Portrait · Liauzh; crop by Mb2437 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Lewis Hamilton

Formula One driver, producer and philanthropist

Born 1985

Sir Lewis Hamilton is a British racing driver, producer and philanthropist whose seven Formula One world championships, 106 Grand Prix victories and 104 pole positions place him among the sport's defining competitors. Born in Stevenage, Hamilton began karting at eight with his father Anthony managing and financing the early campaign, approached McLaren principal Ron Dennis as a child, and entered the McLaren-Mercedes young-driver programme in 1998. Titles in Formula Renault UK, the Formula 3 Euro Series and GP2 preceded a record-setting 2007 Formula One debut in which he won four races and finished one point short of the championship. He became the sport's then-youngest champion in 2008, moved from McLaren to Mercedes for 2013 and built the most successful driver-team partnership of the hybrid era: six further drivers' titles, an unprecedented run of victories and pole positions, and a sustained rivalry with team-mates and champions including Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen. Hamilton used his visibility to press Formula One on racial equality, funded the Hamilton Commission's research into Black representation in UK motorsport and founded Mission 44 to widen access to education and technical careers. His creative work spans fashion, music and film; through Dawn Apollo Films he produced F1: The Movie, which was filmed around real Grand Prix weekends. In 2025 he began a new chapter with Ferrari, won the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint in his second weekend for the team and endured a first season without a Sunday podium. His second Ferrari campaign brought five podiums and a maiden Scuderia Grand Prix victory at Barcelona-Catalunya by September 2026, when Formula One listed him third in the championship with 191 points after 14 completed Grands Prix, before the Azerbaijan race. Away from the track, his interviews document a long-running plant-based diet, varied endurance and combat-sport training, an expansive love of music and a close bond with his late bulldog Roscoe. He was appointed MBE in 2009, made a Knight Bachelor for services to motorsport in the 2021 New Year Honours, twice voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and named joint Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2020.

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Connected people

ConnectionAnthony HamiltonFather and early manager who financed and supported Hamilton's karting path.

ConnectionNicolas HamiltonYounger half-brother and racing driver whose career and resilience Hamilton has discussed publicly.

ConnectionRon DennisMcLaren principal who brought Hamilton into the team's young-driver programme and later gave him his Formula One debut.

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Formula 1