Autosport magazine featured him as number 24 in a list of the Top 50 Drivers of 2005.

Lewis Hamilton joined the ART Grand Prix team, a sister team to ASM, for the 2006 season. He secured the GP2 championship as his last major action before moving to Formula One.

Hamilton joined the McLaren team for his first Formula One season in 2007. He was the first black driver to race in the series and won his first Grand Prix during his sixth race – the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton’s teammate, Fernando Alson, ultimately departed the McLaren team , and Hamilton secured a multi-million-pound five-year contract to stay with the team through the 2012 season. Hamilton was runner up for the 2007 World Drivers’ Championship.

In a stellar season, Lewis Hamilton earned five wins and 10 podium finishes throughout the 2008 season. The championship came down to a dramatic race at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. With a last lap change in position, Hamilton secured the title and became the then-youngest Formula One World Champion.

After his contract with McLaren concluded, Lewis Hamilton made a surprise move to Mercedes for the 2013 race series as a member of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One race team. In the 2013 season, Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished fourth in the championship standings.

In his second year with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton navigated to his second Formula One world title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton racked up eleven wins, and the Mercedes team claimed 16 of 19 races that season. In 2014, Lewis Hamilton committed to racing as number 44 for the rest of his career – a callback to his karting days – and declared the day he won his second championship as the “greatest day of my life.”

In the middle of a successful season, Lewis Hamilton negotiated a new three-year contract with Mercedes for £100 million. The contract made him the best paid sportsman in Britain and secured his place with the team through 2018.

Lewis Hamilton secured a back-to-back Formula 1 Championship win at the 2015 United States Grand Prix in Austin. A race win was Hamilton’s 10th of the season and 43rd in his career. He secured the title with three races remaining in the season.

Lewis Hamilton secured his fourth Formula 1 World Championship title following a ninth place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix. Two races remained in the series.

In an epic show of a season, Lewis Hamilton navigated his way to a fifth world championship – and a second back-to-back win in his career – at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Date: 6 December 2019

Having already a secured a sixth world championship, Lewis Hamilton won the last race of the 2019 season at Abu Dhabi. It was his 11th win of the season.

With an estimated net worth of £224 million, Hamilton reached the top of the Sunday Times Rich List and became the richest sports star ever featured on the list.

In October 2020, Lewis Hamilton eclipsed the total number of race wins for German racer Michael Schumacher. The following month, he tied the racer for titles by winning his seventh World Championship. 

In 2021, Lewis Hamilton did not secure his eighth world championship but passed his 100th pole position and 100 race wins, becoming the first driver to do so.