Lewis Hamilton
*Lewis Hamilton was born on this date in 1985. He is a Black English Formula One Race Car Driver.
From Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, Lewis Carl Hamilton's grandparents immigrated to the United Kingdom from Grenada in the 1950s; his grandfather worked on the London Underground. His mother, Carmen, and father, Anthony (now an IT Consultant), named Lewis after the American Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Carl Lewis. His parents separated when he was two. Hamilton grew up with his father, stepmother, and half-brother Nicholas who suffers from cerebral palsy.n
At age six, he began his racing career when his father bought him his first go-kart. He held down three jobs to support his son’s career and still found enough time to attend all of his races. When he was 9, Hamilton predicted that he would one day race for McLaren-Mercedes. Two years later, he was signed to McLaren's development program while attending The John Henry Newman School.
In his debut (2001) year, Hamilton set four Formula One records. After finishing second at the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix, he became the youngest driver to lead the drivers' championship. Hamilton gained his first victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix on June 10, 2007, and became the first Black person to win a Formula One race.
Changes to the regulations for 2014, mandating turbo-hybrid engines, came at the start of a highly successful period for Hamilton, during which he has won six further drivers' titles. Hamilton won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015 during an intense rivalry with teammate Nico Rosberg. Following Rosberg's retirement, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's closest rival in two intense championship battles, and Hamilton twice overturned mid-season points deficits to claim consecutive titles again in 2017 and 2018. Hamilton won his third and fourth titles in a row in 2019 and 2020, equaling Schumacher's record of seven driver titles.
Hamilton has been credited with furthering Formula One's global following by appealing to a broader audience outside the sport, partly due to his high-profile lifestyle, environmental and social activism, and exploits in music and fashion. He has also become a prominent advocate supporting activism to combat racism and push for increased diversity in motorsport. Hamilton was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally and was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours.
In March 2022, Hamilton said he changed his name to include his mother's maiden name, Larbalestier. The seven-time Formula One world champion revealed his decision in front of a crowd at the 2022 Dubai Expo, ahead of this weekend's season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain. He said, "None of you might know that my mum's name is Larbalestier, and I am just about to put that in my name. I don't fully understand the idea that when people get married, the woman loses their name, and I want my mum's name to continue with the Hamilton name,"
Also, Hamilton joined the National Football League’s Denver Broncos ownership group in 2022.
