Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE HonFREng (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who races in Formula One for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. A six-time Formula One World Champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and considered by some to be the greatest of all time.[note 2] He won his first drivers' title with McLaren in 2008, before moving to Mercedes in 2013, with whom he has won a further five titles. One of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport, Hamilton's six World Championship titles is the second-most of all time, as is his tally of 83 race victories and 150 podium finishes. He currently holds the records for the all-time most career points (3405), the all-time most pole positions (87), the most grand slams in a season (3) and the most points in a season (408).[note 3]
Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hamilton's interest in racing started when his father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was six. He was signed to McLaren's young driver support programme in 1998, after he approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony three years earlier and said "one day I want to be racing your cars". After winning the British Formula Renault, Formula 3 Euro Series, and GP2 championships on his way up the racing career ladder, he made his Formula One debut twelve years after his initial encounter with Dennis, driving for McLaren in 2007. Coming from a mixed background, with a black father and white mother, Hamilton is the first and only black driver to race in Formula One.[note 4]
In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton set numerous records as he finished runner-up in the 2007 season to Kimi Räikkönen by just one point, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in a debut season (109). The following season, he won his first title in dramatic fashion; on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season, becoming the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history. After four more years with McLaren without finishing higher than fourth in the drivers' standings, Hamilton signed with Mercedes in 2013, reuniting with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg. In his first season, he finished 4th once again, the third time in five years.
Changes to regulations ahead of the 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines, contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton and Mercedes, during which he has won a further five World Championship titles. Hamilton won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015 during an intense and sometimes volatile rivalry with teammate Nico Rosberg, to match his hero Ayrton Senna's three World Championships. Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair engaged in two intense championship battles, but Hamilton prevailed to claim consecutive titles for the second time in his career in 2017 and 2018. A third World Drivers' Championship followed in 2019 to complete a hat-trick of consecutive titles, bringing his tally to six overall, second only to seven-time World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher
Early life and education
Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.[2] Hamilton's mother, Carmen (Larbalestier), is white British, while his father, Anthony Hamilton, is black British, making him mixed-race;[7] he self-identifies as black.[8] Lewis's parents separated when he was two and, as a result of this, he lived with his mother and half-sisters until he was twelve.[9] He then moved to live with his father, stepmother Linda and half-brother Nicolas, who is also a professional racing driver and has cerebral palsy.[10] Hamilton was raised a Roman Catholic.[11]
At the age of five Hamilton took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school;[12] later, he learned to ride a unicycle, as part of his karting rivalry with future Formula One Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, who could already ride one.[13] Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car in 1991, which gave him his first taste of racing competition before finishing second in the national BRCA championship the following year. He said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults".[14] His father bought him a go-kart for Christmas when Hamilton was six[15] and promised to support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. To support his son, Anthony took redundancy from his position as an information technology manager and became a contractor; sometimes working up to three jobs at a time, while still attending all his son's races. Anthony later set up his own computer company, still managing Lewis;[16] Hamilton would later end his working relationship with his father in early 2010.[17]
Lewis Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.[18] In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international, Ashley Young.[16] 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.[19] In February 2001 he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge
Early career
1993–2000: Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993, when he was eight,[21] at the Rye House Kart Circuit[22] and quickly began winning races and Cadet class championships. Two years later, he approached McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis for an autograph, and told him, "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." Hamilton drove for Martin Hines's Zip Young Guns Karting Team.[23] By the age of 12, his driving skill was high enough that Ladbrokes took a bet, at 40/1 odds, that Hamilton would win a Formula One Grand Prix race before the age of 23; another predicted, at 150/1 odds, that he would win the World Drivers' Championship before he was 25.[24] He progressed through to Junior Yamaha in 1997, and in 1998, Dennis called Hamilton after he won an additional Super One series and his second British championship.[14] Dennis delivered on his promise and signed Hamilton to the McLaren driver development programme.[7] This contract included an option of a future Formula One seat, which would make Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract which later resulted in a Formula One drive
Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his teammate was Nico Rosberg, who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes teams in Formula One; they would later team up again for Mercedes in 2013. Following his karting successes the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.[26] In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track, Schumacher praised the young Briton (see quote box).[27]
2001–2005: Formula Renault and Formula Three
Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series. Despite crashing on his third lap in the car in testing, he finished fifth overall in the winter series.[14] This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport in which he finished third overall with three wins and three pole positions.[28] He remained with Manor for another year and won the championship with ten wins and 419 points to the two wins and 377 points of his nearest rival, Alex Lloyd.[29] Having clinched the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season to make his debut in the season finale of the British Formula 3 Championship.[30] In his first race he was forced out with a puncture,[31] and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with teammate Tor Graves.[32]
Asked in 2002 about the prospect of becoming one of the youngest ever Formula One drivers, Hamilton replied that his goal was "not to be the youngest in Formula One" but rather "to be experienced and then show what I can do in Formula One".[33] Later in 2004, Williams would announce that they had come close to signing Hamilton but did not because BMW, their engine supplier at the time, would not fund him.[34] He eventually re-signed with McLaren, and made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series. They won one race and Hamilton ended the year fifth in the championship.[35] He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix[36] and raced one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix.[37]
Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004 at Silverstone.[38] Hamilton moved to the reigning Euro Series champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. This would have been 16 but for being disqualified from one win at Spa-Francorchamps on a technical infringement that caught out several other drivers.[14] He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.[39] After the season British magazine Autosport featured him in their "Top 50 Drivers of 2005" issue, ranking Hamilton 24th.[40]
2006 season: GP2
Due to his success in Formula Three, he moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix for 2006.[41] Like their sister team in F3, ART were the leaders of the field and reigning champions having taken the 2005 GP2 crown with Nico Rosberg.[42] Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Timo Glock.[43] His performances included a dominant win at the Nürburgring, despite a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[44] At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the British Grand Prix, Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts, a series of high-speed bends where overtaking is rare.[45] In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second.[46] Hamilton won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. In the sprint race, though he finished second with Piquet sixth, he was 12 points clear of his rival.[47] His success in the GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[48][49] After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for 2007, Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver.[50] He was told of McLaren's decision at the end of September, but the news was not made public for almost two months, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement.[51]
Formula One career
Hamilton's first season in Formula One saw him partner two-time and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso. After finishing on the podium in his debut, Hamilton went on to set several records as he finished runner-up in the 2007 World Drivers' Championship to Kimi Räikkönen by one point, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in a debut season (109). Throughout the season, Hamilton and Alonso were involved in a number of incidents which resulted in tensions between both drivers and the team, culminating in Alonso and McLaren terminating their contract by mutual consent in November. Following a successful first season at McLaren, Hamilton signed a multi-million-pound contract to stay with the team until 2012
Hamilton's success continued in 2008. He amassed five victories and ten podium finishes, but was also accused of arrogance and dangerous driving, though he argued that his self-belief was wrongly interpreted and that his driving was firm but fair. As the season reached its conclusion in Brazil, it became a clear two-way fight for the title between the home-favourite Felipe Massa and the young Briton. Hamilton won his first title in dramatic fashion; on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season, becoming the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history as he denied race-winner Massa the title by one point.[53][54] This made Hamilton the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.[55]
2009–2012: Unsuccessful championship campaigns with McLaren
In his last four years with McLaren, Hamilton continued to score podium finishes and race victories, but a culmination of less competitive machinery and a self-confessed loss of focus saw him fail to finish higher than fourth in the drivers' standings. Hamilton entered the final round of the 2010 season with a chance of winning the title, but ultimately finished fourth as Sebastian Vettel won the race to take his maiden drivers' crown. The following year was the first season he had been out-scored by a teammate, as Jenson Button finished runner-up to champion Sebastian Vettel, during a year in which distractions in his private life and run-ins with FIA officials saw Hamilton finish a lowly fifth in the standings, after which he vowed he would return to form for 2012. Keeping to his word, Hamilton achieved four race-wins in the 2012 season as he finished fourth in the standings. Before the end of the year, Hamilton announced, to much surprise, that he would be joining Mercedes for the 2013 season, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher.[56]
Mercedes
Hamilton (right) and Rosberg (left) endured a tense rivalry in their time as teammates.
