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With 103 Grand Prix wins and 7 World Championships, Sir Lewis Hamilton is unarguably the greatest F1 driver of all time – at least by statistics. Although F1 fans love to argue that Michael Schumacher was faster in his prime, or that the legendary Ayrton Senna was the fastest driver we’ve ever seen, the numbers speak for themselves.
World Championships 🏆
7
WC Points💯
4415.5
Races 🚦
311
Race Wins 🏁
103
Podium Places🥈
191
Pole Positions⏱️
103
Debut Race 🏎️
18 March 2007
After an underwhelming season, Hamilton is hoping for a better one and if the Mercedes-AMG F1 team can manage to solve the issues that have been plaguing the car throughout the 2022 season and the beginning of the new season, we could be seeing him on the podium soon.
From a Controversial First WC to Becoming the Most Successful F1 Driver of All Time
Contents
- 1 From a Controversial First WC to Becoming the Most Successful F1 Driver of All Time
- 2 Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Story – The Boy That Loved Racing More Than Anything
- 3 From Go-Kart Grassroots to F1 Dominance: Who Was Lewis Hamilton Before F1?
- 4 Lewis Still Has High Hopes For 2023 Despite The Huge Gap To Red Bull
Hamilton started kart racing when he was just 8 years old and won the British Kart Championship at the age of 10. He quickly caught the attention of teams and sponsors and joined the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme at the age of 13.
Widely considered a generational talent, he joined the McLaren F1 team for the 2007 season and finished 3rd in his first-ever F1 race. He even came close to winning the World Championship, missing out by just 1 point behind Kimi Räikkönen. Besides his astonishing performance, the 2007 season gave birth to one of the greatest rivalries in F1 history – the one between the 2007 McLaren teammates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
The following year, Hamilton won 5 out of 18 races to secure his first World Championship, although not without controversies. His stint with McLaren continued throughout the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons. Although he was always at the top, he didn’t manage to win his 2nd World Championship with the team – so it was time for a change.
He signed with the emerging Mercedes-AMG F1 team for the 2013 season – a move that surprised many. Mercedes wasn’t a title contender at the time, but Lewis managed to get the best out of the car and score a top 5 finish.
2014 marked a new era in F1 – the turbo-hybrid era. It’s safe to say that Mercedes dominated the first year under the new regulations, with Hamilton winning 11 out of the 19 races to secure his second World Championship. His dominance continued throughout 2015 when he won his third World Championship.
Photo by Icon sportThings were heating up in the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, and the culmination was the 2016 F1 season when Lewis lost out on the WC to his teammate Nico Rosberg. After Nico decided to leave F1 for the 2017 season, there was no real contender for Hamilton, so he dominantly won the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 F1 seasons.
The first real contender to Lewis and the Mercedes-AMG F1 team in the turbo-hybrid era was the emerging Dutchman Max Verstappen in the Red Bull team. Lewis lost out on his 8th WC in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi 2021 GP after a controversial decision that will be remembered forever. However, the Englishman vowed to come back stronger for the 2022 season and continue chasing the record 8th WC title.
Unfortunately, the Mercedes W13 car wasn’t nearly as competitive as its predecessors, and Hamilton finished 6th in the drivers’ championship standings. The team and himself had high hopes for the 2023 season, and it remains to be seen if Hamilton will reach that elusive 8th WC title.
Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Story – The Boy That Loved Racing More Than Anything
Becoming an F1 driver is an enormous challenge on its own, but becoming the first-ever Black driver to reach the heights of the pinnacle of motorsport seemed impossible. Not until Lewis Hamilton came into this game.
Born on January 7, 1985, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in England to a black father of Grenadian descent, Anthony Hamilton, and a White British mother, Carmen Larbalestier, Hamilton spent his early years with his mom and two sisters. He first fell in love with cars and racing when his father brought him an RC car, with which he won the BRCA championship the same year.
His dad bought him a go-kart as a Christmas present and vowed to support his racing career as long as Lewis did well in school. Seeing how well his son progressed, Anthony sometimes worked up to four jobs to support Lewis’ career.
He won the British Kart Racing Championship at the age of 10 and approached McLaren F1 Team Boss Ron Dennis at the ceremony. Lewis introduced himself and said that one day he wants to race his cars.
