Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE HonFREng (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. A six-time Formula One World Champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. Hamilton the first and the only black F1 driver.
Hamilton was raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, to Carmen and Anthony Hamilton. His Father managed his career up until 2010.
Hamilton began karting in 1993, when he was eight, 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.”
He won his first World Drivers’ Championship 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 has won six World Championship titles the second-most of all time.
He holds the records for:
91 wins which is tied with the driving legend Michael Schumacher, his Mick Schumacher presented him with one of his father’s crash helmets after the British race ace equalled the German legend’s record Grand Prix wins.
– 3661 career points
– 96 pole positions
– 160 podium finishes
– 3 grand slams in a season
– 413 championship points in a season.
