LEWIS Hamilton is Britain’s most successful Formula One driver of all time.
Just last week he made history by tying Michael Schumacher’s record for most F1 world titles won with SEVEN.
Here’s everything you need to know about his net worth, racing career and more…
How old is Lewis Hamilton? What’s his net worth?
Lewis Hamilton, 35, was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
At the age of 10 the promising go-karter from the John Henry Newman School in his hometown approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards ceremony and told him: “I want to race for you one day.”
Less than three years later McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their Young Driver Support Programme.
Today the racing star has a reported net worth of £224 million and earlier this year he was Britain’s wealthiest sportsperson in the Sunday Times Rich List.
His wealth increased over the year by £37m, making him the richest person in the list’s 32-year-history.
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Lewis Hamilton takes to the podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2018Credit: Getty Images – Getty
What has Lewis Hamilton said about BLM?
Hamilton has been incredibly strong in his support for the Black Lives Matter movement and has kneeled numerous times before races this season.
He’s also worn T-shirts and helmets with ‘BLM’ emblazoned them, following the death of George Floyd earlier this year.
“I follow my heart and do what is right and that was me following my heart,” he said in September.
“I did something that has never really happened in F1 and obviously they will stop it from happening moving forwards.
“People talk about sport not being a place for politics but ultimately it is a human rights issue and that is something we should be pushing towards.
“We have a huge, amazing group of people that watch our sport from different backgrounds and cultures and we should be pushing positive messages towards them, especially for equality.”
What happened at Lewis Hamilton’s debut F1 season?
Hamilton’s Formula One debut came in 2007 and that season he won four races and secured six poles.
Amazingly, he made the podium in his first nine races and outperformed champion team mate Fernando Alonso.
He was actually title-favourite until errors in final two rounds dropped him to second place behind Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton is the first British driver to four straight World titlesCredit: PA:Press Association
How many times has Lewis been Formula One world champion?
Hamilton has been world champion a joint-record seven times – in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In 2008, aged 23, he became the youngest ever world champion after five wins and a further five podiums took him to the title by a single point.
2014 saw him enjoy Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid’s dominance, taking 11 wins en route to his second world title. Team-mate Rosberg pushed him all the way with the championship only decided in the final race.
In 2017 he won the Mexican Grand Prix and defended his title again in 2018, before doing the same last year.
And just last week Hamilton won the Turkish Grand Prix to go level with the legendary Michael Schumacher.
His astonishing achievements in the sport mean that in the new year, Hamilton will be knighted by the Queen for his services to sport.
What sponsorship deals does Lewis Hamilton have?
In 2014, Lewis was named the most marketable sportsman in the world.
He currently has personal sponsorship deals with Bose, L’Oreal, Mercedes-Benz, Monster Energy, Police, Puma, Sony, Tommy Hilfiger, Vodafone-USD.
Combined the deals earn him an estimated £9 million a year.
The figure is expected to rise as more brands look to work with him following his historic seventh title.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
