Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 40th birthday: a look back at a legendary career

Arriving in motorsport via radio-controlled cars which he piloted with talent and dexterity, Lewis Hamilton discover it karting in 1993. After his first successes on the national scene, he approached a certain Ron Dennis one day to offer him his services. Amused and seduced, the big boss of McLaren tells him to call him back in a few years. Hamilton continued to string together victories and titles and joined the development program in Woking (Great Britain) at the age of 13 in 1998. The Englishman started in car during the 2001 season with a first experience in Formula Renault UK under the colors of the Manor Motorsport team.

Lewis Hamilton had just won a karting victory, 1996 ©Chris Dixon/DPPI

Winner of the British championship in 2003, Lewis Hamilton then climbed Formula 3 Euro Series where he won the title hands down (15 wins in 20 races) and the famous Formula 3 Masters of Zandvoort (Netherlands) with ASM in 2005. Promoted to the GP2 Series at ART Grand Prix the following season, he succeeded on the prize list to his former karting teammate and future great rival F1 Nico Rosberg by getting the better of Nelson Piquet Jr. At 21, Hamilton is ready for the big leap to F1. That's good, McLaren has a free seat alongside Fernando Alonso, arrived from Renault with two titles in his suitcases (2005-06).

Lewis Hamilton, GP2 Series champion with ART Grand Prix in 2006 ©Gilles Levent / DPPI

After hesitating between the veteran Pedro de la Rosa, who replaced Juan Pablo Montoya at short notice in 2006, the reserve Gary Paffett, and the hopeful Lewis Hamilton who had just won the GP2 title, McLaren opted for the 3rd option. Even if the Briton arrives in F1 preceded by a good reputation, no one, not even Ron Dennis, expects him to be up to speed so quickly.

However, from his first race at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton showed that he was not there to amuse the gallery with a daring overtake at the start of his double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso, and a first podium. in career. After 4 rounds and as many finishes in the leading trio, he is at the top of the championship. His first victory was only a matter of weeks and came on June 10, 2007 at the end of a completely crazy Canadian GP where Lewis Hamilton avoided all the pitfalls.

Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren in 2007 ©Gilles Levent / DPPI

The Englishman did it again a week later in the United States where tensions with Fernando Alonso, perceptible for a while, came to light. They will continue to escalate and will lead, among other things, to a technical-political-sporting scandal which will cost McLaren dearly and precipitate the break between the Spaniard and Woking. Despite this deleterious climate, Lewis Hamilton is hanging on in the fight for the title with two new successes. He enters the last meetings with a comfortable lead over Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) but will lose everything in the final packaging.

First following an incredible silting in the pit lane during the Chinese Grand Prix, then a gearbox problem in Brazil where the Finn won and took the crown. Having come within one point of the title on his first attempt, Lewis Hamilton took his revenge, by the same margin, 12 months earlier. Author of 5 successes, he emerged victorious from a Homeric duel with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) whose unbreathable outcome at Interlagos (Brazilian Grand Prix) entered directly into the Pantheon of sport. If the continuation of his McLaren adventure will bring its share of podiums and success, Lewis Hamilton will never again really find himself in a position to challenge for the title with his favorite team.

Hamilton during his first F1 title ©Gilles Levent

In 2009, McLaren negotiated the new aerodynamic regulations poorly, but its leader still managed to hold on to two Grand Prix by forceps (Hungary and Singapore). The following three seasons, Hamilton formed a nice duo with Jenson Button but reliability concerns, and a slump during the 2011 campaign, prevented him from defeating Red Bull et Sebastian Vettel, new grid patterns.

Approached by Mercedes, who is looking for a second wind with his newly relaunched factory team, the 2008 champion is finally convinced by Niki Lauda's arguments. Many people think that Lewis Hamilton made a bad career choice; the Englishman has actually just made the best decision of his professional life. Because if Mercedes is not yet at the level of the best in 2013 for the last season of the naturally aspirated V8s, the German manufacturer has superbly anticipated and prepared the revolution of the 6L turbo hybrid V1,6s.

Untouchable, the Silver Arrows of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are fighting for the 2014 title between them. The Briton had the last word on the evening of the Abu Dhabi final, the scene of his 11th victory of the year. The following year, Hamilton calmly dominated his German teammate and won his third world crown with several rounds to go. Rosberg, however, took advantage of the end of the 3 season to string together 2015 successes and launch the dynamic that would take him to the title of world champion the following year.

The 2016 campaign is undoubtedly one of the most exciting in recent seasons with a fratricidal fight between Mercedes drivers who are still untouchable for the rest of the grid. Even if he finished with one more victory than his best enemy (10-9), Lewis Hamilton failed 5 points behind Nico Rosberg, who retired a few days after his coronation.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne © Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

Now supported by the solid but harmless Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton will string together four titles in a row, the first two acquired after an intense but too short fight with Sebastian Vettel who now defends the colors of a Ferrari team in clear recovery of form. From 2019, however, Red Bull and its new Honda engine replace the Scuderia in the role of the main competitors of the impregnable fortress Mercedes.

Despite the obvious talent of Max Verstappen, the Dutchman does not yet have the material at his disposal to respond to the mastery of the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes steamroller, who is reaching peak form during a masterful 2020 season. At the Nürburgring, Lewis Hamilton equals the record of 91 victories of Michael Schumacher, then eclipsed it in the following round in Portugal. In Turkey, he delivered a demonstration of which he had the secret in the rain to win a historic 7th world champion title.

