title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton finished third at the next race in Singapore, while Massa failed to score any points, allowing Hamilton to increase his championship lead to seven points. In Fuji, Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for forcing other cars off the track when he made an error on the first lap. Before he could serve the penalty Hamilton attempted to pass Massa, who hit him after making a mistake. Massa was later given a drive-through penalty for this move and Hamilton finished twelfth. With just two races to go, Hamilton led the World Championship by five points from Massa. In China, Hamilton won the race to take a seven-point lead in the World Championship into the last race of the season. Speaking afterwards, Hamilton said "All weekend we have had God on our side as always, and the team did a phenomenal job in preparing the car, which has been a dream to drive."


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the , Hamilton needed to finish at least fifth, if Massa won the race, to secure the World Championship. Just before the race began a rain shower struck and Hamilton ran in fourth place before dropping down to sixth after pitting for dry tyres. Intermittent rainfall meant all drivers stopped multiple times between wet and dry tyres and, with three laps remaining and Massa leading the race, Hamilton was running in fifth and needed only to maintain position to secure the title. On the penultimate lap, Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel passed Hamilton, meaning the British driver started the final lap in sixth position and looking unable to retake fifth place from the German. However, on the final lap he and Vettel made up an 18-second gap to overtake Timo Glock, who was struggling on dry tyres, on the last corner to re-take fifth place and deny race-winner Massa the title by one point. This made Hamilton the youngest driver to win the World Drivers' Championship, the first black driver, and the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton started the season opener of the 2009 season in Australia from eighteenth on the grid after the McLaren team incurred a penalty for changing his gearbox during qualifying. Hamilton benefited from a late crash between Vettel and Kubica to move into fourth place by the end of the race. He was then promoted to third after Jarno Trulli was penalised for overtaking him under safety-car conditions. During a post-race stewards' hearing, Hamilton and McLaren officials told stewards they had not purposely let Trulli pass, which was contradicted by the release of the McLaren race radio communication. Hamilton was then disqualified from the race for providing "misleading evidence" during the stewards' hearing. He later privately apologised to FIA race director Charlie Whiting for having lied to the stewards. He went on to describe the incident as the hardest week of his life, and considered quitting Formula One.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: After failing to score points in five consecutive races, Hamilton made public calls to scrap the car and a former team owner and commentator Eddie Jordan described the MP4-24 as "possibly the worst car McLaren have ever designed". However, after bringing upgrades to the car, McLaren and Hamilton's fortunes were reversed at the Hungaroring, the tenth round of the season where he won the race to take his 10th career win and the first for a KERS-equipped car. McLaren's return to form continued in Valencia, where Hamilton finished second. At the , Hamilton took his second win of the season. He finished third at the Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix. In the inaugural , Hamilton led the race, but retired on lap 20 due to a rear brake problem, his first technical-related retirement in Formula One. Hamilton finished the season in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: For the season Hamilton drove alongside Jenson Button, who joined McLaren after Heikki Kovalainen's departure to Lotus Racing. Hamilton finished third at the season opener in Bahrain and finished in sixth place at the next race in Australia after a late-race collision with Mark Webber. Hamilton started from twentieth place on the grid in Malaysia after a poor tyre choice by McLaren left him out on dry tyres in wet conditions. He recovered to finish sixth. Hamilton achieved a second-place finish in China behind Button, completing McLaren's first 1–2 finish since the 2007 Italian Grand Prix. In Monaco Hamilton qualified and finished fifth. Hamilton's fortunes improved in the , where he claimed his first victory of the season as he and Button completed a 1–2.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton qualified on pole for the , his third in as many attempts at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After setting his pole lap, Hamilton received instructions from his team to stop on circuit due to a lack of fuel in the car which would not be sufficient for a sample to be taken by the FIA. Hamilton was reprimanded after failing to complete his in-lap in a sufficient time and the team was fined $10,000. Hamilton went on to win the race and take the lead in the Drivers' Championship after McLaren's third 1–2 of the season. In Valencia, Alonso complained on his radio that Hamilton had gained an advantage by not following the safety car, and Hamilton subsequently received a drive-through penalty.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: He finished second at his home race at Silverstone, and followed it up with fourth at the . Despite running into the gravel, Hamilton won in Spa to reclaim the championship lead. However, successive crashes at the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix dropped him to third in the championship. In Japan, Hamilton finished fifth, followed by a second-place finish in South Korea. He finished fourth at the meaning he would remain in contention for the title going into the last race of the season. In the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton finished second to Vettel, who won the World Drivers' Championship and broke Hamilton's record for being the youngest ever Formula One World Champion.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton began the 2011 season with qualifying and finishing second in the , despite having floor damage to his McLaren. In Malaysia, he qualified second but finished seventh in the race after being tagged by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in the closing stages. Hamilton received a 20-second time penalty post-race for weaving whilst defending, dropping Hamilton to eighth place. Hamilton took his first win of the season in China, before finishing fourth in Turkey, and second in Spain. In Monaco, Hamilton qualified tenth after Q3 was red-flagged before he could set a time due to a heavy crash from Sergio Pérez. During the race Hamilton received a drive-through penalty and was involved in two further collisions, the last of which he was given a 20-second time penalty for. After the race, Hamilton said that he felt victimised by the FIA, having been summoned to the stewards in five out of six races in the season so far. When asked to why he had been targeted by the stewards so much, Hamilton replied in jest, "Maybe it's because I'm black, that's what Ali G says".


