Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton is of mixed-race heritage. His father, Anthony Hamilton, is of Afro-Grenadian descent, while his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is White British. His half-brother Nicolas Hamilton is also a professional racing driver.

Hamilton was in an on-and-off relationship with Nicole Scherzinger from 2007 to 2015. Since 2026, he has been in a relationship with American media personality Kim Kardashian.

Hamilton has spoken about battling depression from the age of 13, connecting it to the pressure of racing, difficulties at school and bullying. He became vegan in 2017 and was named PETA's Person of the Year in 2018.

Hamilton began karting at six and became the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship at the age of ten. His early performances attracted the attention of McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, who signed him to the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 1998. Hamilton won the Karting World Cup and European Championship in 2000.

He progressed through Formula Renault, Formula 3 and GP2. He won the British Formula Renault championship in 2003, the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005 and the GP2 Series championship in 2006. His junior career also included 15 wins from 20 rounds in the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season.

Hamilton made his Formula One debut with McLaren at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. He became the first black driver to compete in the Formula One World Championship and finished third on his debut. He won his first Grand Prix in Canada later that season and ended the championship as runner-up, one point behind Kimi Räikkönen.

Hamilton won his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship with McLaren in 2008. At the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, he overtook Timo Glock at the final corners of the last lap to finish fifth and secure the title by one point over Felipe Massa. He became the first British driver to win the championship since Damon Hill in 1996.

After six seasons with McLaren, Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and was reunited with his former karting teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton won the 2014 and 2015 championships during a period in which Mercedes became Formula One's leading team. Rosberg won the 2016 title, while Hamilton finished runner-up.

Hamilton then won four consecutive championships from 2017 to 2020. He overcame Sebastian Vettel's early points leads to win the 2017 and 2018 titles, secured his sixth championship in 2019, and equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven titles in 2020. He also became the first driver to surpass 100 Formula One race wins and 100 pole positions in 2021.

Hamilton's 2021 title fight with Max Verstappen went to the final race in Abu Dhabi, where Verstappen won after a last-lap overtake. Hamilton remained with Mercedes through 2024, winning his record ninth British Grand Prix at Silverstone that year and ending a 31-month winless period.

Hamilton joined Ferrari in 2025 after ending his Mercedes career. He described driving for Ferrari as a childhood dream. His early Ferrari seasons included a first sprint victory at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, a first podium for the team at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix and his maiden Ferrari Grand Prix victory at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Hamilton holds records for the most Formula One race wins, pole positions and podium finishes. His 2008 championship was won at the age of 23 years and 301 days, making him the then-youngest World Drivers' Champion. He retained his karting number 44 throughout his Formula One career rather than switching to the number 1 after becoming champion.

His driving has been praised for strong braking, adaptability to changing track conditions, tyre management and consistency. He is particularly associated with wet-weather performances, including his victory by more than a minute at the 2008 British Grand Prix and his title-clinching drive at the rain-affected 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

Hamilton has advocated for racial justice and greater diversity in motorsport. In 2020, he took the knee before every Grand Prix he entered in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He established The Hamilton Commission with the Royal Academy of Engineering to examine ways to increase participation by Black people in motorsport and engineering.

He founded Mission 44 in 2021 to support young people from under-represented backgrounds. He also launched the joint Mercedes initiative Ignite, which focuses on improving educational opportunities and diversity in motorsport. His advocacy earned him the inaugural Laureus Athlete Advocate of the Year Award in 2021.

Hamilton has worked with UNICEF since 2012, visiting programmes in the Philippines, India, Haiti and Cuba. He has also supported Save the Children, the Invictus Games Foundation and campaigns involving education, children's welfare, human rights, environmental protection and animal rights.

Outside motorsport, Hamilton founded the production company Dawn Apollo Films, co-founded the plant-based restaurant chain Neat Burger and launched Team X44 in the Extreme E off-road racing series. Team X44 won the Extreme E championship in 2022. Hamilton has also appeared in Cars 2 and Cars 3, contributed to Christina Aguilera's song "Pipe" under the name XNDA, and launched the TommyXLewis clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger.