Born in 1985, Lewis Hamilton is a British F1 driver in his 20th season in Formula 1. His racing career began when he was eight years old, and he won the British Karting Championship when he was 10. By the time he was 13, he signed to the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme, where he further developed his skills. From 1998 to 2000, he won the European and world karting championships and became the youngest driver to be ranked number one in the sport at 15 years old. He progressed to auto racing before moving on to Formula 3, and eventually competing in GP2 (Grand Prix 2) to help better prepare him for F1.
In 2007, Hamilton joined the McLaren F1 team and came in second in the drivers’ championship, only scoring one point behind Kimi Räikkönen. He won four races his rookie year, tying Jacques Villeneuve’s record for most wins in a rookie season. In 2008, Hamilton won five races to secure his first driver’s championship. He won a total of 12 races with McLaren before he decided to join the Mercedes-Benz F1 team for the 2013 season.
Hamilton had a difficult transition to the Mercedes team, only winning one race for the 2013 team, but he was able to rack up enough points to finish in the top five for the driver’s championship. However, in 2014, Hamilton won a career high of 11 races to secure his second driver’s championship. In 2015, he won his third championship one month before the season ended. In both 2014 and 2015, Hamilton’s performance, combined with that of his teammate, Nico Rosberg, allowed Mercedes to win the constructors’ championship. In 2016, Hamilton took second in the championship, behind Rosberg, which put a further strain on their friendship. Hamilton and Rosberg were childhood friends in karting; their friendship turned tense in 2014 due to their competitive natures. At the 2014 Belgian GP, Rosberg hit Hamilton on the second lap, causing him to have a tire puncture, retiring him from the race. Once Rosberg stood on the podium, the crowd booed at him for that incident. At five other races during the 2014 season, they constantly went head-to-head, causing one or both drivers to retire from the race. Their battles continued until the last race of the 2016 season in Abu Dhabi. The drivers were neck and neck in the championship, with this race as the decider. Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg during the race, but deliberately drove slowly to back Rosberg into other cars, to get a better chance at the championship title, but Rosberg still won, leading to his retirement from F1. After Rosberg’s retirement, the tension eventually softened, but their battles remain one of F1’s most famous “civil wars.”
In 2017, Hamilton won his fourth championship with 363 points, with Sebastian Vettel in second place with 317 points, and Hamilton’s new teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in third. Hamilton won his fifth championship in 2018, tying Juan Manuel Fangio for the second-highest championship total in F1 history. By 2019, he claimed his sixth championship and was one title behind Michael Schumacher for most F1 championships, before tying his record in 2020 with seven world championships. However, Hamilton broke Schumacher’s record for most career wins (91) before winning his 100th race in 2021.
The 2021 season was a constant battle between Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Both drivers would constantly finish with a second or two behind each other, but finish at least 35 seconds ahead of the rest of the drivers. The entire season was a fight to see who would come out on top, coming down to the final race in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton led a majority of the race, but in one of the final corners on the last lap, Verstappen overtook Hamilton and claimed his first championship, denying Hamilton his eighth. Despite Hamilton coming in second, the 2021 season is ranked as one of the best seasons to watch.
In the 2022 season, Hamilton failed to win a race, making it his first season without a win, although he had nine podiums. In 2023, he failed to win a race again but placed third in the drivers’ championship. In his two-year slump, his teammate, George Russell, scored the team’s only win. During the season, there were rumors that he would leave Mercedes, but he announced that he would sign a two-year contract extension. However, in 2024, he decided to use his exit clause and sign with Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team for the 2025 season. For the remainder of the 2024 season, he won the British GP, his first win since 2021, as well as his home race. Then three weeks later, he won the Belgian GP, marking his 105th win.
It was a rough transition to Ferrari from Mercedes, as it was his first season without a podium, his highest finish being 4th place, and he placed 6th in the championship standings. Throughout the season, Hamilton would comment on his struggles, the most emotional comment at the Hungarian GP when he qualified for 12th-place, “I’m useless, absolutely useless. The team has no problem; you’ve seen the cars on pole. So, we probably need to change the driver.” It was a rare display of raw frustration and self-doubt regarding his ability as a driver. However, as multiple fans thought, he is the furthest thing from useless, as he has achieved 105 wins, 202 podiums, and a total of 5018.5 points throughout his career. Thankfully, a fan called out to Hamilton on race day, saying, “Remember who you are.” Hamilton said in an interview how much he appreciated it, as his performance slowly began to improve as the season continued. Despite Hamilton’s many challenges and slumps, he is still one of the most regarded Formula 1 drivers.