I wonder how many people would have thought back in 2007 that a young man from Stevenage would break the record for most wins in Formula One, and be on the cusp of equalling the record for the most World Championships?
That young man from Stevenage, Lewis Hamilton has proved time and time again that he should be in the discussion for the best Formula One driver of all time, and he now has the statistics to back him up.
The record for most wins in Formula One had been held by Michael Schumacher for quite some time, with his record of 91 race wins in 308 entries now being overshadowed by Hamilton’s record of 92 race wins in 262 entries.
This also means that Hamilton has won just over 35% of the races that he has entered, compared to Schumacher’s just under 30% record.
What Lewis Hamilton has done for Formula One has been nothing short of phenomenal. Michael Schumacher was the person that most of the driver’s nowadays looked up too, apart from Kimi Raikkonen who raced against Schumacher for many seasons.
Hamilton does have his critics, especially within the British population, but you can’t help stop and reflect on what he has achieved, and he is not done yet.
He looks set to go and win his seventh World Championship, equalling the record that Schumacher currently holds. He still doesn’t have a contract for next season, and rumours are still floating around about a potential retirement. This does seem unlikely but you can never rule it out.
Hamilton was the driver that replaced Schumacher at Mercedes and you can’t help but think of how much Schumacher helped the development of that team. It was a huge risk for Hamilton to go to Mercedes but it has paid off big time for the British driver.
I think all F1 fans would have loved to see Hamilton and Schumacher go head to head in equal machinery to see who is better. Opinions will be divided, a lot of F1 fans got into the sport through Schumacher, and the same with Hamilton so loyalties will be in certain camps.
We will just have to settle having two greats in two different eras of the sport that will forever live in the sport’s history with the likes of Senna, Fangio and Yuji Ide.