F1 Driver Profiles #1: Lewis Hamilton 

Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful and influential drivers of Formula 1 history, redifining excellence over his historic and extraordinary career. Since starting his career in 2007 with McLaren, he stunned the sport by nearly becoming the first rookie to win the world titie before winning his maiden title in 2008. His Mercedes move in 2013 saw the spark of a new era of dominance, as he would go on to win another six Driver's Championship titles, equalling Michael Schumacher's record while breaking his record of 91 race wins by setting a new benchmark of 105. Beyond the grid, Hamilton has become a global icon, being the voice for social change and a trendsetter for those beyond the grid. 

Full Name: Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton 

Birth Place: Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England

Nationality: British

DOB: 7th January 1985 

2026 Team: Ferrari 

Car Number: #44 

First F1 Race: 2007 Australian Grand Prix (P3)

First F1 Win: 2007 Canadian Grand Prix 

Last F1 Win: 2024 Belgian Grand Prix 

Wins: 105 

Podiums: 203 

Career Points: 5051.5 

Pole Positions: 104 

Fastest Laps: 68

McLaren (2007-2012)

At the age of 13, Hamilton was already part of McLaren's Driver Development Programme, catching the eye of Ron Dennis who a young Hamilton said to him "One day, I'll be a Formula 1 World Champion in your car", and certainly, what a gift it was to give.  

In his maiden race in the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton already was making history when his P3 finish saw him become the first rookie since Jacques Villenueve to score a podium finish in his debut race. After four consecutive P2 finishes, Hamilton grabbed the first win of his career in Canada, proving instantly that he was championship material. After further wins in Indianopolis, Hungary and Japan, his bid to become a rookie world champion looked strong. However, an unfortunate retirement in Shanghai and a P7 finish in Interlagos saw his title bid fall short, losing the title by a point to Ferrari's Kimi Raïkkönen, one of McLarens outgoing drivers the previous season. 

The following season, Hamilton made sure that history wouldn't repeat itself and completed one of the most dramatic runs in Formula 1 history. Entering the final Grand Prix of the season in Brazil, Hamilton held a 7 point lead over his closest rival, Ferrari's Felipe Massa. In the final corners of the race, he overtook Timo Glock to secure the desired P5 needed to win his maiden championship, breaking thousands of local hearts in the grandstands in Sao Paulo, making him the youngest world champion at 23 years old, a record he would hold until Sebastian Vettel in 2010. 

Across his six seasons at McLaren, Hamilton has worked alongside several high profile teammates, starting his McLaren career with reigning world champion, Fernando Alonso, who the men from Woking signed from Renault for his rookie year. What looked to be a dream duo was instead a partnership filled with intense competition and internal tension. Following Alonso's contreversal departure from McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen joined the side which sparked a harmonious dynamic between Hamilton and the Finn before finishing off his McLaren career alongside fellow compatriot, Jenson Button, creating a strong all-British lineup which delivered consistent podiums and wins. 

Mercedes (2013-2024)

Following a succesful start to his Formula 1 career with McLaren, Hamilton was immediately met with skepticscism, but it soon became one of the most significant decisions made in Formula 1. He replaced the retiring Michael Schumacher and partnered up former karting teammate and close personal friend, Nico Rosberg in what would be a partnership for the ages. After a solid first season, helping Mercedes achieve P2 in the Constructor's Championship, including four consecutive pole positions and his maiden Mercedes win in Hungary. 

In the 2014 season, following the start of the turbo-hybrid engines era, Mercedes seemed as one of the heavy favourites, having reacted well to the regulation changes. During the 2014 season, Hamilton unleashed his full potential during the hybrid era's arrival, with the combination of Mercedes' engineering brilliance and his racing style too good for anyone else. At the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton sealed his second Drivers Championship title with a confident win, sparking the start of his and Mercedes' domination of the sport, with their first Constructor's Championship. In between, he kept a fierce yet respectful rivalry between him and Rosberg; producing a partnership which included dramatic on-track battles, internal tension, and some of the sport's memorable championship fights. In 2015, Lewis won his third title, following a dominating season which saw him only fail to score points in one race. 2016 saw one of the most fierce title fights between him and Rosberg, going all the way to the final race in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately for Lewis, despite seing the checkered flag first, he wouldn't retain his title, losing out to Rosberg by five points; sparking the peak of their intense rivalry, dubbed the "Silver War" by pundits across the world. However, despite signing a contract that would keep him at Mercedes until at least 2018, Rosberg retired five days after winning the title, marking the end of his and Hamilton's beautiful rivalry. 