2013–2016: Teammates with Rosberg; back-to-back titles
Upon signing with Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton was reunited with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg. The move was met with surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to Mercedes, a team with no recent history of success, as a gamble.[57][58] In his first season with the silver arrows, Hamilton secured a sole race victory, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he converted an unexpected pole position into a winning margin of over 11 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kimi Räikkönen,[59] alongside a number of podium finishes and pole positions, finishing fourth in the standings once again, the third time in five years.[56]
Changes to regulations ahead of the 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines, contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton as he found himself in the most dominant car on the grid. That year saw Mercedes win 16 of the 19 races that season, 11 of those secured by Hamilton as he prevailed in a season-long duel for the title against teammate Rosberg. Clinching his second drivers' title, and eclipsing the victory tally of all British drivers before him, Hamilton declared over team-radio after the final race in Abu Dhabi, "This is the greatest day of my life".[56]
Hamilton's engine failure in Malaysia in 2016 was a key moment in the Drivers' Championship fight.
Ahead of the 2015 season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1, as was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career number 44. It was the first season since 1994, when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in 1993, that the field would not contain car bearing the number 1.[60] Hamilton dominated the 2015 season, winning ten races finishing on the podium a record seventeen times as he matched his hero, Ayrton Senna's three World Championships titles. The rivalry between him and Rosberg intensified, climaxing in a heated battle at the US Grand Prix where Hamilton won in an action-packed, wheel-to-wheel battle with his teammate to clinch the title with three races to spare.[56] That year, Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes for three additional years in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million, making him one of the best-paid drivers in Formula One,[61][62] as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship winning cars and trophies.[63]
Hamilton achieved his fifth career Grand Slam and his third of the season at the 2017 British Grand Prix.
Despite recording more pole positions and race wins than any other driver in 2016, Hamilton lost the drivers' title by five points to his teammate, Rosberg. The team's policy of letting the pair fight freely led to a number of acrimonious exchanges both on and off the track, culminating in Hamilton defying team-orders at the season finale in Abu Dhabi and deliberately slowing to back Rosberg into the chasing pack at end of the race in an unsuccessful bid to encourage other drivers to overtake his teammate, which would have allowed him to win the title.[64] Ultimately, a lack of reliability and a handful of driving errors from Hamilton helped Rosberg get closer than in previous years, and a crucial engine blowout in Malaysia allowed the title to fall into Rosberg's hands, which he successfully secured before announcing his shock retirement from the sport immediately after beating his rival.[56][65]
2017–2019: Three titles in a row; most pole positions
Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair exchanged the championship lead throughout 2017 in a tense title fight. Hamilton registered 11 pole positions that season as he took the record for the all-time most pole positions, and his consistency (finishing every race in the points), as well as a lack of a serious challenge from his new teammate Valtteri Bottas, saw him record nine race victories and secure his fourth World Drivers' title as he overturned a points deficit to Vettel in the first half of the season, ultimately wrapping the title up in Mexico with two races to spare.[56]
The 2018 season was the first time in the sport that two four-time World Champions—Hamilton and Vettel—would be competing for a fifth title.
The 2018 season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the Fight for Five by journalists and fans.[66][67][68] As with the season before, Ferrari and Vettel appeared to have the upper hand for much of the season, topping the standings until the half-way point. However, Vettel's season unravelled with a number of driver and mechanical errors, while Hamilton's run of six wins in seven in the latter half of the season saw Hamilton clinch the title in Mexico for a second year running as he set a new record for the most points scored in a season (408).[56][65] During the season, Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million, making him the best-paid Formula One driver in history.[69]
Having signed a contract with Mercedes that lasts until 2020, it was confirmed Hamilton would defend his title in 2019.[3] Hamilton clinched his sixth World Drivers' Championship at the 2019 United States Grand Prix,[70][71] and with two rounds remaining, has recorded 10 wins, 16 podiums and 4 pole positions in the season thus far.[72]
Driver profile
Driving style
Hamilton won by over a minute from second-place Nick Heidfeld at the 2008 British Grand Prix.
Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid. The all-time record holder for most pole positions, Hamilton is considered one of the fastest qualifiers in the history of the sport, and has received praise for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments.[73] Also a tenacious racer, he excels across a wide range of areas.[74] He has been described as having an aggressive driving style,[75] which at times results in a tendency to lock up the front wheels.[76] Hamilton has been praised for his ability to adapt to variances in the car set-up and changing track conditions; throughout his career, he has typically used less fuel than his teammates as a result of his ability to carry momentum through corners despite instability in the car.[77] Hamilton has been praised for his consistency, especially later in his career, finishing 33 consecutive races in point-scoring positions; a run only brought to an end as a result of mechanical issues as opposed to driver error.[78][79] Ross Brawn wrote that "over the course of [2018], Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong, winning not only the races he should have, but also some where the opposition was stronger, and that is the true mark of a champion".[80]
Hamilton won the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix in torrential rain, and compared the conditions to his victory at the 2008 British Grand Prix.
Ayrton Senna was a major influence on Hamilton's driving style. "I think it's partly because I watched [him] when I was young and I thought 'this is how I want to drive when I get the opportunity' and I went out there and tried it on the kart track. My whole approach to racing has developed from there".[81] He has been compared to Senna in raw speed.[82] In 2010, Hamilton drove Ayrton Senna's original title winning McLaren MP4/4 as part of a tribute documentary by the BBC motoring show, Top Gear. In the documentary, Hamilton, along with fellow racing drivers, name Senna as the number one driver ever.[83][84]
Hamilton is the most successful British driver in Formula One history, and has won the British Grand Prix a record six times.
Hamilton is regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. In the 2008 British Grand Prix, Hamilton bested second-place Nick Heidfeld by over a minute, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.[85][86] During the turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton remained unbeaten in every race affected by wet weather from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix up to the 2019 German Grand Prix, where his almost five-year streak was broken by Max Verstappen.[87]
Earlier in his career, Hamilton was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he would go on to repeat four years later in Formula One at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia.[88] Later in his career, however, Hamilton demonstrated greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. He divided public and former drivers' opinions in the final race of the 2016 season, where from the lead, he defied team-orders and deliberately slowed to back Nico Rosberg into the chasing pack at end of the race in a bid to encourage their rivals to overtake his teammate, which would have allowed him to win the World Championship.[89]
Reception
Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hamilton's interest in racing started when his father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was six. He was signed to McLaren's young driver support programme in 1998, after he approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony three years earlier and said "one day I want to be racing your cars". After winning the British Formula Renault, Formula 3 Euro Series, and GP2 championships on his way up the racing career ladder, he made his Formula One debut twelve years after his initial encounter with Dennis, driving for McLaren in 2007. Coming from a mixed background, with a black father and white mother, Hamilton is the first and only black driver to race in Formula One.[note 4]
In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton set numerous records as he finished runner-up in the 2007 season to Kimi Räikkönen by just one point, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in a debut season (109). The following season, he won his first title in dramatic fashion; on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season, becoming the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history. After four more years with McLaren without finishing higher than fourth in the drivers' standings, Hamilton signed with Mercedes in 2013, reuniting with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg. In his first season, he finished 4th once again, the third time in five years.
