Lewis Hamilton

Biography of F1 driver Lewis Hamilton

Sir Lewis Hamilton has been at the pinnacle for Formula 1 for almost two decades, the Briton rising through the karting and junior formula ranks to cement himself as one of the greatest drivers to compete in the sport.

Hamilton was marked out early as a racing protege, signing a development contract with McLaren aged just 11 after a successful karting career.

But how did the man from Stevenage reach the top of the motorsport pyramid? Here is everything you need to know about his life.

Hamilton's early career

The young Hamilton's long climb to Formula 1 started when he began competing in the British karting championships aged eight, winning several trophies, including the STEP karting title, Champions of the Future, and the Super One Series.

The road to F1 began in earnest in 1998 when Hamilton became the youngest driver to be contracted by a team when he signed for the McLaren Driver Development Support programme, aged 13.

In the same year, he graduated to Junior Intercontinental A level racing, finishing second overall in the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future. In 1999, he moved to race in Intercontinental A and won the Italian Industrials Championship.

In his penultimate year of racing karts, Hamilton won the European Formula A series, taking the chequered flag in all four rounds, as well as the World Cup Championship in Japan, and the second round of the Italian Open.

Move to open-wheel

In 2001, Hamilton concluded his karting career and transitioned to open-wheel racing by joining the British Formula Renault Winter series with Manor. He achieved a seventh-place finish in his debut season.

The following year, he competed in Formula Renault UK, securing third place in the championship. He also participated in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, finishing fifth.

Remaining in the series the subsequent year, Hamilton dominated with nine wins out of 10 in the final races, clinching the title comfortably ahead of his competitors. Despite having extra points, he chose to skip the last two races to debut in the British Formula 3 Championship.

However, this decision proved unfortunate as Hamilton retired in the first race due to a puncture and encountered a crash with team-mate Tor Graves in the second, leading to a hospital visit.

Following the crash, he continued racing with Manor in the Euroseries F3, achieving a victory in his debut at the Norisring street track, followed by further wins at the Bahrain F3 Superprix and the Macau F3 Grand Prix, earning him the opportunity to test an F1 car for the first time in late 2004 with McLaren.

In the subsequent year, he changed teams to join ASM in the Euroseries, dominating again by winning 15 of the 20 races. Additionally, he claimed victory at the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.

Hamilton stars in GP2

Despite his overwhelming junior career success, Hamilton was still looking for a way to make it into a Formula 1 seat, and in a bid to secure a route onto the grid moved to GP2 with ASM sister team ART for the 2006 season.

The outfit had launched the career of Hamilton's future team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg, and he was up against a tough grid of future F1 drivers, including Nelson Piquet Jr and Timo Glock.

Battles with Piquet Jr, especially in the first rounds of the championship, set the tone for the season, but Hamilton began to find his stride and secured his first victory at the fifth race at the Nürburgring, despite earning a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He went on to complete the double that weekend.

Further wins at Monte Carlo and Silverstone followed, along with a remarkable recovery drive in Istanbul. He clinched the title in odd circumstances at the penultimate race of that year at Monza, where he was granted a bonus point for fastest lap after Giorgio Pantano picked up a penalty for a yellow flag infringement.

With the success continuing to roll, the stage was set for the young Briton to fulfil his potential and make the step up into Formula 1.

Promotion to F1 with McLaren

After capping off his junior career with a GP2 title in 2006, Hamilton burst onto the Formula 1 scene in 2007 by joining one of racing's most heralded teams, McLaren, after a seat became available following the departures of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari.

Hamilton faced competition from Pedro de la Rosa, who had substituted for Montoya the previous year, and there was no guarantee that McLaren would opt for a rookie to fill the seat, having not started a season with an inexperienced driver since 1993.

But, ultimately, it was Hamilton who was given the drive, with team boss Ron Dennis explaining that he had "been in the family for a long time and he deserves the opportunity we are giving him".

