Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One, driving for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles (tied with Michael Schumacher), and holds the records for the most wins (103), pole positions (103), and podium finishes (192), among others
Early Life
Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. His father, Anthony Hamilton, is black and is of Grenadian descent, while his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is White British, and from Birmingham, making him mixed-race; Hamilton has identified as black. 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. Hamilton then lived with his father, stepmother Linda, and his half-brother Nicolas, who is also a professional racing driver. Hamilton was raised a Catholic.
Hamilton’s father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was five. Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year against adult competition. Being the only black child racing at his club, Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse. 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. 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, while still attending his son’s races. Hamilton’s father later set up his own IT company. He continued to be Hamilton’s manager until early 2010.
Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage. Hamilton has said that at the age of five he took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school. 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. In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international, Ashley Young. 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. In February 2001, he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge.
Career
Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hamilton joined the McLaren young driver programme in 1998 at the age of 13, becoming the youngest racing driver ever to be contracted by a Formula One team. This led to a Formula One drive with McLaren for six years from 2007 to 2012, making Hamilton the first ever black driver to race in the series. In his inaugural season, Hamilton set numerous records as he finished runner-up to Kimi Räikkönen by one point. The following season, he won his maiden title in dramatic fashion—making a crucial overtake at the last corner on the last lap of the last race of the season—to become the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history. After six years with McLaren, Hamilton signed with Mercedes in 2013.
Changes to the regulations for 2014 mandating the use of turbo-hybrid engines saw the start of a highly successful period for Hamilton, during which he won six further drivers’ titles. Consecutive titles came in 2014 and 2015 during an intense rivalry with teammate Nico Rosberg. Following Rosberg’s retirement in 2016, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton’s closest rival in two championship battles, in which Hamilton twice overturned mid-season point deficits to claim consecutive titles again in 2017 and 2018. His third and fourth consecutive titles followed in 2019 and 2020 to equal Schumacher’s record of seven drivers’ titles. Hamilton achieved his 100th pole position and race win during the 2021 season.
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, environmental and social activism, and exploits in music and fashion. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of activism to combat racism and push for increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was the highest-paid Formula One driver from 2013 to 2021, and was ranked as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes by Forbes of twenty-tens decade and 2021. He was also 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. Hamilton was granted honorary Brazilian citizenship in 2022.
Personal Life
In 2017, Hamilton told the BBC that he had become vegan because “[a]s the human race, what we are doing to the world … the pollution [in terms of emissions of global-warming gases] coming from the amount of cows that are being produced is incredible. The cruelty is horrible and I don’t necessarily want to support that and I want to live a healthier life.” In 2018 he was named the PETA Person of the Year for his vegan activism. In 2018, Hamilton said in an interview that he gave up drinking “a while ago”. His racing number has always been 44 because when he started racing at age 8 his father’s red Vauxhall Cavalier had the number plate “F44” and it was his father’s idea to use it.
Hamilton is a fan of art and has said that one of his favourite artists is Andy Warhol. Prior to the 2014 United States Grand Prix, Hamilton wore a gold-framed version of Warhol’s Cars, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe painting hanging from a chain around his neck. From November 2007 to February 2015, Hamilton was in an on-and-off relationship with Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer of the American girl group Pussycat Dolls.
Hamilton is a Catholic; he says that he prays regularly and is guided by his faith. Hamilton believes that he has the “hand of God” resting over him when racing in Formula One. Hamilton is also a supporter of LGBT rights, and strongly criticised the Hungarian government before the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, while also calling out the “terrifying” Saudi Arabian LGBT laws before that Grand Prix.
On 14 March 2022, Hamilton revealed that he is in the process of legally changing his name to include his mother’s maiden name, Larbalestier, as a middle name. On 9 June 2022, Hamilton was made an honorary citizen of Brazil after a proposal made by politician André Figueiredo was passed in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.
On 18 December 2007, Hamilton was suspended from driving in France for a month after being caught speeding at 196 km/h (122 mph) on a French motorway. His Mercedes-Benz CLK was also impounded. Two days before the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, Victoria Police witnessed Hamilton “deliberately losing traction” in his silver Mercedes-AMG C63, and impounded the car for 48 hours. Hamilton immediately released a statement of apology for “driving in an over-exuberant manner”. After being charged with intentionally losing control of a vehicle, Hamilton was eventually fined A$500 (£288), being described as a “hoon” by the magistrate.
In 2017, Hamilton’s rights management company 44IP opposed Swatch Group’s application to register a trade mark for “HAMILTON INTERNATIONAL” in Europe for the sale of watches and timepieces. This was likely to have been encouraged, or even required, by Hamilton’s own watch sponsor. 44IP alleged that Swatch Group’s application was made in bad faith and that it was contrary to “fair competition” in relation to 44IP’s existing “LEWIS HAMILTON” mark. In 2020, the case was heard before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The EUIPO rejected 44IP’s arguments, ruling that there had been no bad faith by Swatch Group (with “HAMILTON INTERNATIONAL” having been used on relevant goods since 1892) and that 44IP’s “LEWIS HAMILTON” trade mark did not extend to the word “HAMILTON” alone for the purposes of protecting the existing mark.
Hamilton moved to Luins, Vaud, Switzerland in 2007, citing privacy as his main reason for leaving the UK. He later said on the television show Parkinson that taxation was also a factor in his decision.
In 2010, Hamilton, like many other Formula One drivers, moved to Monaco, purchasing a house worth a reported £10 million. Hamilton also owns an apartment in Manhattan, New York which he bought for US$40 million in 2017, and an estate in Colorado where he has said he would live after his retirement.
- Fun Fact: According to Forbes, Hamilton was one of the highest-paid athletes of twenty-tens decade, and also the highest-paid Formula One driver from 2013 to 2021.
Net Worth
Lewis Hamilton is a British Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team who has a net worth of $285 million. In a typical year, he makes $50 million, the majority of which comes from his Mercedes contract that pays $40 million per year.
In 2015, Hamilton was ranked as the richest British sportsperson, with an estimated personal fortune of £88 million. In 2018, it was reported that Hamilton had a net worth of £159 million. In 2020, Hamilton’s fortune was an estimated £224 million, making him the richest British sports star in the history of the Sunday Times Rich List.
Before the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton signed a contract to stay with Mercedes until the end of the 2018 season in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million over the three years, making him one of the best-paid drivers in Formula One. In the week leading up to the 2018 German Grand Prix, Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million per year, making him the best-paid driver in the history of Formula One.
