Beyond the track: Hamilton's remarkable projects away from F1 as he marks 400 Grand Prix starts

This weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix marks the 400th start for Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1. The seven-time World Champion has broken numerous records on track, including adding to his tally of 105 pole positions as recently as last weekend in Mexico, but is also one of racing's most influential personalities outside the paddock.

From his ventures in music and producing movies to being a co-chair during the 2025 Met Gala, Hamilton is a key figure in popular culture and has shown no signs of slowing down alongside his fast life in Formula 1. Here are some of the remarkable projects he has been involved with away from the track...

Rapping under a pseudonym

Hamilton has never shielded away from his love of creating music, even surprising fans with snippets of his songs during an Instagram Live broadcast in 2020. It received an excellent response, with several people begging for the champion to release a full album.

However, this wasn’t the first time we’d heard Hamilton on a track. Back in 2018, his friend Christina Aguilera released a song “Pipe” from her album Liberation featuring a mysterious guest artist, XNDA. Many had speculated that it sounded like Hamilton, but it was two years later when the driver of the #44 car confirmed his contribution to the track via an Instagram story.

“Guys, I've spent the last 10 years or more writing and recording, working with some of the most talented and beautiful people which I'm so grateful for,” Hamilton’s post said. “It's been the most incredible outlet. Finding something you love so much and can do just for you, for your spirit is I think such an important process.

"I've come to the place where I'd love to share it with you. I haven't got a project or album, just a bunch of different songs that perhaps some of you will be able to connect to. They have helped me get through some of the most difficult times. At some stage I'm going to find a moment to share with you so bare [sic] with me.

“I had this incredibly beautiful and talented person reach out to me a while back asking for me to be on her album. I was so blown away and I jumped at the opportunity. I had two hours to write the short verse and record.

"The goal was to have the music come out under a different name so that you could hear the music first and later know it was me but it didn't work out the way I'd planned. I shied away from acknowledging it was me, I don't know why, maybe insecurities, fear, overthinking, something I think many people can relate to.

“Well I want to say that XNDA is me and I am so honoured and grateful to Xtina for giving me a place to use my voice. I have so much gratitude and respect for her and what she's done in the business. #pipe”

Making appearances in video games

As well as the EA Sports F1 game, Hamilton can be found in several franchises: from Fortnite to Call of Duty.

The collaboration with Fortnite came in 2023, where users could play using their own playable skin of Hamilton. Sporting a colourful outfit and accompanied by his British bulldog Roscoe, who sadly passed away last year, Hamilton became a popular addition to the worldwide gaming phenomenon.

A decade ago, Hamilton also intercepted another gaming universe, with a cameo in the 2016 game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Posing as Carl Hamilton, a nod to Lewis’ middle name, the character is an electro-technical engineer and crew member.

He joined the cast for the game alongside F1 fan and Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington and Baywatch and Knight Rider legend David Hasselhoff, and had to have his face scanned for the role.

Playing his cards right

Hamilton has turned his childhood passion for collecting trading cards into his latest business venture, opening his very own store earlier this year.

The seven-time World Champion launched Card Culture by Lewis Hamilton, a trading card business created in partnership with Dave & Adam's Card World. The first flagship store opened in Frankfurt, Germany, in July, with plans to expand to other locations across Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.

Hamilton's love of collecting stretches back to his childhood, when he would trade football cards with friends at school. His personal interests in the hobby have since expanded to include other sports and popular culture.

The Briton has also become something of a collector's item himself, with a rare, one-of-a-kind autographed Topps card featuring Hamilton selling for more than $1 million in December 2024, becoming the first Formula 1 trading card to reach a seven-figure sum.

“I remember being in school and the excitement of opening up packs of cards - growing up in England it was mostly football - and then trading them with friends,” Hamilton told Sports Illustrated.

“It was a small community, but we were connected through our love of sport and cards.”

For Hamilton, the venture is about more than simply selling collectibles. He hopes to create spaces where enthusiasts can share their passion, while introducing a new generation to the hobby.

“I look at it as building a modern card store that mixes community, culture, and competition,” he explained.

A respected face in fashion

Throughout his Formula 1 career, Hamilton has become known for his distinctive sense of style, regularly experimenting with clothing, jewellery and accessories to express his personality. His paddock entrances have attracted attention well beyond the world of motorsport, while helping to encourage other drivers to embrace fashion as a form of self-expression.

The Briton has long been a familiar face at fashion shows, even making a cameo appearance as himself in the 2016 comedy sequel* Zoolander 2*, but in recent years his involvement in the industry has reached new heights.

One of his most significant fashion moments came in May 2025, when Hamilton was selected as one of five co-chairs of the prestigious Met Gala, joining Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour.

Held annually at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Met Gala raises funds for the museum's Costume Institute and celebrates the opening of its annual fashion exhibition. The 2025 exhibition, titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, explored the history and cultural significance of Black dandyism and its influence on fashion and identity.

To mark the occasion, Hamilton also appeared on the cover of Vogue's May 2025 issue, with the magazine releasing four special covers celebrating the event's co-chairs. Photographed by Malick Bodian, Hamilton wore a Ferragamo suit and off-white bow tie for the cover, further cementing his status as one of the sport's most recognisable figures in fashion.

Hamilton, who made his Met Gala debut in 2015, has also established partnerships with several major fashion brands, serving as a Dior menswear ambassador and guest designer, as well as becoming lululemon's inaugural motorsport ambassador.

Making his way into the movies

Another creative outlet for the seven-time champion is Hollywood. He has previously shared that some of his favourite films are Coming to America, Interstellar and *Ferris Bueller’s Day Off *– with Hamilton recreating the latter on his own social media last year.

His role as a producer – and briefly a cast member – for F1: The Movie has also served as a great source of education and enthusiasm for Hamilton, who has been very vocal about his love for director Joseph Kosinski.

“Coming on board to this project as a producer has been such an incredible learning process for me, seeing what goes into making a feature film, and there’s been a lot of learning on the other side too as everyone has got to grips with Formula 1,” Hamilton explained last year.

“I’ve always loved film and telling stories, and I’ve loved this sport since I was five years old, so when I got the opportunity to speak with Joe Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer about the project, it felt like the two worlds I’m passionate about coming together.

“I remember in the early days of the project I got to meet with Brad [Pitt] and go through the script, join meetings with the teams at Apple and Formula 1, and be part of some of the early casting processes. From those first conversations, to watching it all come together, it’s just been a super cool experience and I can’t wait for everyone to see it!”

Kosinski – who also directed Top Gun: Maverick – was apparently approached by Hamilton to appear in the showstopping fighter jet film. As a fan of the original like most of us, and his close friendship with Tom Cruise, it was believed that Hamilton asked them both for a part in the film when it was confirmed that a sequel was in the works.

Joking that he’d even be a “cleaner in the back and sweep something”, Hamilton was then given the green light and told he could be a pilot in the movie. Unfortunately for us F1 fans, Lewis described the “most upsetting call that I think I've ever had” in a GQ interview, where he had to turn down the opportunity due to clashes with the Formula 1 calendar.