Partnering with two-time and defending champion Fernando Alonso, Hamilton quickly showed he belonged with the biggest names on the grid, standing on the podium on his debut and taking four wins in his rookie F1 season.

The victories included Montreal and Indianapolis, and that year Hamilton also set a record for the most podiums in a row in a rookie season, with nine following his maiden race.

Hamilton's scintillating start to life in F1 put him 12 points ahead in the championship before Alonso began to hit back. But relations between the pair soured with a series of incidents, including Alonso holding up his team-mate in the pit lane in Hungary after Hamilton looked to have ignored team orders to let the Spaniard pass him during qualifying.

Hamilton, though, continued to push for the drivers' title, and heading into the last few races of the season looked to have the better of his team-mate as well as Ferrari rival Raikkonen.

However, a series of incidents across the final two races - including retirement at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he slid off at the pit entry, and a gearbox issue in Brazil - cost him valuable points.

Incredibly, both McLaren drivers missed out on the title by one point to Raikkonen, denying Hamilton the opportunity to become the first driver to win a Formula 1 title in his rookie year.

"Is that Glock?!"

Hamilton continued to impress in 2008, taking home five victories and 10 podium finishes. Nevertheless, he attracted his fair share of critics, as he was accused of arrogance and dangerous driving.

Hamilton entered the final race of the season in a championship battle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa. The McLaren driver arrived with a seven-point advantage in the standings, but the race at Interlagos was a tricky one with changing weather conditions.

The Brazilian started from pole on a wet track, with Hamilton fourth. Massa took the chequered flag, meaning Hamilton needed a fifth-place finish to take his first F1 title. With light rain falling, one of F1's most incredible finishes took place.

Hamilton managed to find his way past Timo Glock on the final corner of the last lap, in the last race of the season, to finish fifth, as the Toyota driver could not find any grip with his dry-weather tyres on the wet track.

The joy in the Ferrari garage, which had already begun to celebrate, quickly turned to despair as Hamilton became the sport's youngest champion, until Sebastian Vettel claimed that honour in 2010.

Hamilton's difficult 2009 season

It turned out to be Hamilton's sole championship with McLaren, as Brawn made a significant impact in 2009.

That season began on a challenging note when he was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix. He was found to have provided misleading information to the race stewards when Jarno Trulli overtook him under the Safety Car, ultimately leading to the disqualification.

The disappointment persisted throughout the season, with Hamilton and McLaren struggling to match the pace needed to defend their title against the formidable Brawn GP. Hamilton secured only one victory during the entire year.

Despite the challenges, he concluded the season in fifth place overall, trailing behind drivers from Brawn and Red Bull.

An all-British line-up with Button

Jenson Button served as Hamilton's teammate from 2010 to 2012, but McLaren found itself unable to match the pace shown by Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel over that period as the young German driver took his four championships over the coming seasons.

In 2010, Hamilton had a much stronger campaign than the previous year. He even led the championship at the halfway point after two wins and three runner-up finishes in the first 10 races. Multiple retirements followed, however, leading to him sliding out of contention and finishing fourth in the standings.

Despite three wins in 2011, there were also three retirements as Hamilton finished behind a team-mate for the first time in his F1 career, trailing championship runner-up Button by 43 points.

In 2012, McLaren again found itself trailing Vettel and Red Bull as several reliability issues hampered the campaign. There were four wins for Hamilton in Canada, Hungary, Italy and the United States, but five retirements - all in the final 11 races.

Hamilton finished fourth, two points ahead of Button, in what was their final season together. The end of that year saw Hamilton and McLaren's long-running relationship end as the driver made a surprise announcement to leave the outfit that signed him as a teenager and join the revitalised Mercedes works squad.

Hamilton swaps McLaren for Mercedes

Hamilton replaced the retiring Michael Schumacher at Mercedes for the 2013 season. The move was seen by many as a gamble, given the team's lack of success up until then, and that first year seemed to prove a point as he managed just one win, whilst the team finished 236 points adrift of Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

The following season, however, was a turning point. With the introduction of a new turbo-hybrid power unit, Mercedes dominated, and so did Hamilton, winning 11 of 19 grands prix in 2014 en route to his second title, and 10 of 19 the following year to complete a hat-trick.

