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128-743: As of 2024, the Mercedes MGP W02 is the only Mercedes F1 car that failed to score a podium finish. Schumacher achieved his best result with a fourth-place finish in Canadian Grand Prix , with two fifth-places finish at the Chinese Grand Prix and the Turkish Grand Prix for Rosberg. ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Italics indicate factory team. 2011 Canadian Grand Prix The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix (formally

256-418: A Red Bull Racing with teammate Mark Webber finishing third. The race began behind the safety car , and once it returned to the pits Vettel built a lead over Fernando Alonso . A second safety car deployment caused by the collision of Button and teammate Lewis Hamilton closed the time gaps between cars, but Vettel retained the lead. By lap 26, increasingly heavy rain led to the race's suspension, before it

384-479: A drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car, emerging in 15th place. Vettel began to enlarge his lead over Alonso and Massa in second and third. Alonso and the Mercedes pitted for intermediate tyres, leaving Massa in second and Kobayashi in third by lap 17. Barrichello, who switched for intermediates as the safety car came in, began setting times at the same pace as the leaders, and gained 15th position as

512-472: A debut season (109). Acquiring the championship lead as early as in the fourth round of the season, Hamilton became the youngest Formula One driver to lead the championship standings. Due to McLaren's strategical missteps and other misfortunes in the closing rounds of the season, Hamilton's twelve point advantage in the standings evanesced. Resulting in him finishing runner-up in the 2007 World Drivers' Championship to Kimi Räikkönen , by one point. Throughout

640-400: A failed overtaking move on Schumacher, and fell behind Button. He attempted an overtake on the pit straight, but the two drivers collided and Hamilton hit the pit wall. The accident caused Hamilton's retirement, which prompted a safety car deployment at the end of lap eight. The race was resumed on lap 13 and Button, who had changed to intermediate tyres before the safety car period, was given

768-517: A fierce battle for the title throughout the season, finishing 1–2 at 14 of 22 Grands Prix, and colliding on track in several occasions. Hamilton achieved his 100th pole position and race win at the Spanish and Russian Grands Prix, respectively, becoming the first driver to achieve either feat. Winning three of the last four races, including a recovery drive at the São Paulo Grand Prix —which

896-526: A fierce but fair fighter". As a driver he is absolutely outstanding – as good as there's ever been. Apart from the talent, he's a good guy, he gets out on the street and supports and promotes Formula One. He is box office, 100 per cent. Hamilton has been described as the best driver of his generation, and one of the greatest Formula One drivers including by Chase Carey and Martin Brundle . Several Formula One drivers and experts have described Hamilton as

1024-581: A footballer or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams. In February 2001, he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge. Hamilton began karting in 1993 and quickly began winning races and cadet class championships. Two years later, he became the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship at the age of ten. That year, Hamilton approached McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis at

1152-552: A former test driver for McLaren who worked with Hamilton and Alonso, rated the pair as the best he had seen first hand, stating that they shared a strength in terms of "how much speed they can run into the apex [of a corner] and still have a decent exit speed", highlighting in particular their ability to maintain this speed when their rear tyres have lost grip during a longer stint. Hamilton has been praised for his consistency, especially in his time at Mercedes. From 2017 to 2018, he finished 33 consecutive races in point-scoring positions,

1280-554: A gamble. In his first season with the Brackley -based team, Hamilton secured a sole race victory, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix , where he converted an unexpected pole position into a winning margin of over 11 seconds ahead of second-placed Räikkönen. With a number of other podium finishes and pole positions, Hamilton finished fourth in the standings once again, the third time in five years. Changes to engine regulations for

1408-596: A joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles —tied with Michael Schumacher —and holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202), among others . Born and raised in Stevenage , Hamilton began his career in karting aged six, winning several national titles and attracting the attention of Ron Dennis , who signed him to the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 1998. After winning

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1536-422: A lot more—clear of every other driver on the grid". I feel like this year [2022], when we got our first fifth, it felt like a win. When we got our first fourth, it felt like a win. When we got our first podium, it felt like a win, and those second places felt as if we really achieved something, so I'll just hold on to those. Partnered by George Russell in place of the departing Bottas, the 2022 season marked

1664-418: A minute, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix . During the turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton remained unbeaten in every race affected by wet weather from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix up to the 2019 German Grand Prix , where his almost five-year streak was broken by Max Verstappen . His wet weather drive at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix where he clinched his seventh world title

1792-470: A mistake on the final lap, after driving a faultless race up to that point. Nevertheless, he was happy with second place, as he had increased his championship lead. Webber said he was happy to finish third after his incident at the beginning of the race, putting his recovery from fourteenth place down to correct tyre choices. Martin Whitmarsh , McLaren's team principal, praised Button's win, believing that it

1920-436: A natural aptitude for identifying the limits of the car; Mark Hughes, writing for the official Formula One website, described how Hamilton is "super-hard on the brakes ... but has a fantastic ability to match how quickly the downforce is bleeding off with his modulation of the pressure so that there's no wasted grip but no locked wheels either." Paddy Lowe , previously the engineering director for McLaren, described how Hamilton

2048-419: A penalty. Button passed Webber, after he again cut the chicane, and Schumacher on the same lap, and gained second place. As Button began catching race leader Vettel, Webber overtook Schumacher for third place on lap 67. On the same lap di Resta retired because of a puncture, and Massa gained eighth position from Alguersuari. The fastest lap of the race was set by Button on lap 69, setting a time of 1:16.956 as he

