Lewis Hamilton stands as one of the most accomplished and influential figures in the history of Formula 1. Since his debut in 2007, the British racing driver has redefined excellence in motorsport, securing a record-equalling seven World Championships and achieving more than 100 grand prix victories.
Born in Stevenage in 1985, Hamilton's rise from a young karting enthusiast to a global sporting icon is a testament to his unparalleled skill, determination, and resilience.
Throughout his illustrious career, Hamilton has consistently broken records, dominating the sport with Mercedes while rivaling some of the greatest names in F1. Beyond his success on the track, Hamilton has become a prominent advocate for diversity, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
A star is born
Having risen through the junior ranks and won the Formula 3 title in 2005, Hamilton seemed like one of the coming men of motor racing. His title-winning season a year later in GP2 (now Formula 2), the feeder series to F1, would fast-track his elevation to the world championship.
Several moments of 2006 stood out, none more so than a breathtaking, side-by-side 140 mph pass on title rival Nelson Piquet Jr. and Clivio Piccione through the daunting Maggots-Beckets sequence of corners at Silverstone. The video of his three-wide pass became one of the early viral hits of YouTube.
With the championship under his belt, he earned a shot to race for McLaren in 2007 at just 22 years old.
A family affair
Hamilton and his father Anthony arrived together in F1 and would quickly become one of the most famous father-son duos in sport. Anthony had famously supported his son's early karting career by taking on multiple jobs. As the sport's first black driver, the duo went against the grain in the F1 paddock, a role both had dealt with on their ascent up the racing pyramid.
As is often the case with sporting phenoms, their relationship would be a complicated one, with Anthony often dovetailing between the role of father and manager. While successful at first, rocky times lay ahead -- they would split professionally in 2010, something which eventually both would credit for their reconciliation a few years later.
The rookie's rivalry
Many people expected Hamilton to play second fiddle to his new teammate, the reigning two-time champion, Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, who won titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, was one of them -- he joined McLaren expecting to have a clear run to a third championship.
Hamilton had other ideas and laid down a marker from the beginning of his debut race, sweeping around the outside of Alonso at the opening corner of the Australian Grand Prix with an overtake which announced his arrival to the global audience. Alonso's experience and race craft would see him move back ahead of Hamilton -- the pair finished second and third behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen -- but the move set the tone for what would turn out to be one of the most infamous teammate battles in F1 history.
The first victory of many
Having been on the podium at all five of his opening races, Hamilton arrived at the Canadian Grand Prix level on points with Alonso in the championship. After beating Alonso to pole position, the first of his career, Hamilton then aggressively defended the lead at Turn 1, forcing his teammate into evasive action off the circuit. Alonso came back onto the track but with a damaged car and would sink down the order.
Hamilton, on the other hand, was faultless, managing a mid-race safety car caused by a big Robert Kubica crash to claim his maiden F1 victory.
The feud continues
The feud between McLaren's drivers exploded at the Hungarian Grand Prix two races later. Alonso had grown increasingly irate at McLaren's refusal to back him over Hamilton and felt his British teammate was getting preferential treatment from their British racing team.
Alonso decided to take matters into his own hands ahead of the final qualifying attempts. After his car had new tyres fitted, Alonso waited in his pit box for 10 additional seconds after being signalled to leave. Hamilton would get new tyres and head out himself, but the delay meant he had run out of time to cross the line in time to start a final lap. Alonso then delivered a great lap to snatch pole position away from Hamilton with his own final attempt, only to to be given a penalty for the block by the stewards after the session.
Hamilton went on to win the race on Sunday, his third of the year, but Alonso's block the day before -- plus an attempted blackmail attempt relating to what became known as the 'Spygate' scandal had damaged his relationship with team boss Ron Dennis beyond repair. The wheels were already in motion for Alonso to leave the team by the end of the year. Hamilton, having extended his lead in the championship, appeared to be clear favourite to win it as a rookie.
The mistake that cost the championship
Hamilton arrived at the penultimate round of the 2007 season in China with a 17-point lead in the drivers' championship, but saw it slashed to just seven when his race finished in the pit-entry gravel trap.
He'd been leading early on in wet conditions, but as the track surface began to dry McLaren gambled on leaving him out on worn rain tyres. When he was finally called in for fresh rubber, his tyres were so worn that he was powerless to hold a slide that eventually left him beached in the gravel trap.