Changes to regulations ahead of the 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines, contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton and Mercedes, during which he has won a further five World Championship titles. Hamilton won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015 during an intense and sometimes volatile rivalry with teammate Nico Rosberg, to match his hero Ayrton Senna's three World Championships. Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair engaged in two intense championship battles, but Hamilton prevailed to claim consecutive titles for the second time in his career in 2017 and 2018. A third World Drivers' Championship followed in 2019 to complete a hat-trick of consecutive titles, bringing his tally to six overall, second only to seven-time World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher
Early life and education
Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.[2] Hamilton's mother, Carmen (Larbalestier), is white British, while his father, Anthony Hamilton, is black British, making him mixed-race;[7] he self-identifies as black.[8] Lewis's parents separated when he was two and, as a result of this, he lived with his mother and half-sisters until he was twelve.[9] He then moved to live with his father, stepmother Linda and half-brother Nicolas, who is also a professional racing driver and has cerebral palsy.[10] Hamilton was raised a Roman Catholic.[11]
At the age of five Hamilton took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school;[12] later, he learned to ride a unicycle, as part of his karting rivalry with future Formula One Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, who could already ride one.[13] Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car in 1991, which gave him his first taste of racing competition before finishing second in the national BRCA championship the following year. He said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults".[14] His father bought him a go-kart for Christmas when Hamilton was six[15] and promised to support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. To support his son, Anthony took redundancy from his position as an information technology manager and became a contractor; sometimes working up to three jobs at a time, while still attending all his son's races. Anthony later set up his own computer company, still managing Lewis;[16] Hamilton would later end his working relationship with his father in early 2010.[17]
Lewis Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.[18] In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international, Ashley Young.[16] 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.[19] In February 2001 he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge
Early career
1993–2000: Karting
Hamilton began karting in 1993, when he was eight,[21] at the Rye House Kart Circuit[22] and quickly began winning races and Cadet class championships. Two years later, he approached McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis for an autograph, and told him, "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." Hamilton drove for Martin Hines's Zip Young Guns Karting Team.[23] By the age of 12, his driving skill was high enough that Ladbrokes took a bet, at 40/1 odds, that Hamilton would win a Formula One Grand Prix race before the age of 23; another predicted, at 150/1 odds, that he would win the World Drivers' Championship before he was 25.[24] He progressed through to Junior Yamaha in 1997, and in 1998, Dennis called Hamilton after he won an additional Super One series and his second British championship.[14] Dennis delivered on his promise and signed Hamilton to the McLaren driver development programme.[7] This contract included an option of a future Formula One seat, which would make Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract which later resulted in a Formula One drive
Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his teammate was Nico Rosberg, who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes teams in Formula One; they would later team up again for Mercedes in 2013. Following his karting successes the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.[26] In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track, Schumacher praised the young Briton (see quote box).[27]
2001–2005: Formula Renault and Formula Three
Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series. Despite crashing on his third lap in the car in testing, he finished fifth overall in the winter series.[14] This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport in which he finished third overall with three wins and three pole positions.[28] He remained with Manor for another year and won the championship with ten wins and 419 points to the two wins and 377 points of his nearest rival, Alex Lloyd.[29] Having clinched the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season to make his debut in the season finale of the British Formula 3 Championship.[30] In his first race he was forced out with a puncture,[31] and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with teammate Tor Graves.[32]
Asked in 2002 about the prospect of becoming one of the youngest ever Formula One drivers, Hamilton replied that his goal was "not to be the youngest in Formula One" but rather "to be experienced and then show what I can do in Formula One".[33] Later in 2004, Williams would announce that they had come close to signing Hamilton but did not because BMW, their engine supplier at the time, would not fund him.[34] He eventually re-signed with McLaren, and made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series. They won one race and Hamilton ended the year fifth in the championship.[35] He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix[36] and raced one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix.[37]
Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004 at Silverstone.[38] Hamilton moved to the reigning Euro Series champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. This would have been 16 but for being disqualified from one win at Spa-Francorchamps on a technical infringement that caught out several other drivers.[14] He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.[39] After the season British magazine Autosport featured him in their "Top 50 Drivers of 2005" issue, ranking Hamilton 24th.[40]
2006 season: GP2