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the , Hamilton collided with Webber at the first corner before rejoining behind his teammate, Button. A few laps later Hamilton attempted to pass Button who pushed Hamilton into the pitwall, forcing him to retire with a broken driveshaft. Hamilton finished fourth in Valencia and Silverstone. In Germany, Hamilton took his second victory of the season, before a chaotic race in Hungary in which Hamilton had five pitstops and a drive-through penalty after which he finished fourth. He finished fourth at Monza after a race long battle with Michael Schumacher, In the , Hamilton collided with Massa which left Hamilton needing a new front wing and serving a drive through penalty. Massa accused Hamilton of being "incapable of using his brain," during a post race interview and grabbed Hamilton's shoulder before sarcastically retorting "Good job, bum"; Hamilton told the Brazilian to leave him alone. In Japan, Hamilton suffered a puncture before once again tangling with Massa, although Hamilton escaped a reprimand and finished fifth.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In Korea, Hamilton took pole position, ending a run of 16 consecutive pole positions for Red Bull. However, he was passed on the first lap by Vettel who went on to win the race as Hamilton finished second. At the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Hamilton recorded the second-fastest time in qualifying, but was penalised three places on the starting grid, after a yellow-flag infraction in Friday practice. Hamilton finished seventh after yet another incident with Massa for which the Brazilian received a penalty as Hamilton had to replace the front wing. In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton qualified second and won the race. After retiring from the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton and Massa ended their feud as the two drivers spoke after the race before sharing a hug. Hamilton also apologised to his team for the "mishaps" throughout the season, and vowed that "2012 will be a good one". Hamilton finished fifth overall in the championship, recording three wins, six podium finishes and one pole position. He also finished behind a teammate in the World Championship for the first time in his career as Button finished runner-up.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton remained at McLaren alongside Button for the 2012 season. Hamilton qualified in pole position for the , but finished third after being passed by Button at the start, and by Vettel after pitting before a safety car. Hamilton again qualified on pole for the , but in the race was passed early on by Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez, finishing third. Hamilton took his third consecutive third-place finish in China, with Nico Rosberg and Button ahead. Hamilton qualified in second place in Bahrain, but during the race, a series of poor pitstops put him out of contention, and he finished eighth. Hamilton was also involved in a controversial racing incident with Rosberg, with Rosberg appearing to push Hamilton off track while he attempted to overtake. Hamilton qualified on pole position for the , but had to stop the car on track in order for a reputable fuel sample to be given post-qualifying. The stewards decided he had breached qualifying rules introduced after a similar incident involving Hamilton at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix and excluded him from the qualifying results, and demoted him to the back of the grid; but despite this, Hamilton finished eighth, ahead of Button, who had started in tenth.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton achieved his first victory of the season at the , his third win in Montreal, after overtaking Alonso in the closing stages. Hamilton won the to claim his second win of the season. Hamilton, along with championship leader Fernando Alonso, retired from the after being involved in a multiple car accident on the first corner of the race for which Romain Grosjean was deemed responsible and was given a one-race ban. Hamilton bounced back with pole position for the , and led for the majority of the race to claim his third victory of the season and keep his hopes of winning the Drivers' Championship alive. Hamilton again qualified on pole at the , but suffered a gearbox failure whilst leading the race. He also retired from the lead of the , before winning the in Austin. Hamilton's season ended with another pole position and retirement in Brazil, when he was involved in a collision with Nico Hülkenberg while leading in the late stages. Hülkenberg was given a drive-through penalty for causing a collision. He finished in fourth place in the World Championship.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In September 2012, it was announced after much speculation that Hamilton would be leaving McLaren to join the Mercedes for the season, partnering Nico Rosberg after signing a three-year contract with the team. The move was met with surprise by pundits and the public, with some describing the move to Mercedes, a team with no recent history of success, as a gamble. It was later revealed that three-time World Drivers' Champion, Niki Lauda, was one of the key figures in persuading Hamilton to join Mercedes.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In his first race for Mercedes, the , Hamilton qualified in third and ended the race in fifth. Hamilton finished third in Malaysia to take his first podium for the team, although Rosberg was prevented from attempting to overtake him by team orders. At the following race in China, Hamilton secured his first pole position for Mercedes, but finished in third. At Monaco after being out-qualified by his teammate Rosberg for the third successive race, Hamilton admitted that he was struggling to control the car under braking. Prior to the race, both Red Bull and Ferrari had lodged formal complaints against Mercedes for taking part in what was determined to be an illegal tyre test. Neither Mercedes drivers received any punishment for the breach of rules, and Mercedes was given a reprimand.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the , Hamilton won the race from an unexpected pole position, eventually crossing the line nearly 11 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kimi Räikkönen. It was Hamilton's first win as a Mercedes driver, making him the first British driver to win a Formula One race in a Mercedes works car since Stirling Moss at the 1955 British Grand Prix and continued Hamilton's streak of winning at least one race prior to the mid-season break. At the he secured his fifth and last pole position of the season and finished the race third. Although he did not score any podiums for the rest of the season, a string of point finishes helped him end the season in fourth place.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: New driver number regulations for the season allowed drivers to pick a unique car number to use for their entire career. Hamilton chose the number 44, which he used during his karting days. After pre-season testing in Jerez, Mercedes were widely considered favourites for , appearing to have reacted well to changes to regulations mandating the use of turbo-hybrid engines.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Mercedes' anticipated pace was realised at the season opener in Australia where Hamilton took pole, although he was later forced to retire while teammate Rosberg won by over 20 seconds. In Malaysia, Hamilton won his first race of the season from pole in a Mercedes 1–2, the team's first since . In Bahrain, Hamilton qualified in second place as both Mercedes cars locked out the front-row. Hamilton engaged in a close duel with Rosberg throughout the race. A late safety car seemingly swung the favour to Rosberg, who had the benefit of being on a faster tyre, but after the restart Hamilton held firm in a close wheel-to-wheel encounter to take consecutive victories for the first time since . After the race the pair engaged in a mock fight, although it later emerged that Rosberg had used engine modes banned by Mercedes to give himself a power advantage over Hamilton in the closing laps.