Lewis Hamilton turns 40: Can he join these nine F1 winners in their forties?

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 40th birthday today (7 January).

The seven-time world champion turns 40 on the eve of the 2025 F1 season, which will be his first as a Ferrari driver.

Hamilton has left Mercedes after 12 illustrious seasons - in which he claimed 84 grand prix victories and won six of his seven world titles - to embark on a stint at F1’s most famous team with whom he will close out his legendary grand prix career.

In 2025, Hamilton will be one of two drivers in their forties still racing in F1. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who will turn 44 in July, is the other.

Just nine drivers have won F1 races after turning 40. Could Hamilton make it 10 in 2025?

Graham Hill (40 years old)

Two-time world champion Hill took the chequered flag first for the final time at the 1969 Monaco Grand Prix. It was Hill’s 14th and final grand prix win, and his fifth at Monaco - a record that would stand for 24 years.

Maurice Trintignant (40 years old)

Following a remarkable recovery from a near-fatal crash during a support race for the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix, Trintignant would go on to claim two F1 victories. His last - at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix - puts him in this very exclusive club.

Nigel Mansell (41 years old)

Mansell remains the last driver to win a race over the age of 40. The 1992 world champion’s 31st and final F1 triumph came at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, where he converted pole position into victory for Williams.

Sam Hanks (42 years old)

Hanks’s sole win as a grand prix driver came at the 1957 Indianapolis 500 when the famous American race formed the third round of the F1 world championship. He enjoyed more success during his career as a Champ Car driver.

Jack Brabham (43 years old)

Brabham is the fifth oldest F1 winner, having claimed the last of his 14 grand prix victories at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. He could be eclipsed on this list by Alonso if the Spaniard were to win a race this season.

Piero Taruffi (45 years old)

Taruffi won just one F1 race in his career spanning six seasons with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes, Maserati and Vanwall. It came at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix and when the Italian was 45 years and 219 days old. 

Juan Manuel Fangio (46 years old)

The legendary five-time world champion was 46 years and 41 days old when he stood on the top step of the F1 podium for the final time at the 1957 German Grand Prix. ‘El Maestro’s’ 24th and last grand prix win at the Nurburgring is regarded as one of the all-time greatest victories and saw him clinch a fifth drivers’ crown with two races to go.

Giuseppe Farina (46 years old)

F1’s inaugural world champion from the 1950 season, Farina claimed his fifth and final grand prix win at the 1953 German Grand Prix with Ferrari. He was 46 years and 276 days old at the time. He continued to race in F1 until 1956.

Luigi Fagioli (53 years old)

Fagioli claimed his victory at the 1951 French Grand Prix with Alfa Romeo at the age of 53 years and 22 days. He remains the oldest driver to win an F1 grand prix and one imagines this feat will stand the test of time. He is also the only grand prix winner born in the 19th century.