Sir Lewis Hamilton is a name that needs no introduction in the world of Formula 1 racing. As a seven-time world champion, he has cemented his place in the history books of the sport, with many observers calling him the top Formula 1 driver ever. This British racing driver is not only renowned for his incredible driving skills but also for his numerous accolades, records, and efforts towards racial equality in racing.
As the title ‘sir’ denoted, he was also knighted by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles) for his accomplishments. He’s made an enormous impact on the track and every other business he’s entered, including entertainment, restaurants, and fashion, but he has also had an impact on the collectible world.
If you’re looking to build an impressive and valuable Lewis Hamilton trading card collection, this list of cards is an excellent primer. You’ll find a selection of his most expensive and rarest cards available, including classic cards from unusual publishers and many from the bulk of Topps Chrome cards that have come out since 2020.
Lewis Hamilton Rookie Card Confusion
While Hamilton actually hit the F1 circuit back in 2007, Formula 1 racing cards were not being printed by mainstream sports card manufacturers at the time. They hadn’t realized the potential for F1 fans to want to connect with our favorite drivers through trading cards yet. As a result, many quirky cards pepper this list from Hamilton’s early years.
As if making up for lost time, Topps, which secured the Formula 1 license in 2020, has been printing a ton of Lewis Hamilton cards, parallels, and variants to feed what is clearly pent-up interest in an incredibly popular and influential driver. Thus, some 2020 Topps cards are erroneously listed as ‘rookie’ cards when searching for them online despite Hamilton scoring his seventh world championship that year. So, we’ll include a few of those amazing 2020-2022 Topps cards alongside a number of earlier cards featuring Lewis Hamilton from a variety of printers to show the breadth of options for serious collectors to enjoy.
The Serious Collector’s 13 Top Lewis Hamilton Cards List
13) 2022 Topps Chrome F1 Lewis Hamilton Silver Refractor #6
Let’s start with a card that captures the easy cool of Sir Lewis perfectly. While there are so many variants and parallels from the recent 2022 Topps Chrome Racing Cards series that feature Lewis Hamilton, this one with the driver in dark shades and a black racing jacket just looks great with the Chrome color stylings. This is also a card that can be obtained for collectors of all wallet sizes since you can pick up this attractive collectible for less than $10. Gem Mint, graded copies may run you more, but you don’t need a pristine copy to enjoy this excellent card celebrating one of the finest drivers ever to race F1. If you do want a more expensive option, just read on for more top cards at huge valuations.
12) 2021 Topps Chrome F1 Redliners Lewis Hamilton #RL1
The 2021 Topps Chrome F1 Redliners set featured some of the top drivers from the Formula One racing circuit. Each Redliners card features a key driver from the F1 circuit, along with a unique design showcasing their car and team. This version of the 2021 Topps Chrome F1 Redliners Lewis Hamilton #RL1 card really pops with the orange color (/25), gold color (/50) or even red (5). You’ll pay in the hundreds to low thousands for the first two, while one of the red 5 sold for $7,000 in May 2022.
11) 2022 Topps Chrome F1 Sapphire Edition Lewis Hamilton SP /75 #151
As Topps continues to explore ways to represent Formula 1 racing on trading cards, they are coming up with some dynamic shots from the Sapphire series. This eye-popping image on an emerald background comes from a 2022 Topps Chrome series, featuring a helmeted Sir Lewis in mid-air. While this brings back the spirit of many 1990s-style cards, it also captures the physicality of an athlete that doesn’t get to show off that side of himself while inside his car. There are only 75 copies of this card out there, and you can still get an ungraded copy for under $100, but that value is sure to rise soon.
10) 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton Track Tags Gold Refractor /50
The Track Tags cards represent another innovative design from the Topps 2020 Formula 1 Racing Cards line, when they really went all out in their first year producing Formula 1 cards. This graffiti-style card looks great in the regular version, but the limited Gold Refractor version pops with colors that feel street art and also oddly like stained glass. It’s just a dazzling card for Lewis Hamilton fans to enjoy. The standard edition will set you back a few hundred dollars. Getting one of the 50 Gold ones will cost you more like $5,000 to $10,000 in Gem Mint/Pristine condition.
9) 2021 Topps Chrome F1 Lewis Hamilton Purple Checker Flag /199 #141
In 2021, the Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Card series released a stellar set of Purple Checker Flag cards featuring everyone’s favorite racing knight, Lewis Hamilton, and they have soared in value. Among the set are some exceptional ones that show Hamilton off with trophies and special poses of all kinds. This one is among the best, as it’s a triumphant image of Hamilton but he’s also wearing a mask, likely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
While this was a tough time for all of us, especially regarding sporting events, it’s a distinctive look unlikely to be repeated in sporting cards. As a result, this card may end up being one of the most iconic from this line, and among the most valuable. Cards in the series can be found for under $25, but some of the parallels are already spiking into the hundreds of dollars so don’t delay in getting one.
8) 2005 Formule Lewis Hamilton Rookie Card
This French card is an interesting item in that it’s a 2005 rookie card for Sir Hamilton when he was still racing down in F3. Backed with his stats and details in French, the simple design shows that motorsports hadn’t hit their stride yet for what kind of information and images collectors would like to see on a card. Still, it’s a rare enough item that only a handful have gone up for sale recently, with copies selling between $10,000 and $15,000 in early 2023.
7) 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Autographs Red Refractor Lewis Hamilton /5 #F1A-LH
Yes, there are only 5 of these and the last of the 5 sold in August 2021 for $57,600. Yet, this is one of the best of Topps’ recent cards for the overall picture quality, capturing Sir Lewis staring ahead with steel in his eyes and speed in his heart. Add in an authenticated autograph and the rarity of only a handful of them existing and this all points to a tiny set of cards that will keep increasing in value and that serious collectors will want to check out.
