On the cards – Lewis Hamilton teams up with Fanatics after London store launch

Lewis Hamilton has played his cards right after the Ferrari driver signed a multi-year partnership with collectibles giant Fanatics.

Hamilton brought areas of London to a standstill on Friday as fans queued from 4am to catch a glimpse of the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time as he opened the Fanatics flagship store on Regent Street.

The visit was publicised briefly ahead of the event, with Fanatics sharing that Hamilton would be in the store to cut the ribbon during its grand opening, and it proved enough to reportedly lead to fans to camp out overnight in anticipation.

After cutting the ribbon, Hamilton took time to answer questions from fans, revealing that he has a haul of around 400 race-worn helmets collected over his F1 career.

Now the former McLaren and Mercedes racer has signed a trading card and memorabilia partnership with Fanatics Collectibles that includes an exclusive autograph deal, which was launched immediately upon the deal being announced.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari at opening of Fanatics store in London

Photo by: Ben Hunt

F1 itself has a deal with Topps’ trading cards – which is owned by Fanatics – that was renewed on a long-term deal last March and includes F1 trading cards and sticker collections, including the popular ‘Turbo Attax’ line.

Hamilton’s partnership with Fanatics stands alone from the F1 collaboration with more high-ticket items made available, including rare ‘relic’ cards that will include race-worn items such as overalls or equipment.

“I remember I met with [Fanatics CEO Michael] Rubin, and I love his enthusiasm,” Hamilton told The Athletic. “It was really interesting to learn from him about the business, to see [how it has] grown. As a kid, I remember collecting Premier League stickers, and I remember swapping them through junior school, even into high school.

“I remember just how important it was because always every little bit of change I would get, I would go down and get these little packs and we were [trading] them to be able to fill out those sticker books.”

Hamilton can also boast about commanding the highest amount paid for an F1-based trading card, when a collector parted with $900,000 to get hold of a one-off 2020 Topps ‘Chrome F1 Superfractor’, featuring the Briton.