2176-503: A podium position at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix , expressed that ending the partnership would mean "that the team will take greater control of its own destiny". Wirth Research would continue to develop the car until the end of the 2011 season, while Virgin Racing would up their own technical department under the control of former Renault Director of Engineering Pat Symonds . Several teams made major technical updates to their cars for

2304-466: A points deficit to Vettel in the first half of the season, ultimately wrapping the title up in Mexico with two races to spare. The 2018 season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the "Fight for Five" by journalists and fans. As with the 2017 season, Ferrari and Vettel appeared to have the upper hand for much of

2432-511: A quality driver, very strong and only 16. If he keeps this up I'm sure he will reach F1. It's something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He's clearly got the right racing mentality. Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his teammate

2560-459: A red flag period) the race set the record as the longest in Formula One history . The Grand Prix was contested by twelve teams, each of two drivers. The teams, also known as constructors , were Red Bull Racing , McLaren , Ferrari , Mercedes , Renault , Williams , Force India , Sauber , Toro Rosso , Lotus , HRT and Virgin . Tyre supplier Pirelli brought four different tyre types to

2688-437: A run only brought to an end as a result of mechanical issues as opposed to driver error. Ross Brawn wrote that "over the course of [2018], Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong, winning not only the races he should have, but also some where the opposition was stronger, and that is the true mark of a champion." Ahead of the 2021 season, Martin Brundle , commentating for Sky Sports, said "I think what has stood out about Lewis over

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2816-490: A second season, culminating in Whitmarsh tearing up Hamilton's contract; however, Hamilton called Whitmarsh six weeks later and re-signed with the team. Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004 at Silverstone . Hamilton moved to the reigning Euro Series champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. He also won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort . After

2944-495: A series of high-speed bends where overtaking is rare. In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second. Hamilton won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. Hamilton's success in the GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following

3072-466: A team that used works Mercedes engines and was 40% owned by the German manufacturer at the time. Hamilton is the first and as of 2024 the only black driver to race in the series. After finishing on the podium in his debut, Hamilton went on to set several records, including those for the most consecutive podium finishes from debut (9), the joint most wins in a debut season (4) and the most points in

3200-495: A time within 107% in the first qualifying session. However the stewards allowed him to race, having considered he was using a new chassis after an accident in Friday practice, where he had set faster lap times. The fastest lap in each of the three sessions is denoted in bold . The track was wet before the race, as rain showers had hit the area throughout the day. The race was due to start at 13:00 local time ( UTC−4 ), and heavy rain

3328-500: A title-deciding overtake on the last lap of the last race of the season to become the then-youngest World Drivers' Champion . The dominant Red Bull - Renault combination prevailed throughout his remaining four seasons at McLaren, with Hamilton achieving multiple race wins in each, including his involvement in a four-way title battle in 2010 . Hamilton signed for Mercedes in 2013 to partner Nico Rosberg , ending his 15-year association with McLaren. Following his maiden victory with

3456-434: A truly great driver." Alonso also did not place any blame on Button, saying that it was the final incident on a day that "everything went wrong". Michael Schumacher admitted to having mixed feelings after the race, having been in second position until the race's last laps. The Mercedes driver stated: "I would obviously have loved to finish there [in second place] and be on the podium again. But even if it did not work out in

3584-454: A two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million per year, making him the best-paid Formula One driver in history. Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship standings for the majority of the 2019 season, fending off title challenges from team-mate Bottas, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's recently promoted Charles Leclerc , to clinch his sixth Drivers' crown at

3712-403: Is comfortable with levels of rear instability that most other drivers would find intolerable. Hamilton has also been praised for his ability to adapt to variances in the car set-up and changing track conditions; throughout his career, he has typically used less fuel than his teammates as a result of his ability to carry momentum through corners despite instability in the car. Pedro de la Rosa ,

3840-483: Is set to join Ferrari from 2025 onwards. Hamilton has been credited with furthering Formula One's global following by appealing to a broader audience outside the sport, in part due to his high-profile lifestyle, amongst his environmental and social activism. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of racial justice and increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of

3968-491: The 100 most influential people globally , and was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours . Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage , Hertfordshire . His father, Anthony Hamilton, is of Afro-Grenadian descent, while his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is White British from Birmingham , making him mixed-race ; Hamilton's parents separated when he was two, after which he lived with his mother and older half-sisters, Samantha and Nicola, until he

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4096-406: The 2012 season, Hamilton finished fourth in the standings and achieved four race wins, despite several operational failures and reliability issues akin to the 2010 season. Motorsport.com analysis revealed Hamilton had lost an estimated 110 points due to race retirements (three while leading) and other misfortunes, which would have been enough to out-score his rivals and win the title. Prior to

4224-485: The 2014 season, which mandated the use of turbo-hybrid engines , contributed to the start of a highly successful era for Hamilton. That year saw Mercedes win 16 of the 19 races that season, 11 of those secured by Hamilton and finished every race on the podium as he prevailed in a season-long duel for the title against teammate Rosberg. Clinching his second drivers' title, and eclipsing the victory tally of all British drivers before him, Hamilton declared over team-radio after

4352-422: The 2024 season, Hamilton triggered an exit-clause in his Mercedes contract, allowing him to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season, a year before his contract was due to expire. Having been associated with the German marque since the age of 13, Hamilton explained the decision was one of his hardest to make, and he needed a new challenge and a different work environment. Following another challenging start to

4480-602: The Autosport Awards for an autograph and said: "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in Hamilton's autograph book: "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." When Hamilton was 12, Ladbrokes took a bet, at 40/1 odds, that Hamilton would win a Formula One race before the age of 23; another predicted, at 150/1 odds, that he would win