6) 2009 Top Trumps Tournament Sporting Heroes Lewis Hamilton
This unusual 2009 Top Trumps Tournament Sporting Heroes Lewis Hamilton card is actually from a card game in 2009 that featured top sports figures. Hamilton’s card shows him jubilant after a big win, with a description and his winning stats at the time, which definitely need some updating after his success in the years since. Ungraded copies of this card sell for under $100, but if you can find a minty-fresh copy that is properly graded, that value can rise up 10x that number. A quirky but intriguing collectible to add to any Lewis Hamilton collection.
5) 2020 Topps Chrome F1 Sapphire Edition SP Purple Refractor Lewis Hamilton /10 #1
The other key shot used for 2020 Lewis Hamilton refractor cards in the Topps line that year is this seated shot. Serious collectors will want to source at least one copy of this many-times duplicated for parallels image. The refractor options include this SP Purple Refractor copy of the Sapphire Edition, but you can get it in all kinds of different colors with differing populations. One of the 10 in this series went for $39,600 in May 2022. Even the standard editions are climbing in value quickly, turning this card into one of the most expensive Lewis Hamilton cards out there.
4) 2009 Sports Illustrated for Kids Lewis Hamilton #360
The Sports Illustrated for Kids card series often are a gateway for young card collectors getting into the hobby. Their SI April 2009 issue featured a card for Lewis Hamilton on a sheet of nine sports cards that included other sports luminaries across the hobby.
While a high-grade copy of this 2009 Sports Illustrated for Kids Lewis Hamilton #360 card is valued at a few hundred dollars, another SI Lewis Hamilton card from 2015 can be had for less than $100.
3) 2020 Topps Dynasty Formula 1 Single Driver Lewis Hamilton Autograph Triple Patch #LH
The 2020 Topps Dynasty F1 set is as premium a set as you can get. The set includes autographs and artifact pieces from race-worn sport wear. The entire set is full of cards numbered 10 copies or fewer, driving up the values quickly. Save up for this one because they are going for $10,000 or more. Single-copy Gold and five-copy Red parallels are bound to go for even more, but for the most serious of collectors, the sky’s the limit.
2) 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton #1
The Topps Chrome Formula 1 card set features top drivers from the Formula 1 circuit, including Lewis Hamilton. Fans on a budget can get standard Lewis Hamilton cards from the set, and he’s on 17 of them, for a few dollars. Where values are rising fast are the colorful parallels. The set offers a unique twist with refractor designs that offers depth and color to the images. With stunning photography and super-limited variants in tiny numbers, they are a must-have for any serious collector or fan of the sport.
Some of the rarest refractor cards are already fetching tens of thousands of dollars, with a Sapphire Refractor going for over $10,000 in April 2022, and one single Superfractor copy that sold in April 2022 for $900,000. It’s no surprise that the most influential racer in F1 would command these kinds of values.
1) 2006 Futera Grand Prix Next Lewis Hamilton Rookie Card #95
Like any other sport, the rookie cards get a lot of extra attention, and this 2006 Futera Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Rookie card is no exception. The fresh-faced Hamilton’s headshot is featured prominently on this landscape card which dates to the year before his Formula 1 debut. Mint copies of the card are going for hundreds of thousands, with pricing hitting a peak in February 2022 when a PSA 9 copy sold for $312,000. That said, collectors who can be happy with Near Mint or Excellent copies can scoop one up for less than $10,000. It’s a pretty penny to pay, but it is one of the most sought-after cards for collectors of memorabilia for this motorsports legend.
Bonus Card: 2006 GP2/F2 Junior Series Lewis Hamilton
After the initial publication of this article, we received an informative contribution from a dedicated Cardbase Blog reader known as F1History.Collector. This kind fellow brought to our attention the existence of another early Lewis Hamilton card that is impossible to find online, a piece that predates the first-ever official card of his we’d called out in this article.
This Hamilton card has an interesting backstory that explains why it was so difficult to find. The card was part of a unique set that was printed and circulated in the year 2006. The set was produced by the organizers of Formula 1's junior series. During that period, the series was known as “GP2.” However, it is now referred to as “F2.”
The G2 card set was part of an annual media kit that was exclusively presented to a handful of journalists who were tasked with covering the racing series. The card set was unveiled at the commencement of Hamilton's first season in the GP2 series. This detail marks a significant milestone in Hamilton's career, as it makes this card officially his first-ever sports card. To further authenticate its origin, the card proudly displays the GP2 series logo.
We would like to express our gratitude to F1History.Collector for sharing these intriguing details, along with the accompanying photo. This valuable information is not readily available elsewhere online. The limited distribution of this card set suggests that only a few of these cards may still be in existence today. However, collectors and fans should not lose hope. Keep a lookout for these cards. If more of them are unearthed, they are certain to be treasured by Hamilton’s massive fan base. Given the rarity and historical significance of these cards, they are likely to be highly valued, particularly if they remain in pristine condition like this set appears to be.
Lewis Hamilton Trading Cards: A Collector’s Bounty
With the launch of comprehensive trading card offerings for Formula 1 in 2020, Lewis Hamilton has become one of the most sought-after motorsports card subjects for collectors. While there are more to come as he continues his dominant career, these earliest Lewis Hamilton cards are getting rarer and harder to find as time progresses. While individual preference may govern your pick of refractor colors or specific photography, we believe this list forms the basis for the ultimate collection of Lewis Hamilton trading cards that will prove impressive and valuable in the future. Happy collecting!