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton dominated in China where he took pole and then led every lap of the race to completed a hat-trick of wins for the first time in his career. Mercedes continued to dominate in Spain where Hamilton once again set pole position and went on to win the race, his fourth successive win. In Monaco, Hamilton qualified second behind Rosberg who, on provisional pole, ran deep at Mirabeau and drove into a sliproad, prompting yellow flags and forcing Hamilton to abort his final qualifying lap. Several pundits made suggestions of foul play, but the stewards cleared Rosberg of any wrongdoing. Hamilton made clear that he felt Rosberg had ruined his lap on purpose and, after starting and finishing the race second, announced that he and Rosberg were no longer friends. Rosberg won the race with Hamilton finishing second. During qualifying in Germany, Hamilton had a brake failure and started twentieth before recovering to finish third. An engine fire in qualifying in Hungary meant he started from the pit lane from where he again managed to finish to third ahead of Rosberg.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the first race after the summer break in Belgium, Hamilton took the lead from Rosberg at the start but a collision between them on lap two punctured his rear tyre and he later retired from the race. Wins from pole in Italy and Singapore saw Hamilton take the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Hamilton followed this by victories in Japan, the Russia and the United States to achieve five consecutive victories for the first time in his career. In the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, teams and drivers scored double the number of points awarded for race finish positions for the first time in the history of Formula One. Hamilton had a perfect start, passing Rosberg before Turn 1 to take the lead before going on to win to secure his second World Championship title. Rosberg ultimately finished down in fourteenth, as problems with the ERS system on his car significantly reduced his pace. Despite advise over the radio to retire the car, Rosberg said he would like to go to the end and finish the race, which he ultimately did. An emotional Hamilton said over his team radio after crossing the line, "This is the greatest day of my life". Ahead of the podium ceremony, Rosberg entered into the cooldown room to congratulate Hamilton on winning the title. Hamilton later paid tribute to Rosberg for his graciousness in defeat. Hamilton finished the season with 384 points, recording 11 wins and 7 pole positions.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Before the start of the season, Hamilton announced he would not be exercising his option of switching his car number to 1 for the season, as was his prerogative as reigning World Champion, and would instead continue to race with his career number 44. It was the first season since , when Alain Prost retired from the sport following his fourth and final World Drivers' Championship title in , that the field did not contain car bearing the number 1. Mercedes looked to again be the fastest car on the grid for the season, as the new W06 Hybrid completed more laps in pre-season testing than any rival car, and did so using just one power unit. At the opening race in Australia, Hamilton qualified in pole position before winning the race ahead of Rosberg in second, with Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari in third, 34 seconds back. After taking pole before finishing second in Malaysia, Hamilton won from pole in both China and Bahrain meaning he had taken a total of 93 points out of a possible 100 after four rounds. Entering the eight-race European portion of the season, Hamilton carried a 27-point lead over Rosberg, which was quickly reduced as he finished second behind his teammate in Spain.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes announced they had extended the contract with Hamilton for three additional years, keeping him with the team until the end of the 2018 season in a deal reportedly worth more than £100 million over the three years, making him one of the best paid drivers in Formula One, as well as allowing Hamilton to retain his own image rights, which is considered unusual in the sport, and keep his championship winning cars and trophies. In the race, Hamilton looked on course to win the race having led for 65 laps, but an error by the Mercedes strategists who wrongly called him in for a pit-stop handed the win to Rosberg while Hamilton finished third. Mercedes later apologised for the mistake.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton returned to the top of the podium by winning from pole in Canada and Britain, the latter for the second time in a row and third overall, also surpassing Jackie Stewart's 45-year-old record of laps led in eighteen consecutive Grands Prix. He finished sixth in an eventful Hungarian Grand Prix, ending his run of 16 consecutive podium finishes, the second-longest in Formula One history. Hamilton won from pole in Spa and took his second career grand slam in Monza to extend his championship lead over Nico Rosberg, who was forced to retire in the latter race due to engine failure, to 53 points. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton was only able qualify in fifth ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, and had moved up to fourth in the race before he was forced to retire due to a power unit issue. Hamilton recovered from his retirement in Singapore by winning in Japan and Russia, meaning he could clinch the title at the next race in the United States, with three races to spare.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Starting behind his teammate, Hamilton very aggressively forced Rosberg wide at Turn 1 to claim the lead before a thrilling race unfolded where the advantage continuously swung between both Mercedes drivers and the chasing Red Bulls. Rosberg led in the closing stages but made a mistake at Turn 12, running deep and letting his teammate through a handful of laps from the flag. Hamilton never relinquished the lead and claimed his third championship. Rosberg was furious after the race, saying his teammate's Turn 1 move had been "one step too far". He infamously threw his podium cap at Hamilton as they waited to take the podium. Hamilton called his third title "the greatest moment of my life", thanking his father and his family for their support. Comparing the title win to his two previous ones, he said: "the last two times were really climactic in the last race. This one still feels just as special if not more special [...]. It has kind of topped last year for me – it's equalling Ayrton [Senna]". After securing his third title, Hamilton finished in second behind his teammate in the final three races of the season in Mexico, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi. Hamilton ended the season with 381 points, recording 10 wins and 11 pole positions to win the FIA Pole Trophy for most pole positions of the season and the DHL Fastest Lap Award.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: For the second year in a row, Hamilton decided not to exercise his prerogative as reigning World Champion to bear the number 1 on his car, and would instead race with his career number 44. In pre-season testing, Mercedes covered the most distance in testing, almost and once again looked to be favourites for both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships. At the season opener in Australia, Hamilton qualified on pole. After a poor start, he recovered to finish second behind Rosberg. In the second race of the season in Bahrain, Hamilton again qualified on pole. In the race however, Hamilton was crashed into on the first lap by Bottas, for which Bottas was handed a drive-through penalty, before recovering to finish the race in third behind Rosberg and Räikkönen. In China, Hamilton did not set a time in qualifying and started at the back of the grid. He got as high up fifth but was overtaken by Räikkönen and Ricciardo near the end of the race to finish seventh. In Russia, Hamilton did not set a time in the third part of qualifying, meaning he started from tenth on the grid. He finished second behind Rosberg, despite having zero water pressure for the last sixteen laps. After the first four rounds, Hamilton entered the European rounds of the season yet to win a race and trailing Rosberg, who had won the every race so far, in the Drivers' standings by 43 points.