Arguably the biggest name in Formula 1 history, Lewis Hamilton is starting his first season with the Scuderia Ferrari. Join us in this piece to understand more about the career of the seven-time F1 World Champion, who previously drove for McLaren (2007-2012) and Mercedes (2013-2024).
Who is Lewis Hamilton? A Brief Biography
Born in Stevenage, England, on January 7th, 1985, Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time F1 World Champion who entered the sport in 2007 with McLaren-Mercedes.
Early Life and Karting Career
While splitting his time between his separated parents’ houses, Hamilton’s father, Anthony, recognized the hand-eye coordination the five-year-old kid had with RC cars while racing adults and eventually got him into karting at six years old.
Hamilton’s father supported his early career by working up to four jobs and the young Lewis delivered on track.
Transition to Formula Racing
After winning his country’s karting championship, 10-year-old Hamilton approached McLaren’s boss Ron Dennis during an awards ceremony.
“Hi. I’m Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars,” the young champion said.
Hamilton started his journey with Dennis and McLaren in 1998, after continued success at the karting level.
His single-seater career started in 2001, with the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, finishing seventh in the standings.
In 2003, he won the Formula Renault UK with 10 wins in 15 races. In the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series, Hamilton won a race and finished fifth in the standings. The following year, he dominated that series, with 15 wins in 20 races. That year, he shared the track with future four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton also won the 2005 Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort, and made his way into GP2 for 2006.
In his first and only GP2 season, Hamilton won five races and achieved 14 podiums in 21 rounds to win the title.
Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 Career: A Journey to Greatness
Hamilton accomplished his childhood dream of driving for Ron Dennis and McLaren, the same team his idol Ayrton Senna won his three F1 championships.
McLaren: The Debut and First World Championship
Ahead of the 2007 season, Hamilton was paired at McLaren-Mercedes against reigning two-time champion Fernando Alonso. Hamilton started his season with nine consecutive podiums, an F1 record to start a career, and won four races while fighting for the title.
You can see Hamilton’s helmet from his F1 debut here.
Ultimately, the title controversially slipped out of his hands and went to Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) in the final race.
His first win had occurred at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.
In 2008, Hamilton continued fighting at the top and beat Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to the title in the final corner of the last lap of the last race of the season, in Brazil.
He was then the youngest champion in F1 history, and completed his racing dream of winning a title with McLaren.
McLaren then struggled a bit between 2009 and 2012, but Hamilton again fought for the title and wins, especially in 2010 and 2012. In 2010, he reached the final race of the season with a chance to win the World Drivers’ Championship, but ultimately had to settle with fourth in the standings.
After a series of mechanical retirements in 2012, Hamilton decided to leave McLaren and join Mercedes, which had joined as a works team in 2010, but had only won one race in that span.
Mercedes: Dominance and Record-Breaking Seasons
Hamilton won with Mercedes in the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix and finished a solid fourth with the team on the rise. At the start of F1’s new era with the V6 turbo engines, Mercedes dominated the sport massively from 2014 to 2016, with only Hamilton’s childhood friend Nico Rosberg standing in the way of more titles for the Englishman.
See Hamilton’s 2013 helmet here.
Hamilton beat Rosberg to the title in 2014 and 2015, before the German won in 2016. After Rosberg’s retirement and new aero regulations from 2017, Ferrari stepped up with Sebastian Vettel and gave Mercedes a big run.
In quite closely-matched machinery, Hamilton won in 2017 and 2018 to become a five-time F1 champion.
In 2019, Mercedes dominated the field in the first half, and Hamilton cruised to his sixth F1 championship. At the end of the 2019 season, Hamilton had 84 wins to his name, quickly catching the then F1 record set by Michael Schumacher (91 wins).
Check Hamilton’s 2019 helmet here.
In 2020, Hamilton tied Schumacher for the most F1 titles by a driver with his seventh triumph, and had also surpassed the German0s tally of wins in the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix.
Hamilton reached his 100th F1 win at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, but eight wins were not enough in 2021 to overcome Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Still, it was a controversial finish to the season that decided the WDC.
The 2022 and 2023 seasons were Hamilton’s first without a win in F1, but he did manage to finish in the podium regularly. The 2024 campaign, after announcing that he would join Ferrari in 2025, was difficult, but he won two races.
At the 2024 British Grand Prix, Hamilton won a race after 945 days, also establishing a record for the most wins by a single driver in a single Grand Prix, with his ninth win at Silverstone.
Hamilton’s F1 helmet from the 2024 British GP.
Key Stats and Achievements of Lewis Hamilton
Among several records for Hamilton, he is the driver with the most wins in F1 history (105), most Pole Positions (104) and podiums (202).
World Championship Titles
Hamilton won his first title in 2008 with McLaren Mercedes (see his helmet from that year).
He then won with Mercedes in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Lewis Hamilton’s Impact Beyond the Track
Beyond Formula 1, Hamilton has been an influential figure in the world of sports and even in fashion. The Englishman, who turned 40 years old on Jan. 7, is one of the most popular sportspersons in the world and has become an iconic F1 figure, rivalling any other legend from past eras.
Knighted in the UK, Hamilton was also selected in 2020 as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Activism and Social Justice Advocacy
Hamilton has also been influential in advocating for fights against racism and discrimination of minorities. He’s worn helmets themed with the pride flag and often speaks his mind about social issues, which is rare for some other drivers.
Lewis Hamilton’s Helmets: A Symbol of Identity and Style
Hamilton’s helmets have varied since he entered F1 in 2007. Throughout his McLaren stint, he kept a yellow helmet with red, blue and green touches, which he also wore during his karting and minor categories.
In his first year with Mercedes, Hamilton kept a similar design, but changed the yellow and wore a white helmet in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
A return to yellow in 2017 saw him win his fourth F1 championship, but he reverted to a white helmet with red wings on the sides for 2018 and 2019.
After rising issues with police brutality and racism against black people came up in 2020, Hamilton wore a black and purple helmet in 2020 and 2021. Mercedes also painted its cars black to support the cause.
In 2022, Hamilton returned to yellow for his helmet, while keeping the purple touches until 2024.
Now, for his debut season with the Scuderia Ferrari, Hamilton returned to the shade of yellow worn throughout his McLaren days, but the helmet only has red lines, giving it an impressive clean look.
CM Helmets: Replicas for the True Lewis Hamilton Fan
As the 40-year-old Hamilton is set to start his 19th Formula 1 season and his first with Ferrari, there’s a lot to look forward for his fans.
It’s also a great moment to explore our collection of Lewis Hamilton F1 replica helmets.
We have every helmet from Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career, including the traditional, year-long designs and also the special helmets for any particular races.
Why Choose CM Helmets for Your Replica?
We have the world’s largest collection of Formula 1 helmets and our collection includes every full-face helmet in the history of the series, from Dan Gurney to Kimi Antonelli.
Our designs have pleased Happy Customers around the world due to the high quality of our products.
Also, you have the chance to customize your F1 helmets without any extra cost.
