Off the back of stressing his continued commitment to racing in Formula 1 for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton has embarked on a new partnership.

And that link-up is with Fanatics Collectibles, after the seven-time World Champion was on hand to cut the ribbon on their new flagship store in London, a company Hamilton is already familiar with after his one-of-a-kind trading card sold for a record $1 million+ last year, and a firm which has got him “really hooked”.

Lewis Hamilton embarks on multi-year Fanatics Collectibles partnership

Hamilton was joined by Fanatics founder Michael Rubin on April 25 for the launch of the company’s first flagship store at 54 Regent Street, London.

Sports and entertainment trading cards, along with trading-card games, will be the key focus of this store, featuring Fanatics Collectibles’ brands such as Topps and Match Attax.

Additional items such as signed kits, jerseys and balls will also be sold, with a range of community events planned and a personal card creation suite also featuring.

The store – which will be open seven days a week – promises a central display of the rarest and most desirable cards as its ‘stunning visual centerpiece’, complete with a giant suspended circular screen above.

And Hamilton’s association with Fanatics Collectibles is to stretch far beyond the grand opening, as he has agreed a unique, individual multi-year partnership with the company which owns Topps, the rights holder for official F1 trading cards.

And in a limited edition move restricted to just five cards, Topps has created a Chrome F1 one-of-one card featuring Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari race suit and a ‘Forza Ferrari’ inscription, complete with Hamilton’s signature.

A card sure to hold significant value, could it perhaps one day see Hamilton break his own record, after in December of 2024, his signed 2020 Chrome Lewis Hamilton Superfractor one-of-one card sold for north of $1 million.

And when speaking with The Athletic, Hamilton was asked for his reaction to last year’s record sale.

“I mean, it’s pretty crazy. I’ve never thought that would ever be the case.

“The story of it, where the kid had bought it through a pack, the difference that purchase would have made to him and his family would have been huge.

“I can only imagine these things are just going to continue to go up now, especially with the store opening.

“I know there’s another big launch of another league coming up and just the growth of the business. It’s got me really hooked. I was opening up those boxes just now, and I was like, I need to get myself some more of these boxes. Actually, I didn’t even take my Ayrton Senna one, damn it.”

Reacting to the atmosphere at the grand opening, Hamilton added: “And the crowd; I came today, I wasn’t expecting 10 people. I was expecting a lot of people. And it’s been incredible to see front and back just how many people have turned up and it’s going to be really interesting.

“And now I have a place actually that I can come and get my collectibles, which is really cool.”

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Next up for Hamilton is Round 6 of the F1 2025 campaign, the Miami Grand Prix, but before he set off on his travels, Hamilton had a message of defiance to pass on to the London crowd after a challenging start to life as a Ferrari driver.

Yet to finish a grand prix ahead of new team-mate Charles Leclerc and with a gap of over half a second in qualifying at the most recent Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds, six-time F1 grand prix winner Ralf Schumacher had hinted at a possible sudden retirement for Hamilton if his situation did not improve.

But, Hamilton made it clear that he has zero intention of throwing in the towel.

“Please keep your fingers crossed. I’m not going to give up,” he declared.

“We’re going to keep getting better. Still we rise, right?”

Hamilton sits P7 in the current Drivers’ Championship standings, two positions and 16 points behind Leclerc.

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