It’s been rumored this month that music artist Shakira has been seeing Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, and a source told People that things are early, but they’re growing closer.
“They’re spending time together and in the ‘getting to know you’ stage,” said the insider. “It’s fun and flirty.”
Here’s everything we know about Hamilton and his connection with Shakira so far.
Who is Lewis Hamilton?
Hamilton is a British race-car driver, and a very successful one. He’s been driving since he was only eight-years-old, and his talent was noted and cultivated early after he won the British Kart Championship when he was 10-years-old. At 15, Hamilton was the youngest-ever driver to be ranked number one in karting.
The 38-year-old now owns the Formula One record for career race victories and he became the first Black driver to win the F1 world drivers’ championship in 2008.
How long have Shakira and Hamilton been seeing each other?
In May, Shakira was seen with Hamilton and some of his friends near Miami on a boat just after she attended the 2023 Grand Prix, where he was competing.
She went to the race with actor Tom Cruise, briefly spurring rumors the two might be dating. But a source told Us Weekly that Shakira found those rumors “hilarious.”
“Shakira had a great time hanging out with Tom at F1 but she has no interest in dating him,” they said. “He was really nice and she enjoyed his company, but she isn’t focused on dating him or anybody else at the moment.”
The insider added, “She has a lot on her plate and is focused on her kids and career for now.”
However, this month, Shakira was at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Spain. Hamilton was driving for Mercedes and came in second place. They were seen out for dinner afterwards with friends Daniel Caesar, Fai Khadra and Mustafa, the latter of whom posted an Instagram Story in which the rumored couple are sitting next to one another and he has his hand around her waist.
Who else have they been romantically linked to?
Shakira broke up with her longtime partner, soccer player Gerard Pique, in June 2022. They share two children, Milan and Sasha, and first got together in 2011.
In a statement, reported by Page Six, they said, “We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
The privacy was not long lasting and the break up was highly publicized, especially as it was revealed Pique had cheated on the singer. Last month, Shakira seemed to comment on the big change while accepting Billboard‘s first Woman of the Year award at the inaugural Latin Women in Music gala.
“This has been a year of seismic change in my life where I’ve felt more than ever — and very personally — what it is to be a woman,” she said. “It’s been a year where I’ve realized we women are stronger than we think, braver than we believed, more independent than we were taught to be.”
Shakira continued, “Because what woman hasn’t at some time in her life forgotten herself because she’s seeking the attention and love of someone else? It happened to me, more than once.”
Hamilton split up with longtime girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger in 2015, and has been linked in the past to Rita Ora and Nicki Minaj.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.