Despite Rosberg's early retirement, five days after his Championship win which ended their rivalry, Hamilton came into the 2017 season looking stronger than ever. From 2017 to 2020, Hamilton would completely dominate the sport, winning four consecutive titles, equalling Michael Schumacher's record of 7 Driver's Championship titles, a record they said would never be broken. Alongside him, new teammate, Valterri Bottas helped maintain both Driver's and Constrcutor's Championship for both himself and Mercedes. In 2021, Hamilton was part of an entirely entertaining title battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, a battle so tight they went into the final race of the season tied with 369.5 points. However, despite leading for a majority of the race, Hamilton couldn't see the checkered flag first, and lost the title to Max Verstappen on the final lap

Since the ground effect era started in 2022, life hasn't exactly been the same for Lewis Hamilton. In other words, it's been far from his expectations. Despite a promising P3 start at the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton wouldn't score another podium until Canada. Midway through, he suffered his worst finish, P13 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, making it his worst finish in a race he completed since the 2009 German Grand Prix. Despite promising finishes, including five consecutive podiums and three consecutive P2 finishes towards the end of the season, a P18 finish at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the first season in which Hamilton didn't secure a single win or pole position, finishing 6th in the Driver's Championship standings, his lowest finish in his career. 

However, 2023 would see things improve for Hamilton as he started to adapt to the ground effect, securing him consistent finishes in the top 10, including six podium finishes, saw him rise to P3 in the championship, just under the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Peréz. Throughout the 2023 season, there was a lot of speculation to whether Hamilton would stay at Mercedes for future years, with Aston Martin and Ferrari in the chasing for the 7-time world champion's signature. However, midway through the season, Hamilton signed a two year deal that would keep him with the Silver Arrows until the end of the 2025 season at least. The 2024 season saw Hamilton record two wins in Silverstone, his first win in nearly 1000 days, extending his record there to 9 victories, and Spa, where he was promoted to P1 after teammate, George Russell, who originally won the race, got disqualified due to having an underweight car. However, despite gaining two wins, Hamilton finished P7 in the Driver's Championship, his worst finish in his career, in what would be a dismal end to one of the greatest partnerships in Formula 1 history. 

Ferrari (2025-)

In January 2024, despite having two more years left in his Mercedes contract, Hamilton sent shockwaves through the paddock when he announced that he would join Ferrari come the start of the 2025 season, ending a partnership between him and Mercedes which lasted since he was 13, replacing the departing Carlos Sainz and partnering with Monaco's Charles Leclerc. In what looked like a dream partnership for the Tifosi, hoping to guide them to their first Championship win since 2008, it was anything but that. 

Throughout the entirety of the 2025, Hamilton's best position was P4, achieved in four races, making the 2025 season the first season in his career that Hamilton doesn't finish at least one race on the podium. Despite achieving his maiden sprint victory in Shanghai and qualifying P3 for the Mexico City Grand Prix, Hamilton couldn't carry the momentum into the acutal race, constantly being in the shadow of Leclerc, who consistently scored podiums and outqualified Lewis. However, a promising start to the 2026 season, including a maiden podium finish for Ferrari in Shanghai, shows that he's not done with Formula 1 just yet, and with 20 more races this season and him back to his best, anything can happen. 

Records held by Lewis Hamilton: 

Most Grand Prix wins - 105

Most pole positions - 104 

Most podium finishes - 203 

Most career points - 5051.5 

Most wins at a single Grand Prix - 9 (British)

Most wins at a single circuit - 9 (Silverstone)

Most podiums at a single circuit - 15 (Silverstone)

Most consecutive race finishes - 48

Most consecutive podium finishes - 48

Most World Championships - 7 (tied with Michael Schumacher)