Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE HonFREng is a seven-time Formula One World Champion and currently driving for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. He has signed to race for Scuderia Ferrari in 2025.
F1 Career
Hamilton’s F1 career started in 2007 with McLaren-Mercedes when as a rookie he finished the season one point short of eventual champion Kimi Räikkönen. The British driver built on his debut season by winning the Driver’s Championship the following year, this time by a single point over runner up Felipe Massa. After a fairy tale title-winning season for Jenson Button and Brawn GP in 2009, the team was purchased by and renamed to the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team. After playing host to Michael Schumacher‘s three-year return to Formula One, the German team signed Hamilton for 2013 and would go on to win six more Driver’s Championships.
MotoGP
Hamilton is on a very short list of Formula One drivers to have ever tested a MotoGP bike. The British champion and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi participated in a seat swap event in 2019 through their mutual sponsor, Monster Energy.
TAG Heuer
Hamilton became a TAG Heuer ambassador while racing for McLaren-Mercedes, which has had a long-standing relationship with the Swiss watch brand. Several Lewis Hamilton edition timepieces were created by TAG Heuer during that time, across both the Aquaracer and Carrera lines.
IWC Schaffhausen
Hamilton’s switch to Mercedes in 2013 also meant a change in watch sponsorship to IWC Schaffhausen, which had signed with the German outfit the same year. Both Hamilton and his former childhood friend and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg helped with designing their own respective limited edition IWC Ingenieur Chronographs in 2014. IWC continued to create a number of Lewis Hamilton edition timepieces, perhaps most notably the Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton (ref. IW394008).
The British driver’s impending move to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season likely means a new watch partnership with Richard Mille.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17U3aagCtOA
https://www.hautetime.com/tag-heuer-reviewing-hamiltons-position-as-brand-ambassador/
https://gulfbusiness.com/lewis-hamilton-to-wear-iwc-in-2013/
https://monochrome-watches.com/lewis-hamilton-vs-nico-rosberg-iwc-ingenieur-chronograph-limited-editions/
https://monochrome-watches.com/iwc-big-pilots-watch-perpetual-calendar-lewis-hamilton-iw503002/