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In Spain, Hamilton started on pole ahead of Rosberg. The start of the race saw Hamilton and Rosberg collide, causing both drivers to retire from the race. Both drivers made good starts, but Rosberg passed Hamilton around the outside of Turn 1. In the next few corners, Rosberg's car entered an incorrect engine mode due to an error the German had made on the formation lap, meaning he was slower than Hamilton coming out of Turn 3, and Hamilton went to overtake for the lead. Rosberg forced Hamilton on to the grass where he lost control, eventually spinning into Rosberg and taking both drivers out of the race. The stewards deemed it a racing incident and decided Hamilton had been justified in his attempt as he was quicker than Rosberg coming out of Turn 3.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton took his first win of the season in Monaco before winning the next race in Canada. Hamilton finished fifth in Baku after struggling with a software issue that limited his engine's ability to harvest energy. The next four rounds saw Hamilton take four consecutive wins for the third time in his career as he reclaimed the lead in the Drivers' standings. The first of which was in Austria, where Hamilton and Rosberg made contact as Hamilton tried to pass his teammate on the final lap. The stewards found Rosberg guilty for causing an avoidable collision and handed him a ten-second penalty. A week later, Hamilton completed a hat-trick of wins at the British Grand Prix, before taking the championship lead in the following race in Hungary, which was extended to 19 points after winning in Germany. Despite having reclaimed the lead from Rosberg, Hamilton remained pessimistic about his title hopes as, with nine races left in the season, he was anticipating grid penalties for exceeding his engine allocation.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: After the summer break, Hamilton's concerns were realised with Mercedes opting to take a series of grid penalties to build up a stockpile of components, forcing Hamilton to start in Belgium from twenty-first position from where he recovered to finish third. Rosberg reduced Hamilton's championship lead to two points in Italy, as Hamilton had a poor start, dropping as low as fifth, before recovering to finish in second place. Rosberg reclaimed the championship lead in Singapore, qualifying on pole while Hamilton was forced to settle for third after struggling with mechanical issues and driving errors. Hamilton looked set to regain the lead after comfortably leading the Malaysian Grand Prix, however he retired sixteen laps from the end of the race with engine failure, leaving Daniel Ricciardo in control of the race, whilst Rosberg finished in third position, extending his championship lead to 23 points. Another poor start in Japan left Hamilton eighth by the end of the first lap, before he recovered to finish third and secured Mercedes' third consecutive Constructors' title.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: With the championship leaving Asia for the Americas, Hamilton gradually started to erode Rosberg's championship lead. He won from pole in a Mercedes 1–2 finish in the next three races in the United States, Mexico and Brazil meaning he entered the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix needing to win with Rosberg finishing fourth or lower to win the title. In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton took pole position ahead of Rosberg, and led him for most of the race. In the closing laps of the race, he slowed down in attempt to allow other drivers to catch and pass Rosberg, despite repeated instructions from Mercedes not to risk losing the race to Sebastian Vettel, who used pit strategy to bring himself into contention and was quickly catching up. Hamilton went on to win the race, while Rosberg secured his maiden Drivers' Championship title with second place. After the race, Hamilton denied that he had been guilty of any wrongdoing, saying "I don't think I did anything dangerous", "I was in the lead, so I control the pace. Those are the rules". Hamilton finished the season with 380 points, recording 10 wins, a record-equalling 17 podium finishes and 12 pole positions, enough to secure the FIA Pole Trophy for the second consecutive season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the season opener in Australia, Hamilton took pole ahead of his new Mercedes teammate Bottas and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Vettel ultimately took victory, with Hamilton only able to take second after being stuck behind Verstappen after his first pit-stop. Journalists and commentators suggested that the race signalled an end to the Mercedes dominance of the past two seasons. Hamilton took his first win of the season at the next race in China where he won from pole led every lap and set the fastest lap to give the Mercedes driver his third career Grand Slam. Hamilton received a penalty as he finished runner-up in Bahrain, and raised concerns over the pace of his car. At the next race in Sochi, Hamilton struggled for pace and finished fourth, while teammate Bottas took his first Grand Prix win.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Mercedes brought a series of upgrades to the Spanish Grand Prix, and qualifying saw Hamilton take pole ahead of Vettel. Hamilton went on to secure victory after passing Vettel in the latter half of the race, reducing the German's lead in the championship to six points. However, two weeks later in Monaco, Hamilton qualified in fourteenth as he struggled to warm his tyres as well as his final flying lap being impeded by an accident involving Stoffel Vandoorne while Ferrari locked out the front row. Hamilton recovered to finish seventh, while Vettel won the race and extended his championship lead to 25 points.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton responded by taking pole in Canada, equalling his hero Ayrton Senna with the 65th of his career. He was presented with one of Senna's old helmets, a gift from the late Brazilian's family for equalling his record. Upon receiving the gift, Hamilton paid tribute to the Brazilian three-time World Champion, saying "He inspired me to be where I am today so to receive this is the greatest honour". Hamilton went on to win, leading every lap of the race and setting the fastest lap for his second Grand Slam of the season. Hamilton secured his fifth pole of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as he looked to reduce the deficit to championship leader Vettel. The race was full of incident, with three safety cars and a red flag. Just before the second safety car period was ending, Vettel rear-ended Hamilton, accusing his title rival of brake testing him, though FIA telemetry data showed that Hamilton had not. Moments later, Vettel pulled alongside and swerved into Hamilton's Mercedes as they prepared for a restart, for which he received a ten-second stop-go penalty. However, with Hamilton being forced to pit for a loose headrest a couple of laps earlier, Vettel emerged in front and held off Hamilton to move 14 points clear in the standings. Vettel took full responsibility, issuing a public apology to Hamilton and committing to devote personal time over the next 12 months to educational activities across a variety of FIA championships and events.