Only a Covid-19 infection will temporarily stop his incredible victorious march at the end of the season. During the New Year celebrations, Lewis Hamilton, the modest kid from Stevenage, was officially knighted by the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, who had already been a member of the Order of the British Empire since his first title in 1.

Lewis Hamilton decorated by the Queen of England ©Royal Family

Holder of a handful of records in Formula 1, Sir Lewis Hamilton is also very involved in many causes dear to his heart, such as veganism, the defense of minorities, the fight against racism and discrimination, and the promotion of 'equal opportunities. After extending his lease at Mercedes late and for the 2021 season, Hamilton has signed a new two-year contract with his current employer which guarantees his presence on the grid until at least 2023.

In 2021, the Briton undoubtedly delivered one of his best seasons, during which he reached 100 poles and 100 victories. But this campaign will certainly have led him to one of his biggest disappointments in Formula 1. Opposed to Max Verstappen who this time enjoys a particularly well-born Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton turns into a hunter throughout the season , he who was nevertheless used to being the hunted pilot. While he is up to 32 points behind after the Austrian Grand Prix where Max Verstappen won, Lewis Hamilton and his Dutch rival will compete in Act I of their titanic fight at Silverstone.

Start of the Grand Prix at Silverstone © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

Both starting on the front row, the two men touch each other at Stowe and Verstappen ends up in the wall! Despite a time penalty, Lewis Hamilton won and completely relaunched himself in the title race. Act II of the Homeric confrontation will take place in Monza. At the chicane of the first turn, the two men ended up in the gravel trap, offering one of the images of the season, with their cars placed on top of each other.

After the Mexican Grand Prix in November, and with only four rounds remaining, Max Verstappen appears to be heading towards his first world championship title. The Dutchman leads 9 victories to 5 against Lewis Hamilton who is nevertheless still in ambush. Mercedes is finishing the year strong, as is its British star driver. Lewis Hamilton indeed won three times in a row in Brazil, Qatar then in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Until returning to a perfect tie on points with Max Verstappen before the final battle in Abu Dhabi.

Clash between the leaders of the F1 championship ©Florent Gooden / DPPI

At the Abu Dhabi GP, the last lap will be remembered. While Lewis Hamilton was flying towards a clear and flawless victory, the accident of Nicholas latifi (Williams) five laps from the end turned everything upside down. After banning it, the race management finally allowed the latecomers to split, and then only those between Hamilton and Verstappen, which allowed the Dutchman to find himself in the exhausts of the leading Mercedes, ready to pounce on the restart. On much fresher and softer rubber, Verstappen overtook Hamilton at turn 5 and defended perfectly at turns 6 and 9 to win his first world championship title, the first for Red Bull Racing since 2013.

Without having made the slightest mistake in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton thus lost an eighth world champion title which was held out to him. The Briton had a lot of trouble getting over it, and his infinite sadness after the race perfectly attested to this. It was the first time since the coronation of his ex-teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 that Lewis Hamilton let a world champion title slip away. The silence of the English champion, throughout the winter of 2022, left rumors surrounding a possible early retirement. But Lewis Hamilton was finally there in 2022, at Mercedes, alongside George Russell.

In Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton does not hide his disappointment ©F1

If 2022 and 2023 were his worst seasons in sporting terms, with no victories and only one pole in two years – a first since his arrival in F1 in 2007 – Lewis Hamilton still has the level and perseverance of a great champion. The Briton was able to get back up to return to the battle and finish 3rd in the 2023 championship. All of this will have rekindled his appetite to seek an 8th title in the years to come, and thus become the only holder of the title record in F1, ahead of Michael Schumacher.

Undisputed and undeniable leader of the field for years, Lewis Hamilton can not only boast of having the best track record in Formula 1, but also of transcending the boundaries of a sport that is sometimes too elitist and centered on itself. At 40, he is naturally closer to retirement than to his debut in the discipline but the seven-time champion shows no signs of letting up, despite fierce competition from Max Verstappen and Red Bull last season.

An ultra-complete driver, as fast on a flying lap as he is comfortable in terms of tire management and sharp in his overtaking, Lewis Hamilton narrowly missed out on an eighth world champion title in 2021.

The new regulations could have allowed him to get back on track, but Mercedes unfortunately did not master this turn well in 2022. Three complicated seasons to say the least followed one another for Sir Lewis, who had his black bread all along. 2024 allowed him to regain hope by putting an end to a little over two years without success. As if it were obvious, it was at home, at Silverstone, where he had already won 8 times before, that the seven-time world champion achieved his 104th success. There would be a 105th a few weeks later thanks to the disqualification of George Russell in Belgium. However, this 2024 campaign was the "worst" of his career since he finished only 7th in the standings. He had never finished a season so far.

© Eric Alonso / DPPI

Now, it is on the side of Maranello dressed all in red that he is expected to represent Scuderia Ferrari. A final challenge without doubt in his long career and a last chance perhaps to win an 8th world title synonymous with a record. The symbol would be all the stronger since he would do it with the Italians, with whom Michael Schumacher had dominated the early 2000s, also reaching 7 crowns. 2025 could therefore be the beginning of a new beautiful story during which he would see himself making a little more mark on the history of his sport.

A complex personality and sometimes touchy off the track, Sir Lewis Hamilton has the merit of leaving no one indifferent. Let's enjoy him while he's still active... and Happy Birthday Lewis !

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