4608-584: The Black Lives Matter movement, Hamilton took the knee ahead of every race he entered and wore t-shirts bearing the Black Lives Matter slogan. Hamilton and Bottas' Mercedes W11 cars also sported a black livery as a statement of Mercedes's commitment to diversity. Regulation changes for the 2021 season saw Red Bull make relative performance gains on Mercedes, winning six of the opening eleven rounds. Hamilton and Red Bull's Verstappen engaged in

4736-586: The Drivers' Championship with 143 points, ahead of Lewis Hamilton on 85 points and Mark Webber on 79. Jenson Button was fourth with 76 points while Fernando Alonso was fifth on 69 points. In the Constructors' Championship Red Bull were leading with 222 points, McLaren and Ferrari were second and third with 161 and 93 points respectively, while Renault with 50 and Mercedes with 40 points contended for fourth place. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel had so far dominated

4864-616: The FIA World Motor Sport Council report finding that "human error" resulted in the failure to follow Formula One Sporting Regulations concerning the withdrawal of the safety car, adding that the final standings are "valid, final and cannot now be changed". Notwithstanding the controversy in Abu Dhabi, BBC Sport ' s Andrew Benson described the season as "one of the most intense, hard-fought battles in sporting history", with Hamilton and Verstappen having "been head and shoulders—and

4992-590: The Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2011 ) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 June 2011 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve , in Montreal, Quebec , Canada. It was the seventh race of the 2011 Formula One World Championship and the 48th Canadian Grand Prix . McLaren driver Jenson Button won the 70-lap race starting from seventh position. Sebastian Vettel , who started from pole position , finished second in

5120-518: The Hungaroring —surpassing Senna and Schumacher for the most pole positions at a single circuit. Prior to the Italian Grand Prix , Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension worth over £100 million to remain with Mercedes through the 2025 season. Hamilton finished third in the standings, and was voted the second-best driver across the season by the rest of the drivers. Prior to the start of

5248-507: The Sakhir Grand Prix after contracting COVID-19 , his first race absence since his debut in 2007. In a race drawing parallels with Senna's win at the 1993 European Grand Prix , Hamilton clinched the title at the Turkish Grand Prix with three rounds to spare and ended the season 124 points clear of his team-mate, Bottas, who finished second in the standings. Amid Formula One's We Race as One campaign and growing global support for

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5376-551: The United States Grand Prix with two races remaining. After scoring his sixth career grand slam at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , the final race of the season, Hamilton ended the season with 11 wins (matching his previous best in 2014 and 2018) and 17 podiums (matching the all-time record for a fourth time) as well as achieving 5 pole positions. His total of 413 points for the season was a new all-time record, seeing

5504-644: The direct-drive Karting World Cup and European Championship in 2000, Hamilton progressed to junior formulae , where his successes included winning the Formula 3 Euro Series and the GP2 Series . He subsequently signed for McLaren in 2007 , becoming the first black driver to compete in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix . In his rookie season, Hamilton won four Grands Prix and set several records as he finished runner-up to Kimi Räikkönen by one point. Hamilton won his maiden title in 2008 , making

5632-545: The 2024 season, Hamilton ended his 31-month winless drought by winning his ninth British Grand Prix , breaking Schumacher's record for most wins at the same Grand Prix , and becoming the first driver to win a race beyond their 300th start. He achieved his 200th podium finish in Hungary , and another victory at the Belgian Grand Prix . His struggles in qualifying sessions, coupled with Mercedes' decline in performance after

5760-616: The Briton finish 87 points clear of second-placed Bottas. Hamilton won his seventh Drivers' title in 2020 , equalling the record set by Schumacher, in a season heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Over the shortened seventeen-race season, Hamilton took 11 wins (equalling his previous personal best, but in fewer races) including one in Portugal to break Schumacher's record of 91 wins. He also took 14 podiums and 10 pole positions. Hamilton missed

5888-508: The Driver's Championship standings, with securing two race wins and five podium finishes. Beginning from the 2010 season, Hamilton was partnered by the reigning World Champion Jenson Button . Although McLaren fell-short in terms of car performance and operational efficiency compared to Red Bull and Ferrari , Hamilton entered the final round of the season with a chance of winning the title, but ultimately finished fourth as Sebastian Vettel won

6016-452: The Drivers' title by five points to his teammate Rosberg. The team's policy of letting the pair fight freely led to several acrimonious exchanges both on and off the track, culminating in Hamilton defying team orders at the final race at Abu Dhabi and deliberately slowing to back Rosberg into the chasing pack at the end of the race in an unsuccessful bid to encourage other drivers to overtake his team-mate, which would have allowed him to win

6144-457: The FIA's decisions, in particular the length of the red flag delay: "It was right to wait that long; track conditions had to improve in order to make the cars drivable again. They did everything right." De la Rosa and di Resta also agreed with the decision to halt the race, and Whiting stating that "when it rained it was quite clear we needed to stop the race." Whiting went on to say that the opinions of

6272-543: The Grand Prix. McLaren and Ferrari altered the brake ducts on their cars, improving the cooling to manage the high brake temperatures encountered in Montreal. Ferrari and Mercedes revised their rear suspension layouts, while Red Bull brought a new front wing optimised for lower downforce . Renault and Williams brought new rear wings, which were designed specifically for low-downforce circuits such as Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ,

