page_title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton
section_title: 2015 season: Third world title
hierarchical_section_title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / 2015 season: Third world title
caption_attribution_description: English: Lewis Hamilton celebrating victory at the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix
context_page_description: Lewis Hamilton started his professional Formula One career in 2007, driving for McLaren. He won his first title in 2008 with the team to become the then-youngest champion in the history of the sport. After four more seasons with McLaren during which he failed to finish higher than fourth in the standings, Hamilton moved to Mercedes, with whom he has won a further five titles in 2014, 2015 and from 2017–2019.
context_section_description: Before the start of the season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1 for the 2015 season, as was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career number 44. It was the first season since 1994, when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in 1993, that the field did not contain car bearing the number 1. Mercedes looked to again be the fastest car on the grid for the 2015 season, as the new W06 Hybrid completed more laps in pre-season testing than any rival car, and did so using just one power unit. At the opening race in Australia, Hamilton qualified in pole position before winning the race ahead of Rosberg in second, with Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari in third, 34 seconds back. After taking pole before finishing second in Malaysia, Hamilton won from pole in both China and Bahrain meaning he had taken a total of 93 points out of a possible 100 after four rounds. Entering the eight-race European portion of the season, Hamilton carried a 27-point lead over Rosberg, which was quickly reduced as he finished second behind his teammate in Spain.
  Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes announced they had extended the contract with Hamilton for three additional years, keeping him with the team until the end of the 2018 season in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million over the three years, making him one of the best paid drivers in Formula One, as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship winning cars and trophies. In the race, Hamilton looked on course to win the race having led for 65 laps, but an error by the Mercedes strategists who wrongly called him in for a pit-stop handed the win to Rosberg while Hamilton finished third. Mercedes later apologised for the mistake.
  Hamilton returned to the top of the podium by winning from pole in Canada and Britain, the latter for the second time in a row and third overall, also surpassing Jackie Stewart's 45-year-old record of laps led in eighteen consecutive Grands Prix. He finished sixth in an eventful Hungarian Grand Prix, ending his run of 16 consecutive podium finishes, the second-longest in Formula One history. Hamilton won from pole in Spa and took his second career grand slam in Monza to extend his championship lead over Nico Rosberg, who was forced to retire in the latter race due to engine failure, to 53 points. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton was only able qualify in fifth ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, and had moved up to fourth in the race before he was forced to retire due to a power unit issue. Hamilton recovered from his retirement in Singapore by winning in Japan and Russia, meaning he could clinch the title at the next race in the United States, with three races to spare.
  Starting behind his teammate, Hamilton very aggressively forced Rosberg wide at Turn 1 to claim the lead before a thrilling race unfolded where the advantage continuously swung between both Mercedes drivers and the chasing Red Bulls. Rosberg led in the closing stages but made a mistake at Turn 12, running deep and letting his teammate through a handful of laps from the flag. Hamilton never relinquished the lead and claimed his third championship. Rosberg was furious after the race, saying his teammate's Turn 1 move had been "one step too far". He infamously threw his podium cap at Hamilton as they waited to take the podium. Hamilton called his third title "the greatest moment of my life", thanking his father and his family for their support. Comparing the title win to his two previous ones, he said: "the last two times were really climactic in the last race. This one still feels just as special if not more special [...]. It has kind of topped last year for me – it's equalling Ayrton [Senna]". After securing his third title, Hamilton finished in second behind his teammate in the final three races of the season in Mexico, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi. Hamilton e
caption: Hamilton celebrating his fourth Canadian Grand Prix victory.
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