Hailwood grew up in a motorsport family; his father Stanley was a wealthy businessman who had raced motorcycles before World War II and later owned a major motorcycle dealership. Mike first raced in April 1957 at Oulton Park. By 1958 he was winning at multiple classes and received the Pinhard Prize for the most meritorious achievement by a young motorcyclist under 21.
In June 1961 he became the first man in the history of the Isle of Man TT to win three races in a single week, taking the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc classes. Also that year, riding a four-cylinder Honda RC162, he won the 250cc World Championship. In 1962 he signed with MV Agusta and went on to win four consecutive 500cc World Championships — a feat without precedent at the time.
After several 500cc titles, Hailwood returned to Honda for 1966 and 1967, adding world titles in the 250cc and 350cc classes. His most celebrated motorcycle race was the 1967 Senior TT at the Isle of Man, widely regarded by historians as the greatest Isle of Man race ever staged. Riding a Honda RC181, Hailwood battled Giacomo Agostini the length of the mountain course and prevailed, setting a lap record of 108.77 mph that stood for eight years.
Honda withdrew from Grand Prix racing after 1967 and paid Hailwood £50,000 not to ride for a rival factory, anticipating a future return that never materialised at top level. By 1969 Hailwood had shifted his primary focus to cars.
Hailwood began car racing while still a motorcycle champion, debuting in Formula One at the British Grand Prix on 20 July 1963. His early F1 career ran between 1963 and 1965, during which he accumulated 29 championship points and two podium finishes. He returned to Formula One more seriously in 1971, nearly winning the Italian Grand Prix — where the first five finishers were covered by just 0.61 seconds, and Hailwood finished fourth, only 0.18 seconds from victory. He won the 1972 European Formula Two Championship and earned a podium at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Ford GT40 with David Hobbs.
His finest hour in car racing came at the 1973 South African Grand Prix, where he pulled Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the two collided on the third lap. Hailwood's driving suit caught fire, but after a marshal extinguished the flames he returned to complete the rescue. The act of bravery earned him the George Medal, the second-highest gallantry award available to British civilians.
In 1974 Hailwood drove a works Yardley-sponsored McLaren M23 and at times matched or outpaced team leader Emerson Fittipaldi. His Formula One career ended that year after he was badly injured at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He retired to New Zealand to work in marine engineering before eventually returning to Britain.
In May 1978, few observers gave Hailwood much chance at the Isle of Man TT after an 11-year absence from the event and at the age of 38. Riding a Ducati 900SS provided by Manchester dealership Sports Motorcycles, he won the Formula One class — a result that sent shockwaves through motorcycling. The victory prompted Ducati to produce a road-going Mike Hailwood Replica based on the 900SS; approximately 7,000 were sold. He was voted Man of the Year by readers of Motorcycle News for 1978. Hailwood raced at the 1979 Isle of Man TT as well, winning the Senior TT on a Suzuki RG 500 before retiring permanently at age 39.
On 21 March 1981, Hailwood was driving his Rover SD1 with his children Michelle and David to collect food near their home in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire. A lorry made an illegal turn across the central reservation, and the car collided with it. Michelle, aged nine, was killed instantly. Hailwood died in hospital two days later on 23 March from severe internal injuries; he was 40 years old. David survived with minor injuries. The lorry driver was fined £100.
His funeral on 1 April 1981 was attended by a large portion of the international motorsport community, including Giacomo Agostini, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Gilles Villeneuve, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, and others.
Hailwood retired from motorcycling with 76 Grand Prix victories, 112 Grand Prix podiums, 14 Isle of Man TT wins, and nine World Championships. The FIM named him a Grand Prix Legend in 2000. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000 and 2001 respectively. A section of the Snaefell Mountain Course was renamed Hailwood's Rise and Hailwood's Height in his honour in 1981, and the Mike Hailwood Centre at the TT Grandstand in Douglas has operated since 1984. His 1978 comeback victory at the Isle of Man is still cited as one of the most remarkable returns in the history of motorsport.