6400-491: The W13's development, and find performance during the opening stages of the season to little success. Following major mid-season car upgrades, he achieved several podium finishes, including five consecutively from Canada to Hungary . Hamilton set several driver records across his sixteenth season, including most consecutive seasons with a podium finish, and a lap led. The season also marked Hamilton finishing behind his teammate in

6528-465: The World Drivers' Championship before he was 25. In 1998, Dennis called Hamilton following his second Super One series and British championship wins, to offer Hamilton a role in the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Programme . The contract included an option of a future Formula One seat, which would make Hamilton the youngest driver to secure a contract that later resulted in a Formula One drive. He's

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6656-527: The all-time win record at the Portuguese Grand Prix —to equal Michael Schumacher 's record of seven World Drivers' Championships. Hamilton became the first driver to surpass 100 race wins and pole positions in 2021 , finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen amidst a controversial finish . Following winless campaigns in 2022 and 2023 , Hamilton took his record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in 2024 . After 12 seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton

6784-420: The car, and Heidfeld after losing control of his car ran down an escape road on turn 3. The debris on-track from the accident called the sixth safety car period of the race. Following the pitstops and safety car deployment, Petrov had gained sixth place while Barrichello, Alguersuari, Rosberg and Maldonado were in the remaining point scoring positions. Schumacher and Webber, who had contested second place before

6912-483: The car. He did a great, great, great job. The stewards did not impose a penalty on Button for his collisions with Hamilton and Alonso, having judged that no driver was to blame in either incident. Hamilton agreed with the stewards that Button did not intentionally collide with him, and although he felt he was alongside Button at the time, later reflected that "he probably hadn't spotted me". He went on to praise his teammate's race as "an utterly fantastic performance, from

7040-475: The championship ahead of Alex Lloyd . Having clinched the championship, Hamilton missed the last two races of the season to make his debut in the season finale of the British Formula 3 Championship . In his first race he was forced out with a puncture, and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with teammate Tor Graves . Asked in 2002 about the prospect of becoming one of

7168-411: The championship lead throughout 2017 in a tense title fight. Hamilton registered 11 pole positions that season as he took the record for the all-time most pole positions , and his consistency (finishing every race in the points), as well as a lack of a serious challenge from his new team-mate Valtteri Bottas , saw him record nine race victories and secure his fourth World Drivers' title as he overturned

7296-445: The championship, winning five out of the six previous races, with Lewis Hamilton winning the Chinese Grand Prix . Championship contenders Webber and Button had gained one second-place finish each, and Alonso, Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld had achieved third place podium finishes. Prior to the event Virgin Racing announced they would end their partnership with Wirth Research , the company responsible for designing and developing

7424-626: The departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari . After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for 2007 , Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver. He was told of McLaren's decision at the end of September, but the news was not made public for almost two months, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement. Hamilton's first season in Formula One saw him partner two-time and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren ,

7552-466: The drivers came in almost immediately for intermediate tyres tells me that, on the face of it, the safety car was out too long", and felt that the safety car "should be a last resort, not a default option." However, he recognised that FIA race director Charlie Whiting had to consider the driver's visibility, and inexperience using the Pirelli wet-weather tyres led to caution. Jarno Trulli however agreed with

7680-469: The drivers in front changed tyres. On lap 19, a rain storm arrived at the circuit, forcing the drivers on intermediate tyres to switch back to full wets. Alonso and Button, who were in fifth and eighth respectively, fell to ninth and eleventh, while the drivers on the full wet tyres began pitting for fresh wet tyres. The safety car was brought out on lap 20 due to the intensity of the rain, and Vettel, Webber, Massa and Buemi, who had not changed tyres, went to

7808-521: The drivers pitted for slick tyres over the next three laps, Massa damaged his wing forcing him into another pitstop, while damage to Adrian Sutil's car led to his retirement. Button had risen from ninth after his pit-stop to fourth, and was catching the leading trio of Vettel, Schumacher and Webber. On lap 56 Heidfeld, while battling Kobayashi for fifth place, collided with the rear of the Sauber which damaged his front wing. The wing then detached and folded under

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7936-458: The drivers were taken into account on the decision to halt the race, although he also considered the possibility of a suspension benefiting those drivers. With a total time of four hours, four minutes and 39 seconds (including the two-hour suspension), the race was the longest in Formula One history. Button set records for the lowest average race winning speed, at 74.864 km/h (46.518 mph) and with five stops (plus one drive-through penalty)

8064-422: The end of the year, Hamilton announced, to much surprise, that he would be joining Mercedes for the 2013 season, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher . Upon signing with Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton was reunited with his childhood karting teammate, Nico Rosberg . The move was met with surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to Mercedes, a team with no recent history of success, as

8192-442: The fastest lap of the race. DRS was enabled on lap 46, as Barrichello and Rosberg were contesting eighth position. Button had caught Maldonado and Alguersuari, and passed both cars for tenth place. Mark Webber was the first driver to switch to slick tyres, and was followed by Barrichello and Buemi. Kobayashi and Massa, fighting for second place, were both passed by Schumacher on lap 51; Massa then passed Kobayashi for third place. As

8320-433: The final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track, Schumacher praised the young Briton. Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth in the standings. This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK campaign with Manor Motorsport in which he finished fifth overall. He remained with Manor for another year, winning

8448-415: The final minute brought out a red flag , and the session was prematurely ended due to the limited time remaining. The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes and eliminated the cars from qualifying that finished the session 18th or lower. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which necessitated each driver set a time within 107% of

