Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, born January 7th 1985, is a British driver competing in Formula One for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team. He has won the World Drivers Championship a record seven times- tied with Michael Schumacher. Statistically, Hamilton is the most successful driver in Formula One history, holding records for most wins, most pole positions and most podium finishes. He nearly won the drivers title in 2007, his rookie year, missing out by only one point, and in 2021 he might have won his eighth World Championship if not for a fateful stewards decision with six laps to go in Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season. Hamilton joined the McLaren Young Drivers Program in 1998 after winning the Super 1 National Championship of karting for the second time. In 2001 he moved to single-seaters, winning the Formula 3 and GP2 titles in back to back years before signing with McLaren for a full-time Formula One seat in 2007. In 2008 Hamilton won his first Formula One Drivers Championship but couldn’t repeat that feat with McLaren. In 2013, the year before the turbo-hybrid engine era began, Hamilton joined the Mercedes team, where he reunited with his childhood karting teammate and friend, Nico Rosberg. It was a gamble, as at the time Mercedes had no recent history of success in F1, but Hamilton managed to win six more Drivers Championships and bring eight consecutive Constructors Championships to the team.
Lewis was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in Great Britain to father Anthony Hamilton and mother Carmen Larbalestier. Although his parents separated when he was two, Lewis stayed close to his father, eventually moving in with him at the age of twelve. At the age of five, Anthony Hamilton bought his son a radio controlled car and Lewis was able to place second in the national British Radio Car Association Championship against adult competition. At the age of six Lewis received a go-kart from his father for Christmas with a promise to support his racing career as long as he worked hard in school. In the long run it was a good call as it has certainly paid off, but for a stretch Anthony Hamilton was working four jobs and tuning the go-kart at night to help Lewis move up the ranks. At the age of ten, after becoming the youngest driver to win the British Cadet Karting Championship, Lewis showed up at the Autosport Awards and found McLaren team principal (at the time) Ron Dennis to ask him for an autograph. Hamilton said, “Hi, I’m Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars.” Ron Dennis replied in the autograph book, “Phone me in nine years, we’ll sort something out then.” However, after only three years, it was Ron Dennis calling Lewis Hamilton after he had won the Super 1 National Championship for the second time. Dennis signed him to McLaren’s Driver Development Program with an option for a future Formula One seat, which made Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract that later resulted in a Formula One drive.
Sir Lewis was knighted at the end of 2021, making him the fourth British Formula One driver to hold the title, following Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart. Hamilton, however, is the first to be knighted while still competing. Is he the GOAT? Statistically, yes. However some might argue in favor of Fangio, who only has five championships, but with four different teams. Others might say that Ayrton Senna is the GOAT. He has three championships, but most likely would have had more if his life had not been cut tragically short at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. And of course Michael Schumacher, with his seven World Championships, is another likely candidate, but no matter how anyone sees it, Hamilton is in the conversation and still creating his legacy. Like Senna he has transcended the sport by championing those less fortunate. Hamilton came from humble beginnings and is the first black man to compete in F1. There’s no doubt that he has been the target of racism and bullying, some of it well documented, but he has come to embrace it, using his experience and celebrity to advocate against racism and to promote diversity in motorsport. Beyond that he has been involved in animal rights and environmental issues. He is not afraid to call out the human rights abuses committed by some of the countries he races in and has worked extensively with UNICEF. He is a living legend, a sportsman who sees the bigger picture, forcing his opponents to elevate their game both on and off the track. As one of the older drivers on the grid these days, it will be interesting to see if there are more championships for Hamilton or if life will take him in an altogether different direction.