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In Austria, Hamilton qualified third and would start in eight place due to a five-place grid penalty after his car required an unscheduled gearbox change. Hamilton finished the race in fourth place, while Bottas took his second ever Grand Prix victory. Vettel finished in second to extend his championship lead to 20 points over Hamilton. At the British Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified on pole and went on to win, achieving a record-equalling third grand slam of the season. With his fifth British Grand Prix win, he equalled the records of Alain Prost and Jim Clark. Championship rival Vettel suffered a tyre failure with two laps to go, and subsequently finished seventh and so his lead over Hamilton in the Drivers' standings was reduced to one point. Hamilton finished in fourth position in Hungary, behind Bottas, after requesting that he swap places with Bottas to try to overtake both Ferraris. Unable to do so, Hamilton relinquished the position back to Bottas on the final corner of the last lap while Vettel won the race.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: A hat-trick of victories after the summer break saw Hamilton regain the lead of the championship. Hamilton won from pole in Belgium and a week later in Italy he surpassed Michael Schumacher for the all-time most pole positions and went on to win the race. Hamilton took an unlikely victory at the after qualifying in fifth. During the first-ever rain affected night Grand Prix, Hamilton took the lead on the first lap after a crash in turn one involving Räikkönen, Verstappen and Vettel forced all three to retire. Despite major setup difficulties after introducing upgrades at the , Hamilton took pole position before finishing in second place behind Verstappen. In Japan, Hamilton took his first Suzuka pole and took his eighth win of the season, while title-rival Vettel retired after four laps, extending his championship lead to 59 points. Hamilton broke another record during qualifying of the . In windy conditions, Hamilton claimed pole position and his 117th front row start, setting a new record for all-time front row starts, surpassing Michael Schumacher. Hamilton went on to win, and Mercedes clinched their fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship title. The victory extended Hamilton's lead in the Drivers' Championship such that a fifth-place finish in Mexico would clinch the title with two races remaining.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In Mexico, after qualifying in third, Hamilton suffered a puncture after a first lap collision with Vettel. Hamilton, suffering damage to his diffuser and underfloor sustained in the first-lap collision, finished ninth to clinch the drivers' title with two races remaining. During qualifying of the , Hamilton made a rare mistake on his first flying run in the first qualifying session and hit the barriers, and so started the race from the pit lane. An impressive comeback drive followed as he passed most of the field to finish fourth. Mercedes dominated qualifying of the with Hamilton qualifying second in the first front row lock-out for the team since Azerbaijan. Mercedes capped off the season with their fourth 1–2 as Bottas won the race from pole with Hamilton unable to pass despite several attempts in the closing laps. Hamilton ended the season with 363 points, finishing all twenty races in the points, recording 9 wins and 11 pole positions to secure the FIA Pole Trophy for the third season running.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the "Fight for Five" by journalists and fans. Hamilton started the season by taking a record seventh pole position in Melbourne, but finished second behind Vettel, who used a timely virtual safety car period triggered by the stricken Haas of Romain Grosjean to pass Hamilton before successfully defending the position until the finish. After finishing on the podium in Bahrain and finishing fourth in Shanghai, Hamilton won his first race of the season in Azerbaijan, after an error from Vettel allowed Hamilton to take second place, before he inherited the race lead from teammate Bottas who suffered an unfortunate late puncture. The victory gave Hamilton the lead of the championship for the first time in 2018. After the race, Hamilton was late to the podium ceremony to console Bottas. At the next race, Hamilton took his first consecutive victories of the season as he won from pole in Spain in Mercedes' first 1–2 finish of the season. However, Hamilton relinquished the championship lead over the next two rounds in Monaco and Canada.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In Formula One's return to France, Hamilton won from pole while championship leader Vettel caused a collision in turn one, demoting him to the back of the grid from where he ultimately finished fifth, allowing Hamilton to retake the championship lead by 14 points. In Austria Hamilton suffered his first retirement since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix due to a mechanical issue, bringing an end to a record 33-race streak without retirements, all of which he finished in the points. Vettel's third-place finish meant the championship lead swung back in the German's favour. Despite starting from pole at Silverstone, Hamilton was denied a home victory after a collision with Räikkönen on the first lap left him virtually last. Despite the spin, Hamilton recovered to finish in second place while Vettel stormed to victory. In the week leading up to the German Grand Prix, Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million, making Hamilton the best paid driver in the history of Formula One. A hydraulic issue in qualifying meant Hamilton could only manage fourteenth place on the grid. In the race, Hamilton took one of the best wins of his career as he worked his way through the midfield and handled changing weather conditions, compounded by another mistake from Vettel who crashed into the barriers from the lead of his home race. The championship lead swapped hands yet again, this time in favour of the Briton. Hamilton took consecutive victories again, and his fifth win of the season as he won from pole in Hungary, extending his championship lead to 24 points entering the summer break.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: After the summer break, Hamilton returned in formidable form; winning four of the next five races including four consecutive Grand Prix victories. The season resumed in Belgium where Hamilton took his sixth pole position of the season. However, the Ferrari of Vettel went on to take victory on the power-sensitive Spa circuit after passing Hamilton on the first lap. Hamilton took full advantage of another error from title-rival Vettel, who spun on the first lap as Hamilton passed him around the outside, to take victory at Monza in front of the Tifosi after passing pole-sitter Räikkönen with eight laps to go. At the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix, a track at which Mercedes had struggled for performance in the hybrid era, Hamilton took an unexpected pole position with one of the finest laps of his career. Hamilton himself said the lap "felt like magic", while team-boss Toto Wolff described it as "stardust", commenting "only he will know what he did around that lap... it's surreal". Hamilton converted his pole position into a win in the race, extending his championship lead over Vettel who finished third behind Red Bull's Verstappen.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton took a controversial victory in Russia where, after falling behind Vettel in the pit stops before passing him on track, Mercedes ordered teammate Bottas to gift Hamilton the lead of the race to further extend his championship lead over Vettel. After the race, Hamilton described his teammate as "a real gentleman". A commanding win from pole in Japan, with Vettel finishing in sixth after spinning in the race, followed by a podium finish in the United States meant Hamilton could clinch the title in Mexico for the second year running. Hamilton finished fourth in Mexico to clinch his fifth World Championship title with two races remaining. The newly crowned World Champion finished his season in imperious form with consecutive wins from pole in Brazil and Abu Dhabi as he set a new record for the most points scored in a season (408). He also became the first driver to surpass 3000 total career points. Hamilton finished the season with 11 pole positions, 11 race victories and a record-equalling 17 podium finishes.