Due to his success in Formula Three, he moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix for 2006.[41] Like their sister team in F3, ART were the leaders of the field and reigning champions having taken the 2005 GP2 crown with Nico Rosberg.[42] Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Timo Glock.[43] His performances included a dominant win at the Nürburgring, despite a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[44] At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the British Grand Prix, Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts, a series of high-speed bends where overtaking is rare.[45] In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second.[46] Hamilton won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. In the sprint race, though he finished second with Piquet sixth, he was 12 points clear of his rival.[47] His success in the GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.[48][49] After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for 2007, Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver.[50] He was told of McLaren's decision at the end of September, but the news was not made public for almost two months, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement.[51]
Formula One career
Hamilton's first season in Formula One saw him partner two-time and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso. After finishing on the podium in his debut, Hamilton went on to set several records as he finished runner-up in the 2007 World Drivers' Championship to Kimi Räikkönen by one point, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in a debut season (109). Throughout the season, Hamilton and Alonso were involved in a number of incidents which resulted in tensions between both drivers and the team, culminating in Alonso and McLaren terminating their contract by mutual consent in November. Following a successful first season at McLaren, Hamilton signed a multi-million-pound contract to stay with the team until 2012
Hamilton's success continued in 2008. He amassed five victories and ten podium finishes, but was also accused of arrogance and dangerous driving, though he argued that his self-belief was wrongly interpreted and that his driving was firm but fair. As the season reached its conclusion in Brazil, it became a clear two-way fight for the title between the home-favourite Felipe Massa and the young Briton. Hamilton won his first title in dramatic fashion; on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season, becoming the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history as he denied race-winner Massa the title by one point.[53][54] This made Hamilton the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.[55]
2009–2012: Unsuccessful championship campaigns with McLaren
In his last four years with McLaren, Hamilton continued to score podium finishes and race victories, but a culmination of less competitive machinery and a self-confessed loss of focus saw him fail to finish higher than fourth in the drivers' standings. Hamilton entered the final round of the 2010 season with a chance of winning the title, but ultimately finished fourth as Sebastian Vettel won the race to take his maiden drivers' crown. The following year was the first season he had been out-scored by a teammate, as Jenson Button finished runner-up to champion Sebastian Vettel, during a year in which distractions in his private life and run-ins with FIA officials saw Hamilton finish a lowly fifth in the standings, after which he vowed he would return to form for 2012. Keeping to his word, Hamilton achieved four race-wins in the 2012 season as he finished fourth in the standings. Before the end of the year, Hamilton announced, to much surprise, that he would be joining Mercedes for the 2013 season, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher.[56]
Mercedes
Hamilton (right) and Rosberg (left) endured a tense rivalry in their time as teammates.
2013–2016: Teammates with Rosberg; back-to-back titles
Upon signing with Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton was reunited with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg. The move was met with surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to Mercedes, a team with no recent history of success, as a gamble.[57][58] In his first season with the silver arrows, Hamilton secured a sole race victory, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he converted an unexpected pole position into a winning margin of over 11 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kimi Räikkönen,[59] alongside a number of podium finishes and pole positions, finishing fourth in the standings once again, the third time in five years.[56]
Changes to regulations ahead of the 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines, contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton as he found himself in the most dominant car on the grid. That year saw Mercedes win 16 of the 19 races that season, 11 of those secured by Hamilton as he prevailed in a season-long duel for the title against teammate Rosberg. Clinching his second drivers' title, and eclipsing the victory tally of all British drivers before him, Hamilton declared over team-radio after the final race in Abu Dhabi, "This is the greatest day of my life".[56]
Hamilton's engine failure in Malaysia in 2016 was a key moment in the Drivers' Championship fight.
Ahead of the 2015 season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1, as was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career number 44. It was the first season since 1994, when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in 1993, that the field would not contain car bearing the number 1.[60] Hamilton dominated the 2015 season, winning ten races finishing on the podium a record seventeen times as he matched his hero, Ayrton Senna's three World Championships titles. The rivalry between him and Rosberg intensified, climaxing in a heated battle at the US Grand Prix where Hamilton won in an action-packed, wheel-to-wheel battle with his teammate to clinch the title with three races to spare.[56] That year, Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes for three additional years in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million, making him one of the best-paid drivers in Formula One,[61][62] as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship winning cars and trophies.[63]
Hamilton achieved his fifth career Grand Slam and his third of the season at the 2017 British Grand Prix.
