After successes in his early career in karting, Formula 3, and GP2, Lewis Hamilton started his Formula One career with McLaren in 2007, becoming the first, and still the only black F1 driver.

Hamilton spent his rookie season racing alongside two-time defending World Drivers’ Champion, Fernando Alonso. Hamilton had a record-breaking rookie season. He kicked off the season by finishing third on debut, the third-highest finish behind only Jacques Villeneuve and Kevin Magnussen, who both finished second on debut. 

He went on to set the record for most consecutive podium finishes from debut with 9, most wins in a debut season, where he is tied with Jacques Villeneuve at 4, and, at the time, the most points in a debut season with 109.

Hamilton also became the youngest driver to lead the WDC after taking the lead after the 4th round of the season, but this record was broken this season by 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton would go on to finish the season as the runner-up, just one point behind the winner, Kimi Raikkonen.

He continued his success in the 2008 season, winning five races and finishing on the podium ten times. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen were the Brit's closest competitors in his sophomore season. Still, Hamilton would go on to win his first championship on the final corner of the last lap of the last race of the season in Brazil.

Hamilton won the championship the same way he lost it the year before, with Massa just one point behind him. Hamilton was then the youngest WDC and the first Brit to win the championship since Damon Hill in 1996.

His final years at McLaren were plagued by Red Bull dominance. Hamilton continued to score podiums and wins, but by 2010, McLaren just couldn’t match the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull. This continued in the 2011 and 2012 seasons and ultimately led to him joining Mercedes in 2013. 

Joining Mercedes saw him reunited with his childhood friend and karting teammate, Nico Rosberg. The start of his time with Mercedes was still the era of dominance for Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, and he finished the 2013 season in 4th place in the standings, with only one race win.

Engine regulation changes in 2014 kicked off an era of excellence for Hamilton and Mercedes. Mercedes won 16 of 19 races in 2014, Hamilton winning 11 of those in his battle with Rosberg. After some issues in the midseason causing him to trail Rosberg, Hamilton went on a 5 race win streak, where he achieved his second WDC in Abu Dhabi. The rivalry between the Mercedes drivers got more intense in the 2015 season, but Hamilton led the charge the whole way, winning back-to-back WDCs.

The duel reached its peak in the 2016 season, where Rosberg won his first and only WDC. Mercedes rarely executed team orders, instead opting to let their drivers race, but that led to some incidents in Spain and Austria, which only heightened the tensions between the childhood friends.

In the last race of the season Hamilton went against team orders, purposefully holding up his teammate to encourage other drivers to overtake him. Rosberg ended up winning the championship, and shockingly announced his retirement from the sport shortly after.

Following Rosberg’s retirement, Hamilton was teamed up with Valtteri Bottas, who currently races for Cadillac. 2017 was the start of Hamilton’s 4-year long WDC win streak, a record he shares with Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Juan Manuel Fangio.

In 2018, Hamilton and Vettel were in close competition for their 5th title, but Hamilton ended in the top spot. 2019 and 2020 were both dominated by Hamilton, allowing him his 6th and 7th WDC, where he is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most WDC titles.

2021 brought new regulations that pushed Red Bull back to the forefront, with Max Verstappen at the helm. Hamilton and Verstappen were in a crazy battle for the championship all season, finishing 14 of 22 races 1-2. The pair entered the last race of the season at Abu Dhabi even on points, and Hamilton led for most of the race, but Verstappen overtook him on the last lap following a late safety car and took home his first championship. This race is heavily debated, and some fans claim that Hamilton was robbed of his 8th. 

2022-2024 saw the downfall of Mercedes. With new regulations, Mercedes was becoming less and less competitive. In three seasons, Hamilton won only one race at the 2024 British Grand Prix. Ahead of the 2024 season, Hamilton triggered the exit clause in his contract, leading to his switch to Ferrari for the 2025 season.

Hamilton’s time with Ferrari hasn’t been particularly fruitful. Ferrari faced many issues and inconsistencies in the 2025 season. Hamilton finished 2025 in sixth place, and it was the first season of his career in which he didn’t achieve at least one podium.

Hamilton still holds the records for the most wins (105), most podiums (203), and most poles (104) in F1 history. He currently sits in fifth place, tied with Lando Norris, with 51 points each. We have only had four races in the 2026 season, so hopefully the season continues to progress positively.