Lewis Hamilton’s Car Collection: The Supercars Behind an F1 Legend

Lewis Hamilton has spent most of his life driving some of the fastest and most technologically advanced cars ever created. Away from Formula 1, however, his taste in road cars has often been more emotional than purely performance-driven — the same sense of exclusivity and excitement sought by enthusiasts exploring sport and luxury car rental in Europe.

Over the years, Hamilton has owned or publicly discussed everything from a bespoke Pagani Zonda and hybrid hypercars to original Shelby Cobras and rare Ferraris. At one point, he described a collection of around 15 cars divided between Monaco and Los Angeles, including a McLaren P1, two LaFerraris, a Ferrari 599 SA Aperta and his famous Pagani Zonda 760 LH. His garage represents the kind of high-performance automotive world that inspires demand for sport and luxury car rental in Europe, where drivers can experience contemporary supercars without entering the collector market.

But the most interesting part of Lewis Hamilton’s car collection is how dramatically it has evolved. In 2025, Hamilton confirmed that he had sold his cars and become more interested in collecting art. There was one exception he still dreamed about: the Ferrari F40. In 2026, that dream became reality when he revealed that he had acquired and restored an F40 of his own.

Ferrari F40: Hamilton’s Ultimate Dream Car

Today, no car represents Hamilton’s automotive taste better than the Ferrari F40.

The connection became especially visible when Hamilton joined Ferrari. An F40 appeared alongside him during his first day at Maranello in 2025, and later that year he described the model as the one car he would consider buying after disposing of the rest of his collection.

He eventually did exactly that.

In August 2026, Hamilton revealed that he had found an F40 that had reportedly spent more than 30 years sitting in a garage. The car was taken to Maranello, where Ferrari specialists helped bring it back to life. Hamilton called it his childhood dream and his own F40.

The choice is particularly revealing because the F40 represents almost the opposite of a modern Formula 1 car. Ferrari’s 1987 icon uses a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 478 hp and has a claimed top speed of 324 km/h. There is no hybrid assistance and very little between the driver and the machinery.

For a driver whose career has been built around increasingly sophisticated technology, Hamilton’s fascination with the F40 suggests that simplicity, history and mechanical character now matter as much as outright speed.

Pagani Zonda 760 LH: The Most Personal Hypercar

Few cars have ever been as closely associated with Hamilton as the Pagani Zonda 760 LH.

The “LH” stood for Lewis Hamilton, with Pagani creating the purple Zonda specifically for him. More importantly, Hamilton chose a manual transmission.

That decision says a lot about his taste. Hamilton has openly criticized automated gearboxes in road-going supercars and once said that if he designed his own supercar, he would make it manual. He also offered an unusually critical verdict on his own Zonda, praising its sound while saying its handling was the worst among his cars.

Rather than simply collecting whatever was most expensive, Hamilton clearly judged these cars from the perspective of someone who knows exactly how a high-performance car should respond.

The Zonda eventually left his collection, making it one of the most famous examples of a car previously owned by Hamilton rather than part of his current garage.

Ferrari LaFerrari and LaFerrari Aperta: Before Hamilton Joined Ferrari

Hamilton’s relationship with Ferrari road cars began long before he became a Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 driver.

His previous collection included both a Ferrari LaFerrari and the open-top LaFerrari Aperta, as well as a Ferrari 599 SA Aperta. Hamilton himself discussed these cars when describing his collection in 2018.

The LaFerrari is especially relevant to his story because it combined a naturally aspirated V12 with electric assistance. Ferrari officially rated the system at 963 hp, making it one of the defining hybrid hypercars of its generation.

That combination of combustion-engine theatre and advanced hybrid technology mirrors the world Hamilton dominated in Formula 1 during the hybrid era.

His decision to own both the coupé and Aperta also shows another recurring feature of his collecting style: exclusivity mattered. When Hamilton became interested in a particular model, he was often attracted to the rarer or more unusual version.

McLaren P1: A Hypercar Connected to His F1 Origins

The McLaren P1 had a different emotional connection.

Hamilton entered Formula 1 with McLaren in 2007 and won his first World Championship with the team in 2008. Years later, the P1 became part of his private collection, with Hamilton listing the car among his acquisitions in 2015.

It therefore connected two parts of his life: the manufacturer that helped launch his Formula 1 career and his later position as one of the world’s most prominent supercar collectors.

Alongside the LaFerrari, the P1 also represented the arrival of electrification at the very top of the performance-car market. These were not merely luxury possessions; they were road-going examples of the technological shift taking place throughout the automotive industry and motorsport.