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton signed for a contract extension with Mercedes that lasted until 2020, it was confirmed he would defend his title in . For the new season, Hamilton drove the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+, which set records for most consecutive 1–2 finishes and most consecutive 1–2 finishes from the start of the season with Hamilton's involvement during the season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The season began at the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton achieved pole position ahead of his teammate, Valtteri Bottas. In the race, Bottas with a better start, took the lead from Hamilton at turn 1. In the first pit stop, Hamilton's undercut allowed him to overtake Sebastian Vettel and finished race second behind Bottas to score the first Mercedes 1–2 of the season. Heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari looked ahead of Mercedes during the free practice sessions. During qualifying, Hamilton managed to qualify third behind both Ferrari drivers. Hamilton was confident that Mercedes would beat Ferrari during the race, at the start of the race, Hamilton lost third position to Bottas, despite Leclerc's and Bottas' battle for second, Hamilton took third position back again from Bottas. On lap 38, Hamilton overtook second-placed Vettel by making a move around the outside at turn 4, Vettel spun the car. On lap 46, the race leader, Leclerc reported an engine issue and began slowing down, Hamilton overtook him on lap 48 and won the race ahead of Bottas.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the Chinese Grand Prix Hamilton qualified second behind his teammate, Bottas. After Bottas' bad race start, Hamilton took the lead into the first corner. Hamilton crossed the finish line first ahead of Bottas and took the driver's championship lead from Bottas. It was Mercedes' third 1–2 finish of the season, which was the first time that a team has managed 1–2 finishes in the first three races of a season since Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese did so for Williams in 1992. Hamilton qualified second for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, behind his teammate Bottas. In the race, after an overtake attempt at turn 1 in the opening lap, Hamilton failed to overtake Bottas, Hamilton finished second behind his teammate and in doing so Hamilton lost the championship lead to Bottas. For the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified second again behind his teammate, in the race Hamilton was able to get a better launch and led the race onto turn 1. On lap 54, Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race and led every single lap and won the race, also took the championship lead back again in doing so. This was the fifth consecutive Mercedes 1–2 finish of the season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The week before the Monaco Grand Prix, three-time world champion and Mercedes's non-executive chairman, Niki Lauda died. Hamilton paid tribute by wearing a replica of Lauda's original racing helmet for the race weekend. During qualifying, Hamilton took pole position ahead of his teammate, as a result Mercedes equalled the record for most front row lockouts, and Hamilton took the record for most pole positions with one constructor. In the race, Hamilton, with a decent start, led the race onto the first corner, despite his worn tyres in the closing laps, Hamilton managed to defend Max Verstappen until the end and led every single lap to win the race. After the race, Hamilton dedicated his win to Lauda, and said "That one[win] was definitely for Niki". This was Mercedes' sixth consecutive win of the season. During free practice at the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton made contact with the wall at turn 8 and damaged his car, but he was able to drive the car throughout qualifying. Hamilton qualified second behind his former rival, Vettel. In the race start, Vettel maintained his lead from Hamilton. Hamilton caught up Vettel by lap 48, Vettel made a mistake at turn 4 and went on to grass to cut the chicane. As he rejoined the track, Hamilton was squeezed towards the outside wall and was forced to slow down to avoid a collision. On lap 57, Vettel was given with a five-second time penalty and tried to build gap from Hamilton in the remaining 13 laps. But Hamilton managed to cross the finish line 1.3 seconds behind Vettel, meaning Hamilton won the record seventh Canadian Grand Prix. After the race in the team radio, Hamilton said "This is not the way I wanted [to win]"


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: During free practice at the French Grand Prix, Hamilton went off the track and rejoined unsafely, forced Verstappen out of the track to avoid collision. Hamilton was summoned by the steward but did not receive any penalties. Hamilton qualified on pole position for the race ahead of his teammate, Bottas. Hamilton was proved to be dominant throughout the race, won the race 18 seconds ahead of Bottas, this was the sixth Mercedes 1–2 finish of the season. In the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified second behind Leclerc, but received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kimi Räikkönen during qualifying. However, because of the way the penalties were applied, Hamilton only dropped two places instead of three and he would start fourth. In the opening lap of the race, Hamilton battled Lando Norris for third position, in the mid-race Hamilton repeatedly ran wide at turn 1 as the both Mercedes cars were suffering from the high air and track temperatures. Drove over the sausage kerbs and damaged his front wing as a result, eventually forced him to pit for a new front wing replacement and dropped back into fifth position in doing so. This was the first race of the season which wasn't won by a Mercedes driver. Hamilton qualified second for the British Grand Prix, just 0.006 seconds behind Bottas. As the race started, Hamilton and Bottas fought for the lead of the race, On lap 4 Hamilton took the lead at turn 7 but shortly after lost it for Bottas at turn 9. Bottas pitted on lap 16 while Hamilton stayed out, on lap 19 despite the safety car caused by Antonio Giovinazzi's mechanical failure, Hamilton made an advantageous pit stop and remained in the lead. Hamilton set the fastest lap in the final lap, which was a new lap record and won the race for the sixth time from 24 seconds ahead of Bottas, equaling the record for most home grand prix victories with Alain Prost.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The German Grand Prix saw Mercedes celebrating their 125th anniversary in motorsports, both cars ran with a special livery for the race. Hamilton took pole position for the race, the race started in wet conditions, Hamilton led the race from the start. On lap 26, despite Norris' retirement, virtual safety was bought out and Hamilton took the opportunity to pit for slick tyres. Later, Hamilton couldn't find grip on those tyres and went wide at turn 17 while leading the race. In doing so, he damaged his front wing and returned to the pits cutting across the track, his team wasn't ready for the replacement at the time, as he was fitted with Intermediate tyres and replaced front wing he endured 50.3 seconds in the pits and dropped onto fifth position. By lap 34, after the safety car restart, Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for entering the pit lane on the wrong side of a safety bollard. Hamilton overtook Nico Hülckenberg and Alex Albon for third position, slipped back onto the lead as both Verstappen and Bottas switched into slick tyres. So did Hamilton and severed his time penalty to rejoin 12th, on lap 53 Hamilton spun again at turn 1 and dropped to thirteenth position. By the end of the race, Hamilton was able to overtake some cars to finish in the points at ninth position.