Hamilton, Lewis (Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton), 1985–, British race car driver. After winning several European and world karting championships, he joined the British Formula Renault series in 2002 and won the championship in 2003, moved to the Formula Three Euroseries in 2004 and won the championship in 2005, then moved to and won the Grand Prix Two championship in 2006. He began Formula One (F1) racing in 2007, driving for McLaren, and lost the world championship by one point, then won it in 2008, becoming the youngest driver to do so. With Mercedes-Benz from 2013, Hamilton became the first British driver to win back-to-back titles in 2014–15, and since has won the F1 championship in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, tying Michael Schumacher's record. In 2020 his 92d F1 career win broke Schumacher record for wins. He was knighted in 2020.
See his memoir (2008); biography by F. Worrall (2009).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Sports: Biographies