Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (he's got four names, that's a freebie), is perhaps the one name that people immediately associate with the Formula One auto racing sport. That's because the 33-year-old British race car driver has made a name and almost a permanent mark for himself in the sport.
The four-time F1 World champ is hailed as the best driver of his generation and one of the greatest in F1 history. By the age of five, Hamilton already knew he was destined for Formula One racing. His passion was nurtured from his childhood go-kart racing days when he would win against all the kids to become the best in Britain.
While he says music is also one of his most treasured passions, Hamilton’s driving is what has put him on the world map as one of the all time greats both in F1 and in the sporting arena as a whole.
Hamilton was born and raised in Stevenage and it wasn’t until his dad bought him a radio-controlled car at six years that his interest in racing started. In 1998 he was signed to McLaren’s Young Driver Support Programme. He then told the McLaren team principal, Ron Dennis, that he would one day race his cars. Race he did, which made him the first black driver to race in the F1.
Check out these 20 things you never knew about Lewis Hamilton.
20 He's Worth A Scorching £131 Million
According to the Sunday Times sport rich list, Lewis Hamilton is worth a swashbuckling 131 million pounds. Hamilton signed a three year deal in 2015 to drive for Mercedes for 100 million pounds, a contract that made him the highest paid British sportsperson at the time.
Part of his contract stated he could take home 10 million pounds more annually in performance bonuses. In 2016 he won ten F1 races, though Rosberg narrowly edged him out for the World Championship.
Because Hamilton is one of the most marketable drivers in F1 he boasts endorsement deals with big brands such as Monster Energy, Bose, Puma, MV Augusta Motorcycles, L’Oreal, IWC, and Bombardier Recreational Products. It's understood that his combined earnings from each of these brands adds up to around 6 million pounds. Forbes ranks him as the 10th richest athlete in the world.
19 He Lives For The Little Things
In an interview with formula1.com he revealed that his favorite fruit is watermelon, his favorite chocolate or candy is Nutella and that his favorite meals are pancakes with bacon, fried chicken, Haribo and cheesecake. For pizza toppings he says he used to like pepperoni but since he doesn't eat red meat anymore, he loves the white truffle pizza. (He ate at least ten of those during an after race party at Bahrain.)
His dream destination is Bora Bora, his favorite road car is the Mercedes SL300 Gullwing, and his favorite video game is Call of Duty. He also loves to wear white. Plus, he loves chess, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, water with grenadine, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, sweet potatoes, the iPhone, and a bicycle for training. Trainers are his favorite shoes. See, he's human!
18 He And Nico Rosberg Once Raced To Finish Pizza
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have known each other since they were little and used to race in their go-karts. They did practically everything together, and you’ll currently find that same competitive spirit between the two men. The two would race together, stay in the same room, and even had the same dream to share the F1 title as teammates.
Back in the year 2000, the two sat opposite each other at a pizza restaurant and the waiter served them two pizzas. Immediately, the two shoveled the pizzas into their mouths with almost the same speed as on the race track.
They were always competing and always wanted to win and beat each other, but they never once fought. It was always friendly and they could always share a laugh.
17 He Loves To Dine At Shanghai Blues Restaurant
Who doesn’t love Oriental food? Shanghai Blues is one of those restaurants where you feel like you’re in China while still very much being in London. The interiors are dimly lit and waitresses guide you into through the distinctive venue. It's all very hypnotic.
The food excites your taste buds. They serve everything from crunchy chickpeas to classic prawn crackers and pickled cucumbers to dumplings ranging from unremarkable vegetable to steamed scallop. An assortment of meats, fish, and seafood make up the restaurant’s fine dishes that provide a balance and variety of flavors. A notable favorite of many is the morning glory and green tea ice cream. A live band entertains guests on Friday and Saturday nights as diners sample the hearty cuisine of the Eastern region. It’s easy to see why Hamilton is hooked to this place.
16 He Has An Eclectic Taste In Music
Hamilton ventured into music and has actually written eighty songs so far, but whose music is on his playlist? His favorite bands include Chaka Demus & Pliers (not many who were born after the 90s are even aware of these guys, but there's always Google), Natasha Bedingfield, Oasis, 50 Cent, P-Diddy, and Pharrell Williams.
For a guy his age, these artist might seem a little bit old school, but music is timeless! What we’ve not seen here are songs from Rita Ora, Rihanna, or other musicians he’s usually pictured with or hangs out with when he’s in Hollywood or off the track. His modern playlist shuffles between different styles with artists like Drake, Frank Ocean, and Chance the Rapper, among others.
15 He Broke Up With Nicole Scherzinger Because Racing Came First
Hamilton and former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger were in an on again, off again relationship which actually lasted quite a while when compared to the other romantic flings he’s had in the past.
Rumors abound over who he's currently seeing, but it’s a long story we don’t want to get into, at least not here. We'll leave the gossip to the tabloids. According to Nicole the F1 racing champ didn’t pay her enough attention, so they called it quits.
