Lewis Hamilton has carved out a truly spectacular career for himself. He entered F1 in 2007 as a wide-eyed ambitious 22-year-old looking to take the sport by storm.
15 years later, the Brit shares the coveted record with Michael Schumacher of seven world championships and has won more races than any other driver in the industry’s history. Hamilton, 37, has etched himself into sporting folklore and is the most successful racer F1 has ever seen.
After being denied a record eighth world title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last December, the Mercedes driver took a two-month hiatus before he returned last month ready to go for the new season, which commences this weekend.
But before Hamilton created his legacy and reaped the benefits of his hard work with a lavish lifestyle, he had to overcome racial barriers in his hometown of Stevenage, a town 30 miles north of London. His father Anthony worked multiple jobs to fund Hamilton’s karting career.
He took redundancy from his position as an IT manager and became a contractor, sometimes working up to four jobs at a time. This included employment as a double glazing salesman, dishwasher, and putting up signs for estate agents, while still attending his son’s races.
Being the only black child racing at his club, Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse. In a post from 2020, after he captured his seventh title, he explained some of the struggles his family went through to get to F1.
We started with nothing, he had 4 jobs to keep me racing at one time and I slept on the couch,” Hamilton wrote. “We dreamt of doing something, something so far out of reach, becoming an F1 driver. For a family with no money, we may have looked and sounded crazy.