Widely regarded as a child prodigy, British bookmakers predicted that he’ll get into F1 and win a race before the age of 2023. Coincidentally, Lewis won his first World Championship aged 23.
Hamilton Love & Family Life
Sir Lewis hasn’t been shy when it comes to his love life either. Although he hasn’t properly settled down yet, he has dated pop stars and supermodels throughout the years. Some of the beauties he has dated or has been connected to include Rita Ora, Nicky Minaj, Cindy Kimberly, and Sofia Richie – although he hasn’t been very public with any girlfriend except Nicole Scherzinger – which he dated between 2008 to 2015.
Although he doesn’t have children of his own, it’s apparent that he loves his niece and nephew very much, as the two make regular appearances on his Instagram Stories. Another popular member of his family is his bulldog Roscoe, who has accompanied Lewis to many race weekends.
Talking about creating his own family, Lewis believes that it’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re traveling to 23 cities a year. He has also said that although he wants kids, he wants to be a present dad – which is impossible if you’re an active F1 driver.
Knighthood, Becoming the Highest-Paid F1 Driver & Member of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World
Lewis Hamilton was listed as one of the top 100 most influential people globally by Time in 2020 and was knighted by the Prince of Wales in 2021. His net worth is estimated at around $285 million, while his salary is $35 million. He has a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023.
Despite his earnings from F1, he also has a substantial income via some lucrative endorsements. He collaborates with several high-profile brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Mercedez-Benz, Puma, and he has also been linked with a potential bid for the Manchester United Football Club – although that’s an unlikely scenario.
Some of the partner brands he works with also include Bose, Sony, IWC, Petronas, Monster Energy, Grand Turismo Sport, and MV Augusta Motorcycles.
- Full name: Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton
- DOB: 7th January 1985
- Age: 38
- Place of Birth: Stevenage, UK
- Nationality: British
- Team: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
- Race number: #44
From Go-Kart Grassroots to F1 Dominance: Who Was Lewis Hamilton Before F1?
Hamilton first started racing when he received an RC car for Christmas, and won the BRCA championship at the age of 6. His dad recognized his love for racing, and bought him a go-kart under the promise that he’ll do well in school.
He first started competing in karting championships at the age of 8, and just two years later, he won the British Karting Championship and the STP Karting Championship. The following year, he won the Champions of the Future series and other karting competitions, and repeated the same success in 1996.
Throughout 1998 he raced in the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future competition, where he finished second, and raced in the Italian Open Championship too. In 1999, he won the Italian ‘Industrials’ Championship, and in 2000, he won the Formula A European Championship. By 2022, it was time for his first race car experience.
The McLaren team asked Manor Motosport to let Lewis do a test in their Renault Formula, which was the first time he drove a car. Not just a race car – any car. Unfortunately, he crashed the Renault after just three laps. However, as he progressed throughout the season, he managed to win three races in the Formula Renault championship. He raced in the same competition the next year, and easily won the title with 10 wins.
In 2004, he raced in the Formula Three Euroseries for the Manor team, and finished fifth in the end of the season. For the 2005 season, he went to the ASM team, and won 16 out of the 20 races that season. The next route to F1 was the GP2 series.
Hamilton joined the ART GP2 team for the 2006 season. His main rival throughout the season was Nelson Piquiet Jr., but Lewis managed to claim the title – which meant only one thing: It was time for Lewis Hamilton to join F1. The rest is history.
Lewis Still Has High Hopes For 2023 Despite The Huge Gap To Red Bull
The new regulations for the 2022 season brought big changes to the cars, and, unfortunately for Lewis, the Mercedes W13 wasn’t nearly as competitive as the previous cars. Despite the team’s efforts throughout the season last year and the winter break, it seems like the 2023 car isn’t much better.
Although it’s too early to say whether the Mercedes W14 is competitive, the supertimings show that both Lewis and teammate George Russel were slower by main competitors Red Bull and Ferrari. Surprisingly, the Aston Martin, led by Fernando Alonso, was also on par with the Mercedes cars for the Bahrain GP qualifications, and even quicker in race pace.
He currently stands at 10 points, finishing 5th in the opening race of the 2023 season, and has his hopes up that the team can solve the issues and bring a more competitive car. The bookies don’t share this belief though, as Hamilton is currently priced at around 14/1 (15.00) when it comes to Formula One odds.
