page_title: Lewis Hamilton
section_title: Driving style
hierarchical_section_title: Lewis Hamilton / Driver profile / Driving style
caption_attribution_description: English: 44 Lewis Hamilton at 2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
context_page_description: Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE HonFREng is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. A six-time Formula One World Champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and considered by some to be the greatest of all time. He won his first World Drivers' Championship with McLaren in 2008, before moving to Mercedes in 2013, with whom he has won a further five titles. One of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport, Hamilton's six World Championship titles is the second-most of all time, as is his tally of 89 race victories, while he holds the records for the all-time most career points, the all-time most pole positions, the all-time most podium finishes, the most grand slams in a season and the most points in a season.
  Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hamilton enjoyed a successful ascent up the racing ladder and was signed to the McLaren young driver programme in 1998. This later resulted in a Formula One drive with McLaren in 2007, making Hamilton the first and only black driver to race in the sport.
context_section_description: Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid. The all-time record holder for most pole positions, Hamilton is considered one of the fastest qualifiers in the history of the sport, and has received praise for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments. Also a tenacious racer, he excels across a wide range of areas. He has been described as having an aggressive driving style, with a natural aptitude for identifying the limits of the car; Mark Hughes, writing for the official Formula One website, described how Hamilton is "super-hard on the brakes ... but has a fantastic ability to match how quickly the downforce is bleeding off with his modulation of the pressure so that there's no wasted grip but no locked wheels either." Paddy Lowe, previously the engineering director for McLaren, described how Hamilton is comfortable with levels of rear instability that most other drivers would find intolerable. Hamilton has also been praised for his ability to adapt to variances in the car set-up and changing track conditions; throughout his career, he has typically used less fuel than his teammates as a result of his ability to carry momentum through corners despite instability in the car. 
  Hamilton is regarded as one of the best wet-weather drivers in the sport, with some of his best performances occurring in those conditions. In the 2008 British Grand Prix, Hamilton bested second-place Nick Heidfeld by over a minute, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. During the turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton remained unbeaten in every race affected by wet weather from the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix up to the 2019 German Grand Prix, where his almost five-year streak was broken by Max Verstappen. Hamilton has been praised for his consistency, especially in his time at Mercedes. From 2017 to 2018, he finished 33 consecutive races in point-scoring positions, a run only brought to an end as a result of mechanical issues as opposed to driver error. Ross Brawn wrote that "over the course of [2018], Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong, winning not only the races he should have, but also some where the opposition was stronger, and that is the true mark of a champion".
  Ayrton Senna was a major influence on Hamilton's driving style. "I think it's partly because I watched [him] when I was young and I thought 'this is how I want to drive when I get the opportunity' and I went out there and tried it on the kart track. My whole approach to racing has developed from there". He has been compared to Senna in raw speed. In 2010, Hamilton drove Ayrton Senna's original title winning McLaren MP4/4 as part of a tribute documentary by the BBC motoring show, Top Gear. In the documentary, Hamilton, along with fellow racing drivers, name Senna as the number one driver ever.
  Earlier in his career, Hamilton was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he would go on to repeat four years later in Formula One at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia. Following his move to Mercedes, however, Hamilton was credited with demonstrating greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. The official Formula One website describes him as "invariably a fierce but fair fighter".
caption: Hamilton won the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix in torrential rain, and compared the conditions to his victory at the 2008 British Grand Prix.
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