8576-439: The final point scoring positions, and Rosberg's car had lost the front wing, dropping him to eleventh. De la Rosa was twelfth, and Liuzzi, d'Ambrosio, Glock, Trulli and Karthikeyan were the final classified drivers. "I enjoyed it very much coming through the field, fighting your way through the field is almost as good as winning the race. That feeling of getting one up on someone. A great race for people who are sat here, to be on

8704-492: The final race in Abu Dhabi : "This is the greatest day of my life." New Formula One driver number regulations brought in for 2014 allowed drivers to pick a unique car number to use for their entire career, and so Hamilton elected to drive under his old karting No. 44 for the remainder of his career. Before the start of the 2015 season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1, as

8832-575: The first corner – dropping the drivers to seventh and fourteenth respectively. Button lost fifth place mid-lap after running wide, losing two places to Schumacher and Hamilton. At the end of the first racing lap, di Resta had moved up to eighth position, followed by Heidfeld and Kobayashi, who made three places off the grid. Vettel extended his lead over the next lap, while the positions behind continued to change. Kobayashi had improved to eighth and Webber recovered to twelfth, while di Resta fell back to thirteenth. Hamilton lost sixth position running wide on

8960-548: The first time in Hamilton's Formula One career where he failed to secure at least a race win or a pole position. The season saw significant changes in technical regulations which utilised ground effect . The innovative and radically different Mercedes W13 , suffered with severe porpoising early in the season, leading Hamilton to deem it "undrivable" on multiple occasions, and causing him to sustain back injuries in Azerbaijan . Hamilton frequently experimented with car setups to aid

9088-450: The greatest Formula One driver of all time. Writing in Autocar , Jim Holden suggested Hamilton might not only be among the greatest British drivers in Formula One but one of the greatest British sportsmen. Despite receiving plaudits from experts and fans in and out of the sport, Hamilton has been a divisive figure in the eyes of the general public, with some journalists arguing his exploits on

9216-463: The impressive British Grand Prix victory, where he won the race by over a minute from second-placed Nick Heidfeld , his drive was widely acclaimed as one of Formula One's finest wet-weather drives. As the season reached its conclusion in Brazil, it became a clear two-way fight for the title between the home favourite Felipe Massa and the young Briton. Hamilton won his first title in a dramatic fashion in

9344-455: The lapped cars separating Verstappen and Hamilton to un-lap themselves under the safety car, which closed the gap between the pair and allowed Verstappen, who opted to pit for soft tyres, to enter the final lap immediately behind Hamilton, who remained on worn hard tyres. Four days after the race, the FIA announced that it would conduct an internal investigation into the incident. Masi was subsequently removed from his role as race director, with

9472-561: The last race of the season, the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix , overtaking Timo Glock for fifth position in the final corners of the last lap to become the then-youngest Formula One World Champion in history and to deny race-winner Massa the title by one point. This made Hamilton the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996. During his last four years with McLaren, Hamilton continued to score podium finishes and race victories, and twice challenged for

9600-631: The last superstar drivers. Between race weekends Hamilton has on several occasions travelled around the world to explore a variety of interests, such as in 2018 where, after winning the Italian Grand Prix , Hamilton flew to Shanghai and New York where he released his own designer clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger , before flying immediately back to, and winning, the next race in Singapore . His Mercedes team-boss Toto Wolff has been vocal in his support for Hamilton's off-track pursuits, explaining how freedom allows Hamilton to function at his best. Figures in

9728-430: The lead and win by over 30 seconds. His performance was contrasted with that of his team-mate Bottas, who spun four times and finished a lap down in 14th place. Hamilton cited the race as his "stand-out" performance of the season. Ayrton Senna was a major influence on Hamilton's driving style, recalling: "I think it's partly because I watched [him] when I was young and I thought 'this is how I want to drive when I get

9856-448: The location of the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. Three practice sessions were held before the race; two 90-minute sessions on Friday and one lasting an hour on Saturday. Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver in the first practice session, ahead of Alonso and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher . Vettel caused the session to be suspended after crashing into the circuit's " Wall of Champions " on the last corner, heavily damaging his car. After

9984-413: The morning session Sergio Pérez , who had suffered from concussion after a crash at the previous race , withdrew from the Grand Prix. Although he had passed the FIA's medical examination, Pérez said that "I only want to drive when I'm a hundred per cent well. I need some more time to recover". He was replaced by McLaren's reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa , who had competed for Sauber in 2010 . Alonso

10112-518: The most pit stops by the winner of a world championship race. The race also had the highest number of safety car deployments, with six appearances. Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold . Lewis Hamilton British racing driver Rivalries Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver , currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes . Hamilton has won

10240-452: The move as "one of the biggest driver transfer shocks the sport has known", recalling his similar shock move from McLaren to Mercedes back in 2013. This transition marks the first time in his Formula One career that Hamilton will not drive for a Mercedes-powered team. Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid, excelling across a wide range of areas. He has been described as having an aggressive driving style, with

10368-495: The opportunity' and I went out there and tried it on the kart track. My whole approach to racing has developed from there." He has been compared to Senna in raw speed. In 2010, Hamilton drove Senna's original title-winning McLaren MP4/4 as part of a tribute documentary by the BBC motoring show Top Gear . In the documentary, along with fellow racing drivers, he named Senna as the number one driver ever. Earlier in his career, Hamilton

10496-407: The perceived predictability of results during the turbo-hybrid era, likening his period of dominance to that of Schumacher in the early 2000s, and to tennis players Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova , all of whom became more appreciated in the latter part of their careers. What strikes me now about him now is his maturity ... [Hamilton] recognises he is a role model and the influence he has and