A slightly more conservative strategy would have likely secured second or third place, which would have seen him crowned champion at the chequered flag. Ultimately, Ferrari's Raikkonen won in China and again at the final race in Brazil (where Hamilton had another sloppy race and finished seventh) to secure the title by a single point.
Lewis Hamilton Formula 1 world champion
It was perhaps fitting that one of the most dramatic races in the sport's history saw Hamilton crowned champion for the first time a year later in 2008. As was the case in 2007, Hamilton went into the final round in Brazil in a match-point scenario in which he needed to finish fifth to beat a Ferrari driver -- this time Felipe Massa -- to the title.
In one of the most convincing performances of his career, Massa led from the start while Hamilton cautiously held on to fourth place for the majority of the race. With ten laps to go rain started to fall, forcing Hamilton and the other front runners to pit for wet tyres. However, Toyota's Timo Glock remained out on track on slick tyres, meaning he was propelled ahead of Hamilton and held fifth place as the drivers started their final lap.
Massa won the race by 13 seconds, cuing celebrations in the Ferrari garage among mechanics who thought their man had been crowned champion, only for Hamilton to catch and pass Glock in the final corner of the final lap to secure the points he needed for the title.
One of his best victories
In a season dominated by Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton took one of his most underrated victories on the Red Bull driver's home turf at the Nurbrurgring. In cool conditions, Hamilton brought the fight to Vettel's teammate Mark Webber in the opening stages of the race and, after taking the lead at the start, came out on top in two wheel-to-wheel battles for the lead.
Following the final round of pit stops, he also had to repass Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to make sure of the win, ultimately emerging victorious by 3.9 seconds at the chequered flag. "I feel great," Hamilton said after the race. "One of the best races I think I've ever done." It was Hamilton's 16th F1 victory, although after standing on the podium he joked that his moment of celebration was cut short by the length of the British national anthem.
McLaren's time is up
At 2 a.m. on the morning of the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix, Niki Lauda visited Hamilton's hotel room to try to convince him to leave McLaren and join Mercedes. Calling it a "hard sell" is an understatement; McLaren had given Hamilton his break in F1 and delivered his first world title, while Mercedes had won just one race since its return to F1 at the start of 2010.
A Hamilton victory in Singapore would have closed the gap to the top of the standings and given him a shot at the 2012 title, but as events transpired a gearbox failure left him with zero points and only the slimmest chance of reviving his hopes. Lauda couldn't believe his luck.
The Mercedes era
Not long after the Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes confirmed it had signed Hamilton to a three-year contract to replace Michael Schumacher at the team from 2013. He would be paired with his old friend and rival from go-karting, Nico Rosberg, who had been at the team for three years and scored its only win up that point at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.
Mercedes' lack of on-track success had led to plenty of scepticism around Hamilton's decision, and it didn't help that a brake failure within his first 13 laps of his first test saw him end up in the wall. But Hamilton's decision ultimately proved inspired, leading to one victory in 2013 and a further 83 between his first title winning season with Mercedes in 2014 and his final year with the team in 2024.
Two-time world champion
Hamilton's 2014 season with Mercedes was a groundbreaking one, marking the beginning of a dominant era for both him and the team. Throughout the season he showcased his exceptional resilience, winning 11 of the 19 races and secured his second World Championship title.
His fierce rivalry with teammate Rosberg provided some of the most intense moments of the year, with Hamilton's consistency and raw speed proving pivotal in his championship pursuit. Hamilton's success not only confirmed his place as one of the sport's elite drivers but also solidified Mercedes as the dominant force in F1, beginning a run of championship victories that would continue for years to come.
A narrow miss
Heading into the final race of the 2016 season, Rosberg held a slender lead over Hamilton with everything to play for in the title decider in Abu Dhabi. Rosberg needed a top three finish to secure the 2016 drivers' championship title.
Hamilton, determined to secure his fourth championship, drove a tactical race to finish P1. However, Rosberg maintained his position, finishing second and securing the points needed to win the championship by just five points. The result marked an emotional moment for Rosberg, who announced his retirement from F1 shortly after his victory.
