Lewis Hamilton was born in Stevenage in 1985. His father, Anthony, worked several jobs at once to pay for karting, and at ten Lewis introduced himself to Ron Dennis at an awards evening and told him he would drive for McLaren one day. Three years later McLaren signed him to its young driver programme.
He arrived in Formula One with McLaren in 2007 alongside the world champion Fernando Alonso, matched him from the first race, and lost the title by a single point. He won it the next year, in Brazil, by passing Timo Glock at the final corner of the final lap.
In 2013 he moved to Mercedes, a decision many thought a mistake. Instead the team built the dominant car of the hybrid era, and Hamilton won six more titles — in 2014, 2015 and every year from 2017 to 2020 — to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of seven. He has since passed Schumacher’s record for wins, with more than a hundred, and for pole positions.
An eighth title was lost on the last lap of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, after a disputed decision on the safety car handed Max Verstappen the chance to pass him. Hamilton said nothing for weeks.
He has used his position to campaign on diversity in a sport that had never had a Black driver at the top, and was knighted in 2021. In 2025 he joined Ferrari. The Mercedes-AMG One in this catalogue carries a road version of the Formula One power units that won his Mercedes titles.
Foto: Wikimedia Commons · Wikipedia
The cars
Cars in the catalog he drove, won in, or that were named after him.