10624-451: The pitlane for fresh full wets. After six laps under the safety car, the conditions were getting worse, and the race was suspended. Torrential rain prevented the resumption of the Grand Prix for over two hours, until the rain eased at 15:50 local time. The race was restarted behind the safety car with the drivers in the positions held before the suspension. Vettel was first, followed by Kobayashi, Massa, Heidfeld, Petrov and di Resta. Webber

10752-416: The pitlane to change to intermediate tyres, while Button, Heidfeld and di Resta were among those who pitted the next lap. Vettel and Karthikeyan were the only drivers not to change tyres by lap 37, when Button came upon tenth placed Alonso as he exited the pitlane. As Button attempted to pass at turn 3 the two cars touched, and Alonso's Ferrari spun and beached upon a curb, bringing out the safety car. When

10880-442: The pitlane, as he modified his Toro Rosso's set-up to optimise the car for the wet conditions. The race began behind the safety car, with no formation lap , and despite the slow speed drivers struggled for grip on the wet surface. The safety car came into the pits after five laps, and the cars were allowed to overtake. Vettel retained first place withstanding Alonso's attempts to pass, while behind Hamilton and Webber collided at

11008-414: The podium is a pretty exceptional result and to fight my way through from last position... It is definitely my best race." The top three finishers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies, and in the subsequent press conference. Button felt the win was the best of his career so far, and stated that he had to fight hard to win the race: "It was really a fight. I got a drive-through for speeding behind

11136-473: The quickest lap to qualify for the race. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 17. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position . Vettel achieved his sixth pole position of the season, and his first at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with a time of 1 minute and 13.014 seconds. He

11264-536: The race resumed three laps later, Vettel, Kobayashi and Massa retained their positions, as Heidfeld, di Resta, Webber and Schumacher fought for fourth place. Button had a punctured tyre after the collision and was in twenty-first and last place, but immediately began to make up positions and was 14th by lap 44. Di Resta damaged his front wing attempting to overtake Heidfeld; the subsequent pit-stop and drive-through penalty dropped him down to last. Schumacher, having overtaken Webber, passed Heidfeld in fourth place, and set

11392-465: The race to take his maiden drivers' crown. Multiple race retirements, particularly in the crucial latter half of the season ultimately cost Hamilton the title. 2011 was the first season he had been out-scored by a teammate, as Button finished runner-up to Vettel, during a year in which distractions in his private life and run-ins with FIA officials saw Hamilton finish a lowly fifth in the standings, after which he vowed he would return to form for 2012. In

11520-403: The race: two dry compounds, the soft "primes" and the super-soft "options"; and two wet-weather compounds , the intermediate and full wet. The drag reduction system (DRS) had two activation zones for the race; one was on the straight between turns 11 and 13, and the second on the start/finish straight from the final to first corners. Going into the race, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel led

11648-408: The responsibilities that come with it. He is far broader than purely a driver in [Formula One]. He has opinions about the environment, young people, fashion and music. That is part of the greater appeal of Lewis today. Hamilton's jet-set lifestyle and interests outside Formula One have been scrutinised. He has been praised for disregarding convention and public opinion and has been described as one of

11776-406: The safety car and I had to fight my way through about three times. Eventually, on the last lap I was chasing down Seb. He ran a little bit wide onto the wet part of the circuit and I was able to take the opportunity and take the win." Button also praised his team and strategy for helping him take the victory, in particular the moves to intermediate tyres. Vettel expressed his disappointment of making

11904-409: The safety car, resumed their fight as the race resumed on lap 61. Barrichello was passed by Rosberg and Alguersuari before Massa, who had been in eleventh place, overtook both Williams cars for ninth. Kobayashi lost fifth place to Petrov, and Maldonado retired by spinning off on the wet track at turn two. Webber, passing Schumacher using DRS, cut the chicane on lap 64 and ceded the position back to avoid

12032-542: The season British magazine Autosport featured him in their "Top 50 Drivers of 2005" issue, ranking Hamilton 24th. Hamilton moved to ASM's sister GP2 team, ART Grand Prix , for the 2006 season . Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet Jr. and Alexandre Prémat . He secured a dominant win at the Nürburgring , despite a penalty for speeding in the pit lane . At his home race at Silverstone , Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts,

12160-598: The season, Hamilton and Alonso were involved in a number of incidents which resulted in tensions between both drivers and the team, culminating in Alonso and McLaren terminating their contract by mutual consent in November. Following a successful first season at McLaren, Hamilton signed a multi-million-pound contract to stay with the team until 2012. Partnering Heikki Kovalainen , Hamilton's success continued in 2008 as he amassed five race victories and ten podium finishes. Including

12288-469: The season, topping the standings until the half-way point; however, Vettel's season unravelled with a number of driver and mechanical errors, while Hamilton's run of six wins in seven in the latter half of the season saw Hamilton clinch the title at the Mexican Grand Prix for a second year running as he set a new record for the most points scored in a season (408). During the season, Hamilton signed

12416-405: The season, winning ten races finishing on the podium a record seventeen times as he matched his hero Ayrton Senna 's three World Championships titles, and achieved his first back-to-back championship. The rivalry between him and Rosberg intensified, climaxing in a heated battle at the United States Grand Prix where Hamilton won in an action-packed, wheel-to-wheel battle with his teammate to clinch