Despite recording more pole positions and race wins than any other driver in 2016, Hamilton lost the drivers' title by five points to his teammate, Rosberg. The team's policy of letting the pair fight freely led to a number of acrimonious exchanges both on and off the track, culminating in Hamilton defying team-orders at the season finale in Abu Dhabi and deliberately slowing to back Rosberg into the chasing pack at end of the race in an unsuccessful bid to encourage other drivers to overtake his teammate, which would have allowed him to win the title.[64] Ultimately, a lack of reliability and a handful of driving errors from Hamilton helped Rosberg get closer than in previous years, and a crucial engine blowout in Malaysia allowed the title to fall into Rosberg's hands, which he successfully secured before announcing his shock retirement from the sport immediately after beating his rival.[56][65]
2017–2019: Three titles in a row; most pole positions
Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair exchanged the championship lead throughout 2017 in a tense title fight. Hamilton registered 11 pole positions that season as he took the record for the all-time most pole positions, and his consistency (finishing every race in the points), as well as a lack of a serious challenge from his new teammate Valtteri Bottas, saw him record nine race victories and secure his fourth World Drivers' title as he overturned a points deficit to Vettel in the first half of the season, ultimately wrapping the title up in Mexico with two races to spare.[56]
The 2018 season was the first time in the sport that two four-time World Champions—Hamilton and Vettel—would be competing for a fifth title.
The 2018 season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the Fight for Five by journalists and fans.[66][67][68] As with the season before, Ferrari and Vettel appeared to have the upper hand for much of the season, topping the standings until the half-way point. However, Vettel's season unravelled with a number of driver and mechanical errors, while Hamilton's run of six wins in seven in the latter half of the season saw Hamilton clinch the title in Mexico for a second year running as he set a new record for the most points scored in a season (408).[56][65] During the season, Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million, making him the best-paid Formula One driver in history.[69]
Having signed a contract with Mercedes that lasts until 2020, it was confirmed Hamilton would defend his title in 2019.[3] Hamilton clinched his sixth World Drivers' Championship at the 2019 United States Grand Prix,[70][71] and with two rounds remaining, has recorded 10 wins, 16 podiums and 4 pole positions in the season thus far.[72]
Driver profile
Driving style
Hamilton won by over a minute from second-place Nick Heidfeld at the 2008 British Grand Prix.
Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid. The all-time record holder for most pole positions, Hamilton is considered one of the fastest qualifiers in the history of the sport, and has received praise for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments.[73] Also a tenacious racer, he excels across a wide range of areas.[74] He has been described as having an aggressive driving style,[75] which at times results in a tendency to lock up the front wheels.[76] Hamilton has been praised for his ability to adapt to variances in the car set-up and changing track conditions; throughout his career, he has typically used less fuel than his teammates as a result of his ability to carry momentum through corners despite instability in the car.[77] Hamilton has been praised for his consistency, especially later in his career, finishing 33 consecutive races in point-scoring positions; a run only brought to an end as a result of mechanical issues as opposed to driver error.[78][79] Ross Brawn wrote that "over the course of [2018], Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong, winning not only the races he should have, but also some where the opposition was stronger, and that is the true mark of a champion".[80]
Hamilton won the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix in torrential rain, and compared the conditions to his victory at the 2008 British Grand Prix.
Ayrton Senna was a major influence on Hamilton's driving style. "I think it's partly because I watched [him] when I was young and I thought 'this is how I want to drive when I get the opportunity' and I went out there and tried it on the kart track. My whole approach to racing has developed from there".[81] He has been compared to Senna in raw speed.[82] In 2010, Hamilton drove Ayrton Senna's original title winning McLaren MP4/4 as part of a tribute documentary by the BBC motoring show, Top Gear. In the documentary, Hamilton, along with fellow racing drivers, name Senna as the number one driver ever.[83][84]
Hamilton is the most successful British driver in Formula One history, and has won the British Grand Prix a record six times.
Hamilton is regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. In the 2008 British Grand Prix, Hamilton bested second-place Nick Heidfeld by over a minute, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.[85][86] During the turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton remained unbeaten in every race affected by wet weather from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix up to the 2019 German Grand Prix, where his almost five-year streak was broken by Max Verstappen.[87]
Earlier in his career, Hamilton was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he would go on to repeat four years later in Formula One at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia.[88] Later in his career, however, Hamilton demonstrated greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. He divided public and former drivers' opinions in the final race of the 2016 season, where from the lead, he defied team-orders and deliberately slowed to back Nico Rosberg into the chasing pack at end of the race in a bid to encourage their rivals to overtake his teammate, which would have allowed him to win the World Championship.[89]
Reception
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