Topps marks Hamilton's 400th F1 start with limited trading card after São Paulo penalty nightmare

Lewis Hamilton’s 400th Formula 1 start at the São Paulo Grand Prix has been commemorated by Topps with a limited NOW trading card, marking a milestone only Fernando Alonso has previously reached in the sport’s history.

Topps announced the card on Instagram, stating: “Lewis Hamilton becomes only the second driver to start 400 grands prix in F1. Mark the moment with Topps NOW.” Listed as card number 76 in the 2026 Formula 1 Topps NOW series, it is priced at $11.99 and available for a short window on the Topps website.

Unlike traditional limited-edition cards, Topps NOW releases are made to order rather than produced in a fixed print run. The final number of copies is only revealed once the sale window closes — a figure that will be closely watched by collectors given Hamilton’s recent commercial pull in the trading card market. His maiden Ferrari victory at the Barcelona Grand Prix in June produced the highest-selling F1 Topps NOW card ever, with the print run surpassing 50,000 copies.

The milestone itself was a bittersweet occasion for the seven-time world champion. Hamilton started from the back of the grid in São Paulo after receiving a power unit penalty, and although he recovered 10 positions during the race, he ultimately finished ninth and a lap down.

Speaking ahead of the race, Hamilton reflected on the significance of the occasion. “It is really crazy, when you think of where we started as a family, the countless hours that my dad and Linda put into my racing, with that dream of coming here,” he said. “I remember winning my first world championship here.”

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season, and Alonso — who reached 400 starts with Aston Martin in 2024 — remains the only other driver in Formula 1 history to have achieved the feat.