Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton – Biography, Career and Results

Quick facts

Who is Lewis Hamilton?

Today Lewis Hamilton's name is best known for his seven Formula 1 World Championship titles, but his career began much earlier, on a karting track at Rye House. By the time he started his F1 career at McLaren in 2007, he had already won a karting European Championship, the Formula Renault UK Championship, the Formula 3 Euro Series and the GP2 Championship – one after another, with barely a pause.

This profile does not focus on his F1 statistics – those are covered in detail in GPStats Racing's own database – but on the road that led from a childhood in Hertfordshire to a race seat at McLaren: the karting years, the junior single-seater seasons, and the decisions that ultimately took him to Formula 1.

The early years

Hamilton was six when he received a remote-control car for Christmas from his father, Anthony Hamilton, and a year later he was already racing against adults in the British RC car championship. In 1993, aged eight, he sat in a kart for the first time at the Rye House Kart Circuit (Hertfordshire), which would remain his racing home for years to come.

In 1995, aged ten, he became the youngest driver ever to win the British cadet karting championship. That same year saw the now-legendary moment: at the Autosport Awards gala in London, the young Hamilton approached Ron Dennis, McLaren's team principal at the time, and asked for his phone number, saying that one day he wanted to drive his car. Dennis simply told him to call him in nine years.

In the end, he didn't have to wait nine years for that call: in 1998, after Hamilton won his second Super One season and the British championship, Dennis offered him a place in the McLaren–Mercedes junior programme – at thirteen years old, making him the youngest driver at the time to receive an F1 development contract.

Karting career

Before his junior single-seater years, Hamilton also racked up results on the international karting scene. In 1999, in the Intercontinental A (ICA-J) category, he finished 2nd in the championship for the CRG team. In 2000, in the Formula A category, he became European Champion with a maximum points score and also won the Karting World Cup; that season his teammate, also at CRG, was Nico Rosberg, who finished 2nd behind him in the FA European Championship – the two boys' friendship, and their later F1 rivalry, took root already at this point. In 2001, in the Formula Super A category, Hamilton even lined up against Michael Schumacher at a race in Kerpen.

Junior single-seater career

In 2001, while still wrapping up his karting years, Hamilton also made his single-seater debut: he finished 5th in the British Formula Renault winter series. From then on he moved up the ladder year after year.

Hamilton won the 2003 Formula Renault UK season in dominant fashion with Manor Motorsport, then in 2004, still with the same team, moved up to the Formula 3 Euro Series, where he immediately landed among the front-runners. In 2005 he signed for ASM Formule 3 – his teammate there was Adrian Sutil, who also went on to reach Formula 1 – and won the championship almost unbeaten, then that same year also claimed the prestigious Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

In 2006 Hamilton stepped up to GP2, at the time the top category below Formula 1, with McLaren's sister team ART Grand Prix, and – true to form – won the championship at his first attempt, securing the title at the season-closing round in Monza.

The road to Formula 1

Hamilton's junior career was an almost uninterrupted string of successes: in every category he entered, he reached a championship title within a year or two. McLaren had been funding and monitoring his development since 1998, so the 2006 GP2 title only confirmed what the team's management had long suspected – Hamilton was ready for Formula 1.

On 24 November 2006, McLaren officially announced that the 21-year-old Hamilton would be the team's driver for the 2007 season, alongside Fernando Alonso. His seat was vacated by Pedro de la Rosa, who had stood in as a race driver for the team in the second half of 2006 before returning to his test driver role. This meant Hamilton moved straight from his GP2 title onto the F1 grid, without a spell as a test driver.

Formula 1 career

Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007 with McLaren, and was fighting at the front of the championship right from his first season – marking the start of one of the most defining careers in modern F1 history. He raced for McLaren from 2007 to 2012, before joining Mercedes in 2013, where he was one of the team's leading figures for a decade, until 2024. From 2025 he continues his career with Ferrari. You can find his detailed season-by-season F1 results, wins, pole positions and points in GPStats Racing's own, continuously updated Formula 1 database.

Racing outside Formula 1

During his Formula 1 career Hamilton has not regularly competed in other official championships – after his junior years, his career has focused almost exclusively on F1. In 2008 he drove his championship-winning McLaren in a demonstration run at the Race of Champions event in London, but this was not competitive participation.

Notable results outside Formula 1

Career timeline

• 1993 – start of karting career at the Rye House Kart Circuit
• 1995 – youngest British cadet karting champion; the famous meeting with Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards
• 1998 – joins the McLaren–Mercedes junior driver programme
• 2000 – Karting European Champion and World Cup winner in the Formula A category
• 2003 – Formula Renault UK Champion with Manor Motorsport
• 2005 – Formula 3 Euro Series champion and Masters of Formula 3 winner with ASM Formule 3
• 2006 – GP2 champion with ART Grand Prix
• 2007 – Formula 1 debut with McLaren
• 2013 – transfer to Mercedes
• 2025 – transfer to Ferrari

Facts about Lewis Hamilton's career

• At the age of ten, he became the youngest-ever British cadet karting champion.
• His now-legendary gesture at the Autosport Awards – asking Ron Dennis for his phone number – really did lead to an F1 contract nine years later.
• In 2000 his karting teammate at CRG was Nico Rosberg, who later became one of Hamilton's biggest F1 rivals as a Mercedes teammate.
• At the 2004 Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix, Hamilton won the qualifying race that decided pole position, then collided with Rosberg, who was also racing there, at the Lisboa corner in the main race.
• In his 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season his teammate was Adrian Sutil, who also went on to reach Formula 1.
• In every junior category he entered between 2001 and 2006 – Formula Renault UK, Formula 3 Euro Series, GP2 – he won the championship within a season or two.

Frequently asked questions about Lewis Hamilton's career

When did Lewis Hamilton start racing?

He started out in remote-control car racing at the age of six, then sat in a kart for the first time in 1993, aged eight, at the Rye House track.

What championships did Hamilton win before Formula 1?

In 2000 he became Karting European Champion and World Cup winner, in 2003 he won the Formula Renault UK Championship, in 2005 the Formula 3 Euro Series, and in 2006 the GP2 Championship – the latter three in successive, progressively higher categories, essentially back to back.

How did Hamilton make it to Formula 1?

He joined McLaren's junior programme in 1998, then proved he was ready for F1 with championship titles in Formula Renault, Formula 3 and finally GP2. In November 2006, McLaren officially named him as their driver for the 2007 season.

Did Hamilton compete in other series during his F1 career?

Not on a regular basis – during his F1 years he focused primarily on Formula 1 and did not compete competitively in other championships.

Who was Hamilton's teammate in the junior categories?

In karting in 2000 his teammate at CRG was Nico Rosberg, and in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005 it was Adrian Sutil at ASM Formule 3 – both later became Formula 1 drivers as well.

Which teams has Hamilton raced for in Formula 1?

McLaren from 2007 to 2012, Mercedes from 2013 to 2024, and Ferrari from 2025. You can find the detailed season-by-season results in GPStats Racing's F1 database.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Lewis Hamilton
• Wikipedia – List of career achievements by Lewis Hamilton
• Wikipedia – Karting European Championship
• Wikipedia – 2004 Macau Grand Prix
• Wikipedia – 2005 Masters of Formula 3
• Wikipedia – Manor Motorsport
• Formula1.com – Drivers' Hall of Fame: Lewis Hamilton
• Buckmore Park Karting – Lewis Hamilton, 1996 Champions of the Future
• BBC Sport – Lewis Hamilton: From Blue Peter to Silver Arrows
• This Day In Automotive History – McLaren announces Lewis Hamilton as driver