She’s moved on with 26-year-old tennis star Grigor Dimitrov. Hamilton, on the other hand, revealed the real reason they split was that his passion for cars comes first. He even told Top Gear magazine that his cars are his babies.
14 He Would Give Up F1 To Become A Spaceman
In 2017, Hamilton was given the rare opportunity to visit a training facility at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. He left the race track to go to the center where he tried on a spacesuit and visited mission control, an experience which he said made him very happy.
At the time, Hamilton was preparing for the United States GP in Austin where he could've won his fourth title over Sebastian Vettel, but he still decided to take the space center tour.
He wore a helmet and rode a space buggy near the astronauts’ training pool, then took photos happily while sharing with his Instagram followers. Besides being an F1 champ, Hamilton has his feet in both fashion and music, plus Hollywood, so he probably could add NASA astronaut to that list. He showed off photos of himself wearing space gloves, riding the buggy, and holding a huge helmet.
13 Hamilton Fears Being Eaten By A Great White Shark
It’s easy to see why Hamilton is afraid of great white sharks. This is one of the ocean’s most iconic and feared creatures, what with their razor sharp teeth, and their menacing looks that just reek of danger. This shark averages between 10 and 15 feet in length and is known for its stout body, white underside, and black eyes.
We’re not sure why he’s even scared of this creature because Hamilton loves sand boarding and racing - not exactly activities known for attracting sharks.
This shark, by the way, lives in temperate waters which can go as deep as 775 feet, but it primarily eats marine mammals, sometimes sea turtles (poor things), and others. If it were to finds an unfamiliar object, like Hamilton for example, it would attack first to determine if it's potential food. It would likely release Hamilton without eating him.
12 He Was A Racing Prodigy By The Age Of Five
Before he could even drive a car, Hamilton got his first remote control car from his dad at just five years old. He even beat a British national champ at the time in a BBC children’s show, Blue Peter. Although he didn’t come from a long line of racing drivers, his grandpa was a bus driver.
This precocious talent produced the father of the only black racer in F1 at the moment. At six years of age, Hamilton told his dad he wanted to be an F1 racer, and his father noticed that while other kids played, young Hamilton was busy driving. By the time the young boy won the British championship, his dad had no idea about car racing, let alone managing his son’s budding career. He had to teach himself racing so as to teach his son.
11 He Has An Insane Car Collection And A Private Jet
He may be the fastest man on the race track driving some of the fastest machines ever known, but when it comes to his personal tastes this guy has some of the most insane cars in his collection.
Besides the custom made purple Pagani Zonda 760 LH, he also owns a 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra, a Mercedes-AMG SLS black series, a McLaren P1, a Ferrari LaFerrari, and a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.
He also recently posted that he wants to be the very first person to own a Maybach 6 as an addition to his Mercedes-Maybach S600. Besides cars, he rides his bikes: a Maverick X3 and a Honda CRF450RX Motorcross bike, and when he has free time, he works on limited-edition bikes with MV Augusta, like the Dragster RR LH44. He also has a private jet in the form of a Bombardier Challenger 605.
10 He’s A Gunner
Hamilton loves Arsenal. It’s the football team he's supported since he was just five years old, and he thinks the team needs more money. In fact, when Mercedes-AMG Petronas released videos of what it meant to be a real champion, Hamilton was in an Arsenal jersey, joined by footie legends such as Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Jamie Carragher, and Jamie Redknapp.
They all got together for a celebrity match which was then transformed into something larger courtesy of Mercedes.
In the video Henry and Hamilton talk about what it takes to be a true champ, and they agree that it's the power to keep winning, especially when the world expects you to. They also agree that no winner is anything without his team that helps him become the best of all.
9 He's Written 80 Songs
If you didn't know that Hamilton could sing then now you know. Besides his glorious career with Formula One racing, Hamilton is also a songwriter, and he's written 80 songs in different genres, which he works on when he has the time.
Sometimes he even books studio time after races on Sunday nights while other racers go partying or just take time to recover.
He's not 100% dedicated to music yet because for him racing is more important and that's where is focus is. In fact, he talks about Adele and Beyonce as being in the Premier League, and he just wants to be able to play. Music is what he would probably call his side gig and it just helps him to relax. He teamed up with Bose & Spinz Beats Inc to create his F1 soundtrack, which was released in September 2015.
8 He Unveiled A Racing Helmet As A Tribute To America
Hamilton took to Twitter to unveil a racing helmet emblazoned with Michael Jackson's face and the Monster Energy Drink logo, two of America’s greatest exports. The helmet was hand painted in white with the words "Rest in peace, MJ. We’ll always love you’"surrounding an image of MJ himself at the crown of the helmet.
This was in time for the F1 race in Austin where Hamilton came in fourth behind Mark Webber. In his go-kart racing days, Hamilton’s father gave him a yellow helmet as a means of identifying his son from the rest of the racers.
