Why does Lewis Hamilton have number 44 on his car? F1 superstar explains dad’s touching role in Mercedes digits

Lewis Hamilton is one of the biggest and most recognisable sportspeople in the world.

As a result, his car is regularly the focus of broadcasters and photographers, and they will all notice the number 44 is prominent on his current Mercedes.

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As a seven-time world champion, Hamilton has had ample opportunity to take the number one on his car reserved for the reigning title holder.

However, each time the Brit has elected to continue using his famed digits and the reason is both heartwarming and poignant.

Why does Hamilton have number 44 on his F1 car?

The Mercedes driver uses the number 44 because these were his original digits when he was karting as a kid.

It's a number that he's used for pretty much every season he's raced for Mercedes.

However, when he started at McLaren, he didn't have the number 44 on his car.

Hamilton sported the number one on his 2009 McLaren, after winning his first world title, but said: "It didn't look very good on the car; 44 looks better."

Since leaving his first Formula One team, the 44 has followed the seven-time champion around.

And although it's connected to his karting days, the number is more about his father than anything else.

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Anthony Hamilton has been with his son throughout his career and is a huge reason why Lewis has reached this level.

So it's lovely that the British driver pays tribute to his dad with the number 44.

And at the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, Hamilton explained the reasons behind these digits.

He said: "I always start with the number 44 because that's the number that I had on my go-kart when I was eight years old.

"It was my dad's car registration number, F44, so each year, it's just a new chance to rise to the challenge."