Make no mistake about it, Michael Schumacher was the top dog of his generation. Through sheer talent and brilliant yet sneaky tactics, the German driver won two drivers’ titles with Benetton and five with Ferrari for a haul of seven titles. As of today, Lewis Hamilton has matched that incredible tally with one title in the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23 and six titles with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas outfit.
“Equaling Michael Schumacher’s record puts a spotlight on me that I know won’t be here forever,” said the 35-year-old Briton from Stevenage, Hertfordshire. “I was told by many that my dream was impossible, yet here I am.” Rather predictable for Lewis, he ended his social media post on the title with a quirky hashtag: #S7ILLRISING.
In the drama-filled race in Istanbul, the Mercedes driver needed to finish eight points ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas to clinch the drivers’ title. Lewis won outright despite starting on sixth because of a poor qualifying session on Saturday. In terms of race pace, we can all agree that nothing else on the grid holds a candle to the Silver Arrows.
The 2020 Turkish Grand Prix also marks the 94th win of his career, eclipsing Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost, and the late Ayrton Senna. In terms of numbers, you should also be aware that Lewis has the most pole positions (97), most podiums (163), most points in a single season (413), and most wins at most different circuits (29). Love him or hate him, this guy has worked hard for these achievements.
Before the Briton found success in Formula 1, karting was his main preoccupation between 1993 and 2000. From 2001 to 2005, Lewis competed in Formula Renault and Formula Three. It’s during this period that Hamilton tested for McLaren, but his relationship with the Woking-based team goes a longer way back.
Two years after he started karting, Lewis approached Ron Dennis for an autograph. While the former head honcho of McLaren did his thing, Hamilton famously told him how he's called and that "one day I want to be racing your cars.” In Dennis’ autobiography, he wrote: “Phone me in nine years, we’ll sort something out then.”
Leading up to today and even after I crossed the line, I’ve been gathering my thoughts about what’s most important to...
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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