Lewis Hamilton: Record-Breaker

As Lewis Hamilton parked his Mercedes in the ‘World Champion’ space at the end of the US Grand Prix this weekend, he further cemented his status in Formula 1 history.

This is Hamilton’s third straight Championship and sixth overall, and he overtakes the great Juan Manuel Fangio and moves within one of the iconic Michael Schumacher. It’s not like anyone doubted that he was an all-time great before, but a sixth title really goes to show the extent of Hamilton’s greatness.

Johnny Herbert this week called Hamilton the greatest driver he’s ever seen, and indeed the man born in Stevenage has proven time and time again – season after season, in the wet, dry and everything in between – that he’s, without doubt, the best driver of his generation.

Hamilton is 34, the same age Schumacher was when he won his sixth title, and you’d be brave to bet against him adding to his trophy cabinet next season. Of course, Ferrari and Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas – who was the race winner in Austin this weekend – will be keen to mount more of a challenge than this season. There was lots of talk about Valtteri 2.0 at the start of this season when Bottas emerged with a new beard and an apparently new attitude, so it will be fascinating to watch the teammates go head-to-head in the Mercedes garage next season.

But for now, it’s all about Hamilton. His one-stop strategy at the Circuit of the Americas was a risk, but who better than Lewis to manage his tyres to stay at the front of the pack for virtually the entire race? There’s no one else in the field who commands as much faith as Hamilton – even when he gets a bad start, or gets contact, or gets caught in traffic, you never ever count him out. His ability to turn on the wow factor at any given moment on any track is second to none. He drives fast and thinks faster, and he makes driving at 200mph look incredibly easy.

Winning six titles almost makes a mockery of the feat. Lest we forget, only 33 drivers have actually managed to get their name on the Championship in more than 60 years. There are only 10 names who can lay claim to having won a trio of titles. Hamilton’s six is an astonishing feat, especially considering the calibre of his opposition – top-quality drivers like Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Vettel, Max Verstappen, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas have made up the field during Hamilton’s wins, unable to stop the British driver climbing to the top of the ultimate podium.

Put simply, Hamilton is at the top of his field. He’s one of the greatest ever sportsmen, let alone drivers. F1 fans of today are lucky to be witnessing his ride to glory. Make sure you witness it with a F1 package with Spectate