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton qualified third behind Verstappen and Bottas for the Hungarian Grand Prix, In the opening lap of the race, Hamilton alongside Bottas fought with Verstappen for the lead, Bottas locked his brakes and Hamilton took a wider line to avoid collision. Bottas locked up his brakes again at turn 2, allowing Hamilton to pass him around outside at turn 3. By lap 13, the gap between Hamilton and third-placed Leclerc was more than ten seconds, as Verstappen made his first pit stop at lap 25, Hamilton took the lead temporarily. He tried to overcut Verstappen at the pit stop but failed and pitted in lap 32. As he is now just five seconds behind Verstappen, he tried to close gap for an overtake opportunity but despite slower cars ahead both had take alternative racing lines to lap them. Verstappen managed to maintain the gap between Hamilton by using DRS from those cars. By lap 38, Verstappen made a mistake despite being held up by Daniel Riccardo, which allowed Hamilton to close the gap to 0.3 seconds. In the next lap, both lapped Riccardo at turn 1 and Hamilton tired to make a move on Verstappen at turns 2 and 3. Hamilton a brave sortie into turn 4 which saw him run wide and fall back behind Verstappen. Later, Hamilton began to struggle with his overheating brakes and Mercedes opted a two-stop strategy for Hamilton, end lap 48 Hamilton made his second stop and switched into Medium compound tyres. The gap between him Verstappen was now 40 seconds as he rejoined the track and was told "it's Hammer time [push hard]" by his race engineer. Verstappen sticked to the one-stop strategy, by lap 63 he reported his tyres are "dead" in doing so as the gap to Hamilton was less than six seconds. Three laps later, Hamilton caught up Verstappen and easily got passed Verstappen around outside at turn 1. Hamilton won the race in style as 17 seconds ahead Verstappen. The Belgian Grand Prix was the first race after the summer break, where Ferrari seemed to have improved their straight line speed over Mercedes. Hamilton qualified third behind both Ferrari drivers. Before the race, a moment of silence was held in honor to Anthoine Hurbert, who died on the day before from a fatal crash during the Formula 2 feature race. Hamilton was able to get passed Vettel at turn 1, but despite Ferrari's straight line speed advantage, Vettel re-took second position from Hamilton at the following straight. He made several attempts on Vettel before his first pit stop but couldn't get passed the Ferrari, despite the car being slower than Ferrari's at first and third sectors, which contains the key overtaking spots of the track, turn 7 and 19 respectively. Hamilton pitted for the second time in the end of lap 22 and lost a second despite the slower pit stop, he rejoined several seconds behind Leclerc. On lap 32, despite the fresher tyres, Hamilton overtook Vettel at turn 7 to re-take second position. In the final lap, Hamilton caught up the race leader, Leclerc but wasn't enough time to get passed, crossed the finish line just 0.9 seconds behind Leclerc, who took his maiden Formula One victory.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The 2019 Italian Grand Prix, saw Hamilton missing out pole position for Leclerc by just 0.036 seconds. Both Hamilton and Leclerc got even race starts, meaning Hamilton stood behind Leclerc at the start. By lap 19, both drivers have made their first pit stops, Hamilton to Medium tyres and Leclerc to Hard tyres. Hamilton made several attempts to get passed the Ferrari and Leclerc received a warning despite pushing Hamilton off the track. Hamilton consistently stayed close to Leclerc for an overtake attempt but on lap 42, Hamilton locked up his brakes at turn 1 and forced to go through the run-off area, he lost second position to Bottas in doing so. Despite Bottas' younger tyres, he was able to increase the gap between Hamilton. Hamilton pitted for a third time for Soft tyres, in doing so he was able to set the fastest lap and finished race in third. Hamilton qualified second again behind Leclerc for the Singapore Grand Prix, the race start was similar to the Italian Grand prix, Hamilton remained his position in the opening lap. Despite his late pit stop, he lost significant amount of time, rejoined and finished fourth ahead of Bottas. For the Russian Grand Prix, Hamilton once again qualified second behind Leclerc, despite Ferrari's straight line speed advantage, Vettel soon got passed Hamilton in the main straight and took the lead from Leclerc. Later, both Leclerc and Vettel fought for the lead, Vettel had to retire from the race in case of a MGU-K failure, Hamilton gained advantage and pitted during the virtual safety car period, which let him to take the lead after rejoining the track. Hamilton managed to win the race, this was the first Mercedes win after the summer break and the eighth Mercedes 1–2 finish of the season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In the Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton only managed qualify fourth for the race, 0.3 seconds behind the pole-sitter, Vettel. During the race, Hamilton remained fourth in the opening lap, but in the second lap, as result of Leclerc's and Verstappen's incident, front wing endplate of Leclerc's car directly hit and broke a wing mirror of Hamilton's car. However Hamilton remained racing and made his first pit stop on lap 21, Mercedes fitted his car with Medium compound tyres and informed he is on a one-stop strategy while others on a two-stop strategy. Hamilton was forced preserve his tyres to last until the end of the race, he criticised the decision not to use Hard compound tyres, which will be easier to preserve. Hamilton told "I'm out of the race now" via the team radio. However, Hamilton pitted again on lap 42 and rejoin third behind Vettel. In the closing laps, Hamilton caught up Vettel and made several overtake attempts. Despite the chequered flag lighting panels had mistakenly been shown to the leaders before the last lap, Hamilton finished third, just 0.5 seconds behind Vettel, but he managed to set the fastest lap with new lap record. As Leclerc, Verstappen and Vettel were eliminated from the Drivers' Championship title contention, Mercedes were assured their sixth consecutive Drivers' and Constructors' championships (Drivers' Championship winner was still undecided between Hamilton and Bottas). Hamilton headed to the Mexican Grand Prix in chance of winning the championship if he outscored Bottas by 14 points or more in the race. Hamilton once again qualified fourth for the race, but promoted to third position as the pole-sitter, Verstappen received a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow for the yellow flags. In the opening lap, Hamilton and Verstappen made slight contact at turn 2, both went onto the grass and lost position to Albon, Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. Hamilton got passed Sainz for fourth position on lap 4, passed Albon during the pit stop, who lost time in attempt to overtake Sainz. Hamilton was fitted with Hard compound tyres in order to go until the end, as Vettel rejoined after his pit stop on lap 37, Hamilton managed to stay ahead of the Ferrari. Leclerc pitted for the second time on lap 43, despite his slower pit stop, Hamilton was able take the lead of the race by 15 seconds ahead of him. Mercedes strategy worked, as Hamilton crossed the finish line first to claim his 10th win of the season, but only managed to outscore Bottas by 10 points, as he finished third in the race.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton had to finish at least on top eight or top nine with the fastest lap to clinch his sixth World Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix. Hamilton qualified fifth position for the race, In the opening lap, Hamilton overtook Leclerc for the fourth position at turn 1. Following Vettel's technical issues, Hamilton was on third position by the second lap. Hamilton led the race as Bottas and Verstappen pitted for newer tyres, but was told to pit by lap 23 to avoid holding up his teammate, who was close behind. Hamilton refused, claimed his tyres are good enough to stay longer, but was got passed by Bottas before pitted by the end of that lap. As Bottas rejoined 10 seconds behind Hamilton after pitting for the second time, Hamilton began to question his team's strategy, claiming over the radio that he was unsure if his tyres could make it to the end of the race. As six laps remaining, despite Hamilton's older tyres, he already got caught up by Bottas and Verstappen. After several overtaking attempts in the last remaining laps, Bottas finally took the lead from Hamilton on lap 52. Hamilton managed to held off Verstappen to finish second, marked the ninth Mercedes 1–2 finish of the season, his 150th podium finish and sixth World Driver's Championship.