Lewis Hamilton: Chasing #8.
March 03 2022, Mercedes-Benz Vancouver
No one in the history of Formula One racing has more wins, pole positions, or points than Lewis Hamilton. But there’s still one record to break, and it is undoubtedly the most important of all.
On February 14, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team announced that Hamilton will be back in the driver’s seat in 2022 to pursue his eighth Drivers’ Championship title. Currently, he and retired legend Michael Schumacher each hold seven such titles. A Drivers’ Championship in 2022 would put Hamilton in sole possession of the title record, undoubtedly crowning him as the greatest Formula One driver in history.
Of course, one could make a case that he is already that and more. Since his very first season with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team in 2007, Hamilton’s success has been unprecedented.
Hamilton made his debut in Formula One by immediately finishing on the podium in nine straight races, from the 2007 Australian Grand Prix to the 2007 British Grand Prix, breaking the record for most consecutive podiums off an F1 debut. By the end of his maiden season, he had become both the youngest driver ever to lead the World Championship and the youngest Drivers’ Championship runner-up.
He returned in 2008 and won his first Drivers’ Championship, at the time becoming the youngest driver ever to do so at just 23 years old.
The next few years were spent relatively out of the spotlight, only contending for the title once in 2010. Hamilton was otherwise left off the Championship podium from 2009-2012. It wasn’t until Hamilton signed with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team in 2013—and subsequent changes were made in 2014, requiring all F1 vehicles to move to a turbo-hybrid powerplant—that a legendary dynasty was born.
Lewis Hamilton would go on to win the Drivers’ Championship in six of the next seven seasons (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020), only once finishing second in 2016 to teammate Nico Rosberg. Similarly, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team dominated the World Constructors' Championships, winning all eight years from 2014-2020.
2021 looked to be Hamilton’s record-breaking season, but a controversial final lap during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale brought heartbreak for Mercedes-AMG and Lewis Hamilton fans alike, as Max Verstappen took the Drivers’ Championship title for the first time.
One thing’s for sure—Hamilton will be back with a vengeance in 2022.
Cheer on Hamilton and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team when the Bahrain Grand Prix opens the 2022 F1 schedule on March 20th!
