Born in Aldeia Galega da Merceana, Alenquer, Portugal, Lamy graduated from karting and won the Portuguese Formula Ford Championship in his debut year, in 1989, at the age of 17.

Signing for Willi Weber's team, he defeated Marco Werner in the fight for the Championship, in 1992, also winning the Marlboro Masters in Zandvoort and finishing second in the Macau Grand Prix.

In 1993 he raced for Crypton Engineering in Formula 3000 and finished second in the series, one point behind champion Olivier Panis, although he scored a win at Pau, a narrow street course considered even more difficult than Monaco.

Lamy drove the first four races, before suffering a serious crash in private testing at Silverstone, breaking both legs and wrists and sitting in the sidelines for over a year.

Lamy stayed with Minardi for 1996, but the team's lack of resources meant the car received little development, and the Portuguese driver finished his F1 career, after 32 Grand Prix starts.