Lewis Hamilton Timeline 1985-present

Lewis Hamilton Timeline

Contents

Early Years
Karting
Formulas 3 / 2
Formula 1
Mercedes Era

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born to Anthony Hamilton and Carmen Larbalestier in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. He was named after athlete Carl Lewis. His father was born in Grenada and is black, while his mother is white. Hamilton identifies as black.

Lewis’s parents separated and he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha.

Hamilton began his education at Peartree Spring Primary School in Stevenage.

Hamilton was given a remote-controlled car for his birthday.

Lewis competed in the British Radio Car Association (BRCA) against mainly adult competitors and finished the Championship in second place.

Hamilton’s half-brother Nicolas was born to Anthony Hamilton and his wife, Linda.

Lewis was given a go-kart for Christmas.

Hamilton began competing on the Rye House Kart Circuit. His father took a number of jobs to fund his son’s racing and also acted as Lewis’s manager. As the only black competitor, Hamilton was often subjected to racial abuse.

Lewis won the British Junior Cadet Kart Championship. He was the youngest driver to win the Championship.

Hamilton attended the John Henry Newman Catholic School in Stevenage. He played football for the school team.

Lewis went to live with his father, stepmother and half-brother, Nicolas who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Hamilton was offered a place in the McLaren driver development programme. He was the youngest driver ever to be given a contract.

Lewis competed in the Intercontinental A (ICA) now known as KF2, a top kart racing class for drivers aged over 14 years.

Hamilton moved up to Formula A, now called KF1, a top kart racing class for drivers aged over 15 years, racing for TeamMBM.com. He was crowned European Champion at the end of the season finishing with maximum points.

Hamilton went to college at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS) in Cambridge.

Lewis competed in his first car racing season, taking part in the British Formula Renault Winter Series and finished 5th.

Racing in a  Manor Motorsport Formula Renault 2.0, Hamilton took part in the Formula Renault UK campaign and finished 3rd.

Hamilton won the Formula Renault UK Championship for 2003.

Hamilton took part in the last two races of the British Formula 3 Championship.

Hamilton moved up to the Formula 3 Euro Championship and finished in 5th place.

Lewis Hamilton tried out for McLaren at Silverstone in the UK but fell out with McLaren after they wanted him to remain in Formula 3 for another year. A few weeks later Hamilton agreed to remain in Formula 3 for 2005 and resigned with McLaren.

Hamilton took part in the Formula 3 Euro Championship and won a record 15 out of 20 races to win the Championship.

Hamilton competed in the Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort and won the race.

Lewis had moved up to Formula 2 and came second in the opening race at Valencia, Spain. He went on to win the Championship title.

It was confirmed that Lewis Hamilton would be racing for McLaren in 2007. He would partner Fernando Alonso for his debut in Formula One. The appointment made him the first, and only (to date) black driver to take part in Formula One.

Hamilton began an on-off relationship with singer Nicole Scherzinger.

Lewis Hamilton moved to Switzerland in part to escape high UK tax rates.

Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian grand prix, his first Formula One win. He went on to finish 2nd in the Championship.

Hamilton signed a five year deal with McLaren.

After a season of 18 races, at the age of 23 years, Lewis Hamilton won the World Championship.

Hamilton founded the Lewis Hamilton Foundation which offers support to charitable causes.

The 2009 Championship was won by fellow Briton, Jenson Button. Lewis finished in 5th place.

It was announced that World Champion Jenson Button would race for McLaren in 2010.

Hamilton moved from Switzerland to Monaco.

Lewis finished the season in 4th place ahead of team mate Jenson Button.

Hamilton and his father fell out and Lewis sacked him as his manager.

This was a disappointing year for Hamilton who finished the year in 5th place.

Hamilton finished the year in 4th place.

It was announced that Lewis, whose contract with McLaren had ended, had signed with Mercedes. A seat had become available at Mercedes following the retirement of Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton became Global Education Ambassador for Save the Children.

Lewis, a big music fan, learned to play the guitar.

Lewis Hamilton finished his debut year with Mercedes in 5th place.

It was announced that all race cars had to be powered by turbo-hybrid engines.

New regulations meant that drivers had to pick an available number which would be theirs for their racing career. Lewis chose the number 44 which had been his karting number.

After 19 races Lewis Hamilton became World Champion for the second time.

Hamilton was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Hamilton’s relationship with singer Nicole Scherzinger ended.

Hamilton won 10 races and secured the Championship after the 16th race out of 19 in total.

It was announced that Lewis Hamilton was the First Ambassador for the Invictus Games Foundation.

Lewis extended his contract with Mercedes for another 3 years in a multi-million pound deal.

Despite winning 10 races, Hamilton finished runner-up to team mate Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton stopped eating meat and followed a plant based diet.

Hamilton was World Champion again finishing the season 56 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

An investigation by the BBC programme Panorama into tax invasion, alleged that Hamilton had avoided paying VAT on his private jet by using a tax avoidance loophole.

Lewis caused controversy after commenting ‘boys don’t wear princess dresses’ in response to a video of his nephew wearing a princess dress. He received widespread condemnation for his comment and subsequently apologised and removed the video with his comments.

Hamilton was World Champion again finishing the season 56 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton launched a designer clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger called TOMMYXLEWIS.

Hamilton won 11 races out of 21 to become World Champion for the 6th time.

Meat free burger chain, Neat Burger, opened its first restaurant in London. Hamilton is a major shareholder in the company.

As part of his attempts to lead a greener lifestyle Lewis sold his private jet.

A record 22 races had been planned for 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic meant the season had to be curtailed.

In collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, The Hamilton Commission was established. The new venture was set up to encourage diversity in motor sports.

The season finally got underway with a total of 17 races held behind closed doors without spectators. Once again Hamilton won 11 races to become World Champion for the 7th time equalling the record set by Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton fully supported the Black Lives Matter campaign following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Hamilton took the knee before every race of the 2020 season and wore clothing sporting the words ‘Black Lives Matter’.

Hamilton spoke out against human rights abuses in Bahrain.

As part of the New Year Honours List, Hamilton was given a knighthood for his services to motorsport.

Hamilton agreed a 1 year contract with Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton achieved his 100th pole position, starting in position 1 for the Spanish Grand Prix. He went on to win the race.

Following negotiations with Mercedes, Hamilton agreed a contract extension to the end of the 2023 season.

Lewis Hamilton won his 100th Formula One race. He currently holds the record for the most wins, second to Michael Schumacher who had 91 wins.

After a thrilling F1 race at Abu Dhabi Hamilton was pushed into second place on the final lap. Hamilton and Verstappen had started the race tied on championship points. Race winner Max Verstappen was crowned the 2021 World F1 champion, denying Hamilton an unprecedented 8th win.

Lewis Hamilton was given a knighthood for his services to motorsport. The ceremony was performed by Prince Charles at Windsor Castle.