In 2016, however, it was team-mate Nico Rosberg who held the upper hand. Despite Hamilton winning the final four grands prix, and 10 of 21 overall, it was the German driver who triumphed by five points - and in doing so, he immediately retired.

Partnered by Valtteri Bottas over the following years, Mercedes' grip on the constructors' championship remained steadfast, whilst Hamilton crushed his rivals by winning four consecutive titles from 2017-2020, taking his tally to seven, and equalling the feat of the legendary Michael Schumacher. Along the way, Hamilton amassed a string of records.

A dramatic 2021 battle with Verstappen

Mercedes arrived into the 2021 season slightly on the back foot after some struggles during pre-season testing, leading team boss Toto Wolff to call it a "terrible" start to the year.

These fears were eased when Hamilton qualified on the front row of the grid at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, where he went on to win the race ahead of Max Verstappen.

It was soon clear that Red Bull would push the Silver Arrows more than in previous years, though, with a closely-fought battle for the title unfolding between Hamilton and Verstappen throughout 2021.

The fight resulted in some controversial moments, including a collision at the British Grand Prix as well as a second crash in Monza.

Ahead of the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of the 22-race calendar, Hamilton and Verstappen stood on equal points, with Hamilton having won eight races whilst Verstappen had been victorious at nine.

Hamilton looked strong in the race, and seemed to be on course to claim a record eighth championship. However, a late safety car call in the final laps allowed Verstappen to pit for fresh soft tyres and overtake Hamilton - running on older hard tyres - on the last lap, a move that saw the Dutchman win the race and his first title.

The turn of events caused considerable controversy, and Hamilton subsequently disappeared from public view, maintaining radio silence on his social media channels for several weeks.

Back down to earth in 2022, and a shock move

In 2022, Hamilton again aimed for an unprecedented eighth title, but the new aerodynamic regulations introduced that year revealed that Mercedes' W13 struggled with porpoising and bouncing early in the season.

Instead of contending for wins, Hamilton found himself simply battling for points. As the season progressed, Mercedes addressed the porpoising issues, leading to five consecutive podium finishes for Hamilton.

Despite a Mercedes victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, it was Hamilton's team-mate, George Russell, who claimed the team's only win in 2022. This marked Hamilton's first winless season in his Formula 1 career.

Russell also outscored Hamilton, accumulating 275 points to Hamilton's 240, by showcasing better adaptation to the W13's early-season challenges.

Hamilton fared little better in the following two years as the ground-effect car of this era was anathema to his driving style. A second winless season followed in 2023, although there were six podiums, including three as runner-up.

Early in 2024, Hamilton dropped a bombshell on the sport when he announced the forthcoming campaign would be his last for Mercedes and that he would be joining Ferrari in 2025.

Midway through 2024, and after 56 races without taking the chequered flag, Hamilton secured a glorious win on home soil in front of his army of British fans at Silverstone, following that up with another victory in Belgium two grands prix later, albeit an inherited one after Russell was disqualified for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement.

Hamilton's final hurrah was finishing second to Russell in Las Vegas, bowing out with his worst position of seventh in the drivers' standings in his 12 years with Mercedes.

The start of Hamilton's time at Ferrari

Hamilton entered 2025 with high hopes and to a tremendous fanfare from the Tifosi.

Despite triumphing in the sprint over the second grand prix weekend of the year in China, it proved to be a false dawn as the rest of the season turned into a nightmare, not helped by Ferrari stopping aerodynamic development of its SF-25 at the end of April to focus on the new widesweeping regulations changes for 2026.

Hamilton ended the year with a new low, as for the first time in his F1 career, he failed to secure a single grand prix podium, with his best result a trio of fourths.

Hamilton, along with team-mate Charles Leclerc, will be hoping Ferrari's early decision in 2025 to switch focus to its 2026 car will pay dividends.