12544-584: The sport, such as Emerson Fittipaldi and Christian Horner , have voiced their support for Hamilton's ability to connect with fans, while Bernie Ecclestone frequently commented on his admiration of Hamilton's ability to promote the sport, observing how he is happy to engage with fans, unlike some of his peers. Since Hamilton's rookie season in 2007, Formula One's annual global revenue rose by 53%, to $ 1.83 billion as of 31 July 2016. In 2019, The Telegraph sports journalist Luke Slater went as far as to argue that "[t]here have been few better representatives of

12672-402: The sport. Fernando Alonso disagreed with the decision to start under the safety car as he felt it prevented him from attacking Vettel, while Sauber technical director James Key thought his team was put at a disadvantage when Kobayashi could not defend against the quicker cars after the fifth safety car period. Martin Brundle , who competed in Formula One for twelve years, stated "the fact that

12800-448: The standings for the first time since 2016, finishing a career-worst sixth, 35 points behind Russell in fourth. Mercedes once again faced concerns over their car's competitiveness ahead of the 2023 season. Hamilton endured another winless campaign amidst Red Bull's record-breaking dominance, securing several podium finishes throughout. Hamilton took pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix —his first since 2021, and his record ninth at

12928-413: The summer break, prevented Hamilton from maintaining his success, admitting he "didn't want to come back" for the final three races of the season. Ferrari announced prior to the start of the 2024 season that they had reached an agreement with Hamilton to join the team in 2025 on a multi-year contract, replacing Carlos Sainz Jr. to partner Charles Leclerc . Luke Smith of The Athletic described

13056-685: The team at the Hungarian Grand Prix , new engine regulations came into effect the following season , which saw Mercedes emerge as the dominant force in Formula One. From 2014 to 2016 , Hamilton and Rosberg won 51 of 59 Grands Prix amidst their fierce rivalry —widely known as The Silver War —with Hamilton winning the former titles in 2014 and 2015 , and Rosberg winning the latter . Following Rosberg's retirement, Hamilton twice overturned mid-season point deficits to Ferrari 's Sebastian Vettel to claim his fourth and fifth titles in 2017 and 2018 . Hamilton won his sixth title in 2019 , before breaking several records across his 2020 campaign—including

13184-412: The team's racing cars. In order to cut costs, Wirth Research had designed the cars exclusively using computational fluid dynamics , and unlike their competitors Wirth had not utilised a wind tunnel . The approach was not successful as the team had failed to qualify higher than 20th so far in the season, leading to the partnership's conclusion. Virgin Racing's CEO Andy Webb, who had aims to challenge for

13312-466: The time, would not fund him. Hamilton eventually re-signed with McLaren. According to then McLaren executive and future CEO Martin Whitmarsh , who was responsible for guiding Hamilton through the team's young driver programme, he and Anthony Hamilton had a "huge row" at the end of the season, with his father pushing for him to move up to GP2 for 2005, while Whitmarsh felt that he should remain in Formula 3 for

13440-581: The title despite Red Bull's dominance during that time-period. Major technical regulation changes in 2009 led to a challenging start for McLaren. Often qualifying outside of the top ten, and struggling to finish on points, Hamilton's chances of defending his title became unfeasible. Major upgrades at the German Grand Prix saw a dramatic improvement in performance of the McLaren MP4-24 . From that point onward, Hamilton advanced from eleventh to fifth in

13568-492: The title with three races to spare. That year, Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes for three additional years in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million, making him one of the best-paid drivers in Formula One, as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship-winning cars and trophies. Despite recording more pole positions and race wins than any other driver in 2016 , Hamilton lost

13696-465: The title. Ultimately, a succession of poor starts from Hamilton early in the season and a crucial engine blowout at the Malaysian Grand Prix meant Rosberg took the title, which he successfully secured before announcing his shock retirement from the sport immediately after beating his rival. Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival as the pair exchanged

13824-503: The top ten. Paul di Resta was in 11th position, ahead of fellow rookies Pastor Maldonado and Kobayashi. Adrian Sutil struggled with grip throughout the session and was 14th; following him were Sébastien Buemi , Barrichello and de la Rosa. Jaime Alguersuari qualifying in 18th complained of insufficient grip and brake balance, and at the back of the grid were the Lotus, HRT and Virgin drivers. D'Ambrosio did not qualify after failing to set

13952-434: The track have been underappreciated. Holden has suggested that racial bias may have contributed towards Hamilton's perceived lack of popularity relative to his achievements, with Hamilton's race and physical appearance – being mixed-race and often seen sporting earrings, dreadlocks and designer clothing – alienating some of the sport's traditional white, elderly male fanbase. Others have attributed his lack of appreciation to

14080-451: The very end, we can be happy about the result and the big fight we put in." Kobayashi, placed second at the restart, shared similar feelings to Schumacher about finishing in a lower position: "Originally I qualified 13th so then it is not bad to finish seventh, but on the other hand I started second after the long red flag and looking from there the result is disappointing." The usage of the safety car came under criticism from figures within

14208-429: The years is how few mistakes he makes, how complete he is and clean ... he just never makes a mistake [in] wheel-to-wheel combat [or] in qualifying ... He just doesn't fade, mentally or physically." Hamilton is regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. In the 2008 British Grand Prix , Hamilton bested second-place Nick Heidfeld by over

14336-606: The youngest ever Formula One drivers, Hamilton replied that his goal was "not to be the youngest in Formula One" but rather "to be experienced and then show what I can do in Formula One". He made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series , ending the year fifth in the championship. He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix, and twice raced in the Macau F3 Grand Prix . Williams had come close to signing Hamilton but did not because BMW , their engine supplier at