The Mercedes dominance
In 2017, Hamilton secured his fourth drivers' championship title by withstanding intense competition from Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari, ultimately clinching the crown at the Mexican Grand Prix. This acted as a catalyst for Hamilton to go on and clinch the title for the next three seasons. Hamilton and Mercedes dominated the F1 podium in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
During the 2020 season Hamilton delivered one of his most dominant performances -- winning 11 of the 17 races -- and securing his seventh title to match the all-time record set by Michael Schumacher.
Matching Michael Schumacher
At the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, Hamilton cemented himself among the greats and made history by equaling Michael Schumacher's record of 91 F1 race wins. Hamilton took advantage of his teammate Valtteri Bottas' retirement of the race to win his sixth grand prix of the season.
To commemorate this milestone, Mick Schumacher, Michael's son, presented Hamilton with his father's red helmet. Hamilton was emotional upon receiving the helmet and said: "I'm so honored, man. I don't even know what to say.
"When you grow up watching someone and you generally idolise them, really just in terms of the quality of the driver they are, but what they're able to continuously do year on year, race on race and week on week with their team. Just seeing his dominance for so long, I don't think anyone, and especially me, didn't imagine that I'd be anywhere near Michael in terms of records. So it's an incredible honour, and it's going to take some time to get used to it."
A whole new rivalry
A pivotal moment in Hamilton's rivalry with Max Verstappen was when the two came to blows in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. The incident occurred on Lap 26, as both drivers were battling for position after a pit stop sequence. Hamilton, coming out of the pits, found himself side-by-side with Verstappen on the track, and the two made contact at the first chicane. Verstappen's car was launched onto Hamilton's car, with the Red Bull's rear tyre landing on top of the Mercedes cockpit. The crash resulted in both cars retiring from the race.
This collision happened after the pair came to blows in the British Grand Prix a month prior. On the opening lap at Silverstone -- Hamilton's home race -- the two drivers were battling for the lead when Hamilton attempted to pass Verstappen on the inside of Copse Corner, one of the fastest turns on the circuit. Hamilton's Mercedes made contact with Verstappen's Red Bull, sending the Red Bull into the barriers and ending the race for the Dutch driver.
A battle cemented in F1 history
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended in one of the most controversial and dramatic finishes in F1 history.
Hamilton and new rival Verstappen were tied in the championship standings going into the race, with both drivers locked in a fierce battle for the title. The race took a dramatic turn in the final laps when a crash involving Nicholas Latifi brought out the safety car. With just a few laps remaining, the race director, Michael Masi, decided to allow only some of the lapped cars to un-lap themselves, allowing him to end the safety car period one lap earlier than it should have ended and set up a one-lap shootout between Verstappen and Hamilton for the title.
Verstappen, who had fresher tyres, passed Hamilton on the last lap, securing his first World Championship. The decision to restart the race with only some lapped cars removed sparked controversy, as many felt the rules were applied inconsistently, leading to widespread criticism and calls for changes in race procedures. Despite the controversy, Verstappen's victory ended Hamilton's streak of consecutive titles and marked the beginning of a new era in F1.
Off-track campaigning
In 2020, following the killing of George Floyd and the global outcry for justice, Hamilton became a vocal advocate for social change, calling for greater diversity and inclusion within motorsport. He led efforts to raise awareness, wearing t-shirts with messages like "Black Lives Matter" and taking a knee before races in solidarity with the movement. Hamilton also established the Hamilton Commission, aimed at increasing diversity in motorsport by providing opportunities for young people from underrepresented backgrounds.
Winning his home race
After a prolonged winning drought, in 2024 Hamilton returned to the British Grand Prix to do what he has done eight times previously -- winning his home race. Having dominated the top spot of the podium at Silverstone more than any other driver in history, Hamilton's winning ways returned. Starting second, a hard fought race with scattered showers crowned Hamilton his ninth F1 win in Britain.
This race marked his last home race with Mercedes after it was announced that Hamilton signed with Ferrari for the 2025 season.
Hamilton and Mercedes part ways
Lewis Hamilton ended his Mercedes career with a fourth-place finish at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after starting 16th. "That was the drive of a world champion," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said to Hamilton on team radio after the race.
During the cool down lap, Hamilton told race engineer Peter Bonnington: "We dreamed alone but together we believed. What started out as a leap of faith turned into a journey into the history books."
Nate Saunders, Laurence Edmondson and Olivia Pagden contributed to this report.