Shelby Cobra 427: Hamilton the Collector

Hamilton’s taste was never limited to contemporary hypercars.

One of his most interesting former possessions was an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra. Hamilton said he asked Carroll Shelby himself to inspect the car before buying it and was told it was an exceptionally good original example.

Hamilton subsequently bought another 427 Cobra from 1967, allowing him to drive one while preserving the more valuable 1966 example.

That is serious collector behaviour.

It suggests Hamilton cared about provenance, originality and historical importance rather than simply horsepower or brand recognition. The same mentality helps explain why the Ferrari F40 has become so important to him today.

From Hamilton’s Ferraris to a Modern Hybrid Ferrari Experience

Hamilton’s fascination with cars such as the LaFerrari also highlights how rapidly Ferrari road-car technology has evolved. A modern example is the Ferrari 296 GTS, which combines a 2,995 cc V6 with an electric motor for a quoted 830 CV. Unlike the collectible Ferraris previously owned by Hamilton, the 296 GTS represents a supercar experience that enthusiasts can actually access without entering the multimillion-euro collector market. The model is currently available within DDLuxuryCar’s European luxury car rental fleet, offering a contemporary interpretation of the hybrid performance philosophy that made the LaFerrari so significant.

Importantly, the 296 GTS is not presented here as a Hamilton-owned car. The connection is technological and experiential: both demonstrate Ferrari’s approach to blending electrification with the drama expected from an Italian supercar.

Why Did Lewis Hamilton Sell His Car Collection?

Perhaps the most surprising part of Hamilton’s automotive story is that he eventually stopped wanting a huge garage.

His attitude toward road cars had already started changing years earlier. Hamilton spoke about reducing his use of combustion-powered cars and increasingly using electric vehicles as his environmental priorities evolved.

Then, ahead of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he confirmed that he no longer had his previous collection.

“I don’t have any cars anymore,” Hamilton said at the time, explaining that he had become more interested in art. Asked what might persuade him to buy another car, his answer was the Ferrari F40.

That makes his subsequent F40 acquisition particularly significant.

Hamilton did not simply start rebuilding another enormous supercar collection. Instead, he appears to have chosen one automobile with genuine emotional, historical and artistic importance.

What Lewis Hamilton’s Cars Reveal About His Personality

Looking across Hamilton’s former and current cars, several themes emerge.

He clearly appreciates rarity, but rarity alone is not enough. The manual Zonda, original Shelby Cobra and Ferrari F40 all suggest an attraction to cars with a strong mechanical identity.

He also values design. Hamilton has repeatedly treated exceptional automobiles almost like pieces of art — a particularly appropriate description now that he has moved away from collecting large numbers of cars.

And despite being one of the drivers most strongly associated with the hybrid era of Formula 1, he appears increasingly fascinated by analogue driving experiences.

That contrast may be the most interesting part of his collection.

On Sunday afternoons, Hamilton has spent years operating extraordinarily complex racing machines built around hybrid systems, aerodynamics, software and data. In his personal life, some of the cars that seem to mean the most to him are those that reduce the experience to an engine, a gearbox, a steering wheel and the driver.

Does Lewis Hamilton Still Own His Famous Supercars?

Older articles frequently describe the Pagani Zonda 760 LH, LaFerrari, LaFerrari Aperta, McLaren P1 and Shelby Cobra as cars Hamilton currently owns.

That is no longer accurate.

Hamilton stated in September 2025 that he had sold his collection. His 2026 Ferrari F40 acquisition therefore marks the beginning of a new chapter rather than simply another addition to his old garage.

The distinction is important when researching celebrity car collections: being photographed with a car, having owned it historically and currently owning it are three very different things.

The Final Verdict

Lewis Hamilton’s car collection has never been defined by a single brand or type of car.

The Pagani Zonda 760 LH represented personalization and theatre. The McLaren P1 connected him to his Formula 1 beginnings. His LaFerraris reflected his fascination with exclusivity and hybrid technology. The Shelby Cobras revealed a serious interest in provenance and automotive history.

But the Ferrari F40 may explain Hamilton’s taste better than any of them.

After building one of the most desirable celebrity garages in motorsport, Hamilton sold it. When he eventually returned to car ownership, he chose a machine from 1987 with a manual gearbox, a twin-turbo V8 and one of the most recognizable silhouettes in supercar history.

For one of the most successful drivers of the technologically advanced Formula 1 era, that preference for an uncompromising analogue Ferrari says almost everything about the automotive identity behind the racing legend.