14464-572: Was Nico Rosberg , who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes teams in Formula One; they would later team up again for Mercedes from 2013 to 2016. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000. In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg . Hamilton ended

14592-554: Was Button's first of the season, and put him into second place in the World Drivers' Championship , sixty points behind leader Vettel, who had extended his lead despite finishing second. Webber remained in third, and Hamilton's retirement meant he slipped to fourth. In the World Constructors' Championship Red Bull extended their lead to 65 points from McLaren, with Ferrari a further 85 points behind. At over four hours (including

14720-440: Was acclaimed as one of his greatest performances—saw Hamilton eliminate a 19-point deficit to Verstappen, entering the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on points. In Abu Dhabi, having led the majority of the race, Hamilton was denied the championship by a last-lap overtake from Verstappen following a late safety car. The season finale was marred by controversy over race director Michael Masi 's decision to instruct only

14848-428: Was closing to Vettel for the race lead. Vettel led by 0.9 seconds on the final lap, before he ran wide at turn six. Button passed him to take the lead, and held it to win the race. Vettel recovered from going off-track and finished second, ahead of Webber in third and Schumacher in fourth. Petrov took fifth place, while Massa passed Kobayashi on the finish line for sixth place. Alguersuari, Barrichello and Buemi filled

14976-560: Was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he went on to repeat four years later in Formula One at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia. Following his move to Mercedes, Hamilton was credited with demonstrating greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. The official Formula One website describes him as "invariably

15104-665: Was educated at The John Henry Newman School , a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage. Hamilton has said that at the age of five he took up karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school. He was also excluded from school for a period when he was mistakenly identified as having attacked a fellow student who was treated in hospital for his injuries. In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international , Ashley Young . Hamilton, an Arsenal fan, said that if Formula One had not worked for him, he would have been

15232-406: Was expected to arrive an hour into the race. The air temperature ranged between 17–19 °C (63–66 °F), with the track temperature between 18–20 °C (64–68 °F). Standing water on the track, which was causing heavy spray and impairing visibility, meant that the race would start behind the safety car and all cars would use the full wet tyres . Alguersuari would start the race from

15360-658: Was fastest in the second session, ahead of Vettel, Massa and Hamilton – although the McLaren driver received a puncture midway through practice. The session was disrupted by incidents as Kamui Kobayashi and Jérôme d'Ambrosio struck the barriers – both accidents requiring a suspension as marshals cleared the track of debris – and Adrian Sutil 's Force India broke its suspension in a crash at turn 7. The third session on Saturday morning saw Vettel fastest, ahead of Alonso, Rosberg and Massa. A KERS failure on Mark Webber 's RB7 prevented him from participating. A crash by de la Rosa in

15488-647: Was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career No. 44. It was the first season since 1994 , when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in 1993 , that the field did not contain a car bearing the No. 1. Through the 2015 season, he was in the top 10 of career wins and pole positions by percentage, average starting grid position, laps led per Grand Prix, fastest laps by percentage, and podium finishes by percentage. Hamilton dominated

15616-433: Was in seventh place with Alonso, de la Rosa and Button behind. The safety car remained out for seven laps, during which the circuit began drying enough to be suitable for intermediate tyres, and D'Ambrosio pitted on lap 33 to change from the full wets. Vettel began to extend the lead over Kobayashi once the safety car came in on lap 35, as Massa and Heidfeld fought for Kobayashi's second place. Schumacher led several cars into

15744-509: Was joined on the front row of the grid by Alonso, with teammate Massa in third, giving Ferrari their best qualifying performance of the season. Webber had not been able to use his car's KERS and qualified fourth, four-tenths of a second behind Vettel. Hamilton and Button qualified in fifth and seventh respectively and McLaren blamed the slow pace on too high levels of downforce on the high-speed circuit. The Mercedes drivers qualified in sixth and eighth, and Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov completed

15872-477: Was one of the finest performances in Formula One: I think it was one of the best wins in the history of F1, let alone his. There were punctures, he had to change the front wing, and from 21st I don't know how many times he had to overtake people. He just drove fantastically well. He kept focused. He applied as much pressure as he had to get past and really did a fantastic job. This was 90 per cent him and 10 per cent

16000-480: Was restarted over two hours later. Button was involved in another collision on lap 37, which led to Alonso's retirement and Button falling to last place. Over the remainder of the race, he moved from twenty-first place to first, passing Webber and Michael Schumacher , who had started fourth and eighth respectively, for second place on lap 65, and Vettel on the final lap. Williams driver Rubens Barrichello finished in 9th place, scoring his final F1 points. The victory

16128-612: Was subjected to racist abuse. Hamilton's father bought him a go-kart for Christmas when he was six and promised to support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. To support his son, Hamilton's father took redundancy from his position as an IT manager and became a contractor, sometimes working up to four jobs at a time including employment as a double glazing salesman, dishwasher, and putting up signs for estate agents , while still attending his son's races. Hamilton's father later set up his own IT company. He continued to be Hamilton's manager until early 2010. Hamilton

16256-417: Was twelve. Hamilton then lived with his father, stepmother Linda, and his half-brother Nicolas , who is also a professional racing driver. Hamilton was raised a Catholic . Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car when he was five. Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year against adult competition. Being the only black child racing at his club, Hamilton

16384-402: Was widely acclaimed, with Joe Saward describing it as "one of his greatest performances". Despite only qualifying sixth for the race after Mercedes struggled with tyre temperatures and a track that lacked grip after being recently resurfaced, during the race he gambled on a one-stop strategy in mixed conditions whilst his rivals chose to change their tyres for a second time, enabling him to take

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