Lewis Hamilton at 40: F1 trailblazer has it all to prove again at Ferrari
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A jet-set lifestyle has riled critics who too easily forget the social endeavour and drive to overcome all obstacles on an unlikely journey from Stevenage to Monaco. As he turns 40 on Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton is hearing plenty of voices scornful of his decision, announced almost a year ago, to leave Mercedes, his home for more than a decade, and join Ferrari for the 2025 season. For a man whose record of seven F1 world titles is matched only by Michael Schumacher, and whose total of 105 grand prix wins is unequalled, he will step into one of the red cars for the first time knowing that he has everything to prove – and not just to the Italian team’s global army of supporters.
![[Richard Williams]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/09/Richard-Williams,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Obstacles and challenges are nothing new to Hamilton, who has been listening to criticism from the day he first ventured into a historically all-white sport, a mixed-race child whose father worked three and sometimes four jobs at a time to pay for his kart racing.
![[Lewis Hamilton has won six of his seven world titles at Mercedes under team principal Toto Wolff.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1820b707547e144a5544b95fd0784516f45390dd/0_15_4580_2748/master/4580.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
From his cutting-edge wardrobe and his friendships with rappers to his use of a private jet and his decision to live in Monaco rather than Stevenage, Hamilton’s activities have provoked those nursing a barely concealed resentment of his presence in the world of grand prix racing, attracting more publicity than his work for charities including Unicef and Save the Children and his success in persuading Mercedes to replace their traditional silver bodywork, which goes back to the 1930s, with a new livery acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement.
![[Lewis Hamilton spins his car to mark his final race for Mercedes at last year’s Abu Dhabi GP.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2411afd1f6be6b46f539001c44fd505594259a53/0_225_5111_3067/master/5111.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