Hamilton later changed the helmet by painting it red with white stripes. He actually holds these helmets dearly. Remember when he was given his hero Ayrton Senna’s 1987 race helmet? He was literally shaking and speechless because Senna was his favorite driver and inspired him to be what he is today.
7 All His Tattoos Have Deeper Meanings
During a photo shoot for the cover of Men’s Health magazine, Hamilton, who posed shirtless, said that doing so revealed a lot more about himself. Hamilton is strong in his faith, so he wanted tattoos with religious images, like the Pieta, inked on his shoulder.
The Pieta is a Michelangelo sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after he came down off the cross. On his arm is a sacred heart and musical notes which depict his love for music, as well as a compass right on his chest because the church is his compass.
The word "family" is inked across his shoulders. He has the word "faith" as well as the phrase "powerful beyond measure" on his chest. On his back is a large cross with angel wings that reads "rise above it, no matter what life throws at you. And also, you know, Jesus rose from the grave." To each their own.
6 Hamilton And Nico Rosberg Had A Serious Falling Out
Although Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had a falling out as they raced alongside each other in F1, the two have been best friends since they were go-kart racing teammates and had been so before their career paths split on their way to Formula One.
In 2013 the two reunited as teammates at Mercedes and competed head to head for the title. During this intense competition period, their once close relationship deteriorated to a point they couldn’t even speak to each other.
Hamilton won the title in 2014 and 2015, while Rosberg took the 2016 title before he announced he would retire at the season’s end. Rosberg hopes this strained relationship can be rekindled in the future because, according to him, Hamilton made his world championship victory special.
5 He’s Been Hit Hard By Karma
Hamilton scoffed at two time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso when he skipped the Monaco Grand Prix for the Indy 500 and came fifth after his Honda engine failed, causing him to fall out on lap 180.
Although the race was impressive, Hamilton saw things differently, saying that great drivers usually look for titles in other races when they cannot succeed in Formula One. But karma, being what it is, hit back at Hamilton. Indy veteran Tony Kanaan returned the favor when Hamilton competed in a two-car world championship and came in second.
Similarly, Hamilton was unseated by Daniel Ricciardo in Top Gear’s reasonably priced car in a campaign by Red Bull to unseat the F1 champ. Ricciardo beat Hamilton by seven-tenths of a second.
4 He Owns A One-Of-A-Kind Pagani Zonda...Which He Crashed
The proverbial adage to save the best for last rings true for Hamilton because he waited a long time to get his Pagani Zonda. This spectacular one-of-a-kind Zonda 760 LH with a naturally aspirated engine was finished in an exquisite deep purple and exposed carbon fiber that gave it a unique look.
Hamilton, who lives in Monaco, crashed this EUR 2 million, three-pedal manual supercar after he admittedly struck a stationary car in the wee hours of the morning.
The car has a V12 AMG engine that can do speeds of up to 350 kph. It's possibly one of the greatest Zonda cars ever produced. In fact, of the 13 Pagani Zonda 760 series, this is the first with a manual transmission.
3 He Dreams Of Owning The McLaren F1 LM XP1
In 2007, Hamilton joined the McLaren F1 team and told Rod Dennis, who was in charge at the time, that he wanted the bright-orange prototype F1 LM XP1.
Only five of these were built along with that one prototype. By the way, the F1 LM is the short-tail McLaren F1 GTR, which makes 680 horsepower and has no engine restrictions.
This car is worth at least $10 million and possibly much more. Hamilton is said to have been so desperate to get this car that he literally coveted it. But Ron told him he could have it on one condition only: he had to win the 2008 F1 World Championship with the team claiming the constructor’s title.
2 He's Marked The F1 LM XP1 As His Own
Ron Dennis gave Hamilton the option of winning the 2008 F1 World Championship with the team claiming the constructor’s title, but other quarters say he had also been promised the car if he took home three titles at McLaren. He did not manage either of these challenges.
He very much doubted that he would be given the original prototype if he won or thought he would get a slightly worse F1 which was converted to LM specifications. Legend has it that he left a small mark on the car so that he could always identify it in case he ever got to buy it in future. As fate would have it, Hamilton won the WDC in 2008, but his team didn’t, which meant the car would stay at the MTC in Woking and not with him.
1 His Brother Is Also A Race Car Driver
While most of us hear a lot about Lewis Hamilton being one of the best and most talented drivers of all time, we hardly take notice or hear about his half brother Nicolas. The younger Hamilton was born a premature baby and by the time he was two years he still couldn’t walk or crawl. The family discovered that he had cerebral palsy.
Lewis was lucky to have his talent recognized and nurtured by his father at a young age, but he didn’t see what Nicolas had, even though the latter was really good at virtual racing.
Lewis helped Nicolas start his first real race where he finished 15th out of 17 racers, but that didn’t dampen his spirits. Today, Nicolas is currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship, where he competes with a specially modified car due to his condition. Inspiring stuff!
Sources: McLaren Press, Wikipedia, roadandtrack.com, Top Gear, espn.com, bbc.com