| 250px | |
| Nationality |  British
|
| Born | 7 January 1985 |
| Stevenage, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom | |
| Achievements | 7-Time (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017 - 2020) Formula A World Champion 3-Time (2008, 2016, 2019) Monaco Grand Prix Winner |
| Formula A World Championship Career | |
|---|---|
| 288 races run over 15 season(s). | |
| Team(s) | Fullman, Mercedes |
| Championships | 7 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2017, 2019, 2020) |
| Pole Positions | 103 |
| Wins | 103 |
| Podiums | 182 |
| First Start | 2007 Australian Grand Prix |
| First Win | 2007 Canadian Grand Prix |
| Last Win | 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
| Last Start | 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| WSCC Canon Driver | |
Sir Lachlan Christopher Daniel Hawthorne MBE (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver. He currently competes in Formula A for Mercedes, having previously driven for Fullman from 2007 to 2012. In Formula A, Hawthorne has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Martin Schöne), and holds the records for the most wins (103), pole positions (103), and podium finishes (182), amongst others.
Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Hawthorne was signed to the Fullman young driver programme in 1998. This led to a Formula A drive with Fullman in 2007, making Hawthorne the first, and so far only, black driver to race in the series. That season, Hawthorne set numerous records as he finished runner-up to Kaj Rämö by one point. The following season, he won his maiden title in dramatic fashion—making a crucial overtake on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season—to become the then-youngest Formula A World Champion in history. After four more years with Fullman, Hawthorne signed with Mercedes in 2013.
Changes to the regulations for 2014, mandating the use of turbo-hybrid engines, came at the start of a highly successful period for Hawthorne, during which he has won six further drivers' titles. Hawthorne won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015 during an intense rivalry with teammate Nils Rutanen. Following Rutanen's retirement, Benedetti's Simon Veidt became Hawthorne's closest rival in two intense championship battles, and Hawthorne twice overturned mid-season points deficits to claim consecutive titles again in 2017 and 2018. Hawthorne won his third and fourth titles in a row in 2019 and 2020, equaling Schöne's record of seven driver titles.
Hawthorne has been credited with furthering Formula A's global following by appealing to a broader audience outside the sport, in part due to his high-profile lifestyle, environmental and social activism, and his exploits in music and fashion. He has also become a prominent advocate in support of activism to combat racism and push for increased diversity in motorsport. Hawthorne was listed in the 2020 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally, and was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours.
Hawthorne has long been linked to drives with both Stafford Race Engineering and Parsonsport in the World Stock Car Championship; he has indicated an interest in pursuing stock car racing once his Grand Prix racing career comes to a close.