Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with Michael Schumacher—and holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (201), among others.

Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hamilton began his career in karting aged six, winning several national titles and attracting the attention of Ron Dennis, who signed him the McLaren Young Driver Programme in 1998. After winning the direct-drive Karting World Cup and European Championship in 2000, Hamilton progressed to junior formulae, where his successes included winning the Formula 3 Euro Series and the GP2 Series. He subsequently signed for McLaren in 2007, becoming the first black driver to compete in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix. In his rookie season, Hamilton won four Grands Prix and set several records as he finished runner-up to Kimi Räikkönen by one point. Hamilton won his maiden title in 2008, making a title-deciding overtake on the last lap of the last race of the season to become the then-youngest World Drivers' Champion. Despite Red Bull dominance throughout his remaining four seasons at McLaren, he achieved multiple race wins in each.

Hamilton signed for Mercedes in 2013 to partner Nico Rosberg, ending his 15-year association with McLaren. Following his maiden victory with the team at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix, new engine regulations came into effect the following season, which saw Mercedes emerge as the dominant force in Formula One. From 2014 to 2016, Hamilton and Rosberg won 51 of 59 Grands Prix amidst their fierce rivalry, with Hamilton winning the former titles in 2014 and 2015, and Rosberg winning the latter. Following Rosberg's retirement, Hamilton twice overturned mid-season point deficits to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to claim his fourth and fifth titles in 2017 and 2018. Further consecutive titles followed in 2019 and 2020 to equal Michael Schumacher's record seven World Drivers' Championships, breaking the all-time win record at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. Hamilton became the first driver to surpass 100 race wins and pole positions in 2021, where he finished runner-up to Max Verstappen amidst a controversial finish. Following winless campaigns in 2022 and 2023, Hamilton took his record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in 2024. After 12 seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton will join Ferrari from 2025 onwards.

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, amongst his environmental and social activism. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of racial justice and increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally, and was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours.
Early life and education
Hamilton celebrating with his father and then-manager Anthony Hamilton after the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix[4]

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.[5][6] His father, Anthony Hamilton, is of Grenadian descent, while his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is British, from Birmingham,[7] making him mixed-race;[8][9] Hamilton's parents separated when he was two, after which he lived with his mother and older half-sisters, Samantha and Nicola, until he was twelve.[10] Hamilton then lived with his father, stepmother Linda, and his half-brother Nicolas, who is also a professional racing driver.[11][12] Hamilton was raised a Catholic.[13]

Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was five.[14] Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year against adult competition.[15] Being the only black child racing at his club, Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse.[14][16] Hamilton's father bought him a go-kart for Christmas when he was six and promised to support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school.[17] To support his son, Hamilton's father took redundancy from his position as an IT manager and became a contractor, sometimes working up to four jobs at a time including employment as a double glazing salesman, dishwasher, and putting up signs for estate agents,[18] while still attending his son's races.[19] Hamilton's father later set up his own IT company.[20] He continued to be Hamilton's manager until early 2010.[21][22]

Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage.[23] Hamilton has said that at the age of five he took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school.[24] He was also excluded from school for a period when he was mistakenly identified as having attacked a fellow student who was treated in hospital for his injuries.[25] In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international, Ashley Young.[20] Hamilton, an Arsenal fan, said that if Formula One had not worked for him, he would have been a footballer or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams.[26] In February 2001, he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge.[27]
Junior racing career
Karting

Hamilton began karting in 1993 and quickly began winning races and cadet class championships.[28][29] Two years later, he became the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship at the age of ten. That year, Hamilton approached McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards for an autograph and said: "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars."[18] Dennis wrote in Hamilton's autograph book: "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then."[30]

When Hamilton was 12, Ladbrokes took a bet, at 40/1 odds, that Hamilton would win a Formula One race before the age of 23; another predicted, at 150/1 odds, that he would win the World Drivers' Championship before he was 25.[31] In 1998, Dennis called Hamilton following his second Super One series and British championship wins,[15] to offer Hamilton a role in the McLaren driver development programme.[8] The contract included an option of a future Formula One seat, which would make Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract that later resulted in a Formula One drive.[28]

He's a quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality.

—Michael Schumacher, speaking about Hamilton in 2001[32]

Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com , his teammate was Nico Rosberg, who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes teams in Formula One; they would later team up again for Mercedes from 2013 to 2016. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.[33] In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track, Schumacher praised the young Briton.[34]
Formula Renault and Formula Three

Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth in the standings.[15] This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport in which he finished fifth overall