Lewis Hamilton, 32, has been a keen racer for most of his life, encouraged in the sport by his father.
He became the youngest ever world champion in 2008, winning with Mclaren at the tender age of 23.
This was also the first time a British driver had won the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.
After moving to Mercedes, Hamilton went on to win twice more in 2014 and 2015.
In 2009, Hamilton was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth, saying at the time he was “overwhelmed” by the experience.
Most recently, Lewis signed a three year deal with Mercedes worth £100million.
As part of the deal, he maintained control of his image rights – a potentially lucrative aspect.
He also has endorsement deals with IWC, Monster Energy, L’Oreal, Bose, Puma, MV Agusta Motorcycles and Bombardier Recreational Products.
These have earned him an extra £6million – far more than other Formula One drivers are able to command.
So what is his net worth? According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Lewis Hamilton has a fortune of £131million – putting him 838th on their list.
He enjoys the 10th spot on the Forbes list of highest paid athletes in the world.
But Hamilton is not the only sportsman worth millions, and Cristiano Ronaldo also enjoys a sizeable fortune.
Ronaldo earns a very generous £30.8million ($40million) salary a year.
He has played professionally since his teenage years, commanding a high salary from the beginning.
The then Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson saw Ronaldo play in 2003 and signed him to the club, making him the first Portuguese player to join the team.
His first contract was for one year, and he commanded £9.5million ($12.24million). But what is he worth now?