Lewis Hamilton

He is noted for being the first black Formula One racecar driver.

There were many early comparisons, even to the likes of the late great Ayrton Senna along with heavily promising words from Michael Schumacher and other legends of the sport. Lewis Hamilton had caught the attention of everyone in the FIA fraternity even before sitting in the car for his first race.

Although more than half the racing fraternity felt that Hamilton was unfortunate not to create history at the dawn of 2007, the driver himself took the juncture of his career in a positive manner and felt that tragedies were part and parcel of the sport, but the show must go on. Today, Hamilton is contracted with the McLaren Mercedes team.

It’s almost as if Hamilton was always ordained to be part of the McLaren outfit. He was offered a contract with the British constructor’s future development program way back in the early 90s.

Early Career

In 1998 he was assured of a future seat in F1 after some impressive performances in the Junior Yamaha (1998) and the Junior Intercontinental A (1999).

After the junior-level triumphs, Hamilton progressed nearer to F1 with successive runs in the British Formula Renault, the prestigious European Formula Three, and GP2. He won all three championships and was eventually classified as a test driver for McLaren in 2006. Although, his first testing with the British constructor was in late 2004 at Silverstone.

The Brit then spent a year in Intercontinental A before moving to Formula A where he was crowned the European Champion. After that, he was off to the British Formula Renault, where he won the title in 2003, and then on to the F3 Euroseries, winning the Championship in 2005.

The Brit’s achievements in the junior series earned him a test driver’s role with the McLaren F1 team and after hugely impressing team boss Ron Dennis, Lewis landed the coveted role of being the teammate to defending World Champion, Fernando Alonso, in the 2007 F1 season.

Formula 1 Career

During the unforgettable 2007 season, Hamilton went on to record eight consecutive podium finishes, including race wins in Canada and the United States before finishing his first race off the podium and out of the points in the European GP, round 10 of the Championship. The record books underwent heavy revisions and a legend was in the making.

In 2008, he won his first World Championships. He would go on to six more, bringing him to a total of 7. As of 2023, he is still chasing his 8th world championship.

He has won 103 races and has been on 195 podiums. His last race win was at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. In 2022 and early 2023, Mercedes suffered from build issues but they have come back during the second half of the 2023 season. He finished third overall in 2023.

Career Highlights

• 2022 - FIA Action of the Year
• 2020 - Sportsman of the Year
• 2014, 2018, 2020–21 - FIA Personality of the Year
• 2008 - Breakthrough of the Year
• 2007–08, 2014–15, 2017–20 - International Racing Driver Award
• 2006–07 - AS Rookie of the Year
• 2003 - Autosport British Club Driver of the Year

Entries: 332 (332 starts)

• Championships: 7 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
• Wins: 103
• Podiums: 197
• Career points: 4639.5
• Pole positions: 104
• Fastest laps: 65