Lewis Hamilton would not be the man he is today without the unwavering support of his family.
Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the great British sporting exports, with the 38-year-old widely regarded as the best F1 driver to have ever lived. He would certainly not be the man he is today without the influence of his family, who have supported him relentlessly in his pursuit of greatness over the years.
From his modest upbringing in Stevenage to his tense relationship with his own father, Sportlite Era Sport is available to shed light on Hamilton’s family background.
Having two mums
Hamilton’s biological mother is Carmen Larbalestier, who was born in 1955 and gave birth to him 30 years later. She has been spotted at several Grand Prix weekends in support of her son and went with him to Windsor Castle when he was knighted in late 2021.
The Mercedes driver was raised with half-sisters Nicola and Samantha by Carmen, who obtained custody of him when he was 12 years old. He revealed last year that he was in the process of changing his name to include his mother’s surname, saying: “I don’t fully understand the idea that when people get married the woman loses their name. I really want my mum to continue on with the Hamilton name.”
The Brit also has a stepmother, Linda, who helped to raise Hamilton when he moved in with her and his father at the age of 12. She has also been spotted in the paddock and famously hugged him, together with Carmen, after winning the Chinese Grand Prix in 2008 just weeks before clinching his maiden world title.
Sacking his own dad
Hamilton’s father, Anthony, was a key figure in his early career and was said to have juggled four jobs at once to afford the costs of karting. He went on to manage his son after making it to F1 and oversaw his first world title in 2008, but everything changed when they parted ways two years later.
It came as something of a surprise when Hamilton confirmed that his father would no longer have any involvement in the management of his racing career. The split triggered a cooling-off in their personal relationship but they have since patched things up and have often been spotted together at recent Grand Prix weekends
Hamilton later opened up on his decision to split with his father, telling the On Purpose podcast: “Me and my dad bumped heads at one stage. I really just wanted him to be my dad. Let’s go and have fun, let’s laugh. We hadn’t had that for a long, long time. I decided to part ways with my dad to make decisions for myself. There was a period where we spoke less.”
Growing up in ‘slums’
Hamilton spent his childhood in Stevenage and attended a local Catholic school, where he played on the football team with future England international Ashley Young. He lived on Peartree Way and Woodfield Road while growing up before swapping the UK for Switzerland in 2007, citing privacy as the reason behind the move.
The Brit went on to feel the wrath of Stevenage residents at the Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2018, when he said: “It’s been a really long journey, a dream for us all, as a family, to do something different, to get out of the slums.”
His remarks ignited no lack of wrath from local people, with Stevenage Ward Committee pioneer Sharon Taylor saying at that point: “It is disheartening that Lewis Hamilton alluded to Stevenage as ‘the ghettos’ at such a high-profile occasion. He obviously acknowledged what he had said and attempted to address it however tragically individuals of our town, a large number of whom respect and backing him, felt exceptionally outraged.”
Hamilton proceeded to release an open acknowledgment by means of Instagram, making sense of: “I most certainly commit errors regularly and especially when you’re up before a group attempting to track down the right words to communicate the long excursion that you’ve had throughout everyday life. I picked some unacceptable words, however I made next to no difference by it and those of you who realize me realize that I generally mean love.”