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton qualified third for the Brazilian Grand prix, with a decent start overtook Vettel for second position at turn 1. On lap 20, Mercedes pitted Hamilton to undercut Verstappen, in response Red Bull pitted Verstappen by the end of that lap to cover off Hamilton, but failed and rejoined behind Hamilton. Leclerc got passed by Hamilton before Verstappen overtook Hamilton at turn 1, Hamilton pitted for the second time on lap 44, so did Verstappen in the next lap to prevent Hamilton's undercut attempt again. During the safety car caused by Bottas, Hamilton was told to do the opposite of Verstappen, so Hamilton stayed out and took the lead. At the restart, Hamilton lost the lead to Verstappen again at turn 1, Mercedes pitted Hamilton during another safety car period onto Soft tyres on lap 66. In doing so, Hamilton rejoined fourth position, at the restart on lap 70, he got passed Pierre Gasly to get third position. Later made contact with Albon in an overtake attempt at turn 10, Albon went onto a spin and rejoined fifteenth. Hamilton was also slowed down by the contact, allowing Gasly go get passed him. In the final lap, Hamilton drag raced Gasly to the finish line, but just missed out second position by 0.062 seconds. After the race, Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty, as a result of the collision with Albon, meaning he finished seventh in the race. The last race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Hamilton taking pole position for the first time since the German Grand Prix. He maintained his lead from pole to a dominant win, scored his sixth "grand slam" (grand chelem) by qualifying on pole, winning the race, setting the fastest lap, and leading every single lap until the end of the race. His previous grand slam was at 2017 British Grand Prix. Hamilton finished the season with a record 413 career points, 87 points ahead of second-placed Bottas and with 11 wins, 5 pole positions and 18 podium finishes out of 21 races. He was awarded with the DHL Fastest Lap Award, the FIA Pole Position Award and the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton's main aim for the season was to take a seventh world title, which would equal Michael Schumacher's record. Hamilton drove the Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: For the opening race, the , Hamilton qualified second behind his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, before receiving a three-place grid penalty for not slowing sufficiently for yellow flags, meaning he started the race in fifth. Hamilton was involved in a collision with Alex Albon and received a five-second time penalty, dropping his from second to fourth. At the Styrian Grand Prix, Hamilton took pole position by 1.2 seconds over second-placed, Max Verstappen. In the race, Hamilton maintained the lead from pole, crossed the finish line first for a Mercedes 1–2 finish of the season. For the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton took pole position from Bottas, setting the first Mercedes front row lockout of the season. Hamilton comfortably led the race from the beginning. By lap 9, Hamilton switched from wet to slick tyres, immediately gaining over six seconds to second-placed Verstappen. By lap 25, Hamilton was on the lead of the race. After Hamilton's pit stop on lap 40, his lead over Verstappen stood at over 20 seconds. This was enough time for him to pit near the end of the race onto soft tyres, allowing to set the fastest lap of the race as well as winning. The result meant Hamilton took the lead in the Championship.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The British Grand Prix, saw Hamilton claim his seventh British Grand Prix and 91st pole position of his career. He led the race from the start, in the last lap Hamilton had gained a lead of over thirty seconds from Verstappen, before a puncture on the final lap, he managed to win his seventh British Grand Prix victory by six seconds over from Verstappen. At the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified second, 0.064 seconds behind his teammate, Bottas. In the race, both Mercedes drivers suffered with tyre heating and wear issues, causing both of them to make pit stops before their rivals. Verstappen gained advantage of Mercedes issues and took the lead from Bottas, Hamilton with newer tyres, overtook Bottas on lap 50 and finished the race in second behind Verstappen by eleven seconds. This result saw Hamilton equal Michael Schumacher's record of 155 podiums.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix. Hamilton won the race by over 24 seconds, led every single lap and lapped everyone except second and third, Hamilton broke Schumacher's record for most podiums finishes. For the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton took pole position from Bottas, dedicated his pole position to Chadwick Boseman, who had died in the days preceding the race. Hamilton won the race from pole and led every lap. Hamilton took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, set a lap time of 1:18.887 the highest average lap speed in Formula One history, at 264.362 km/h (164.267 mph). In the race, Hamilton comfortably led the race from the start. Hamilton unknowingly made a pit stop while the pit lane was closed and was given a ten-second stop-go penalty and two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence as a result. He recovered from his penalty and finished the race in seventh position.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton started on pole at the Tuscan Grand Prix. Hamilton won the race ahead of Bottas, also setting the fastest lap of the race. This victory marked Hamilton's 90th win in Formula One with another Mercedes 1–2 finish. In the Russian Grand Prix, Hamilton once again qualified on pole position. In the race he was handed down with two five second time penalties while leading for doing practice starts outside the designated area and two penalty points on his FIA Super License, which would have left him only two penalty points short of a race ban. The penalty points were rescinded after the stewards received information that team radio had incorrectly advised Hamilton about where he could do a practice start and the team was fined for the error. Hamilton served those time penalties on his first pit stop, which resulted in a third-place finish behind Bottas and Verstappen. Hamilton qualified in second position behind teammate Bottas for the following race, the Eifel Grand Prix. At the start of the race, Hamilton managed a strong start and tried to take the lead from Bottas, on lap 13 Bottas locked up his brakes at turn 1 and Hamilton overtook him. From there, Hamilton went on to claim his 91st Formula One win, tying Schumacher's record for the most wins in Formula One. After the race, Hamilton received Schumacher's 2012 season helmet from Schumacher's son, Mick Schumacher.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In the Portuguese Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified on pole position again, ahead of Bottas and Verstappen. Hamilton was overtaken by Bottas and Sainz on the opening lap. All of them were struggling to warm up the medium tyres and drivers who started on soft tyres got passed them. Once the tyres got up to temperature, Hamilton overtook Bottas and Sainz, took the lead on lap 20. Hamilton ended up winning the race by 25 seconds over from Bottas, and took the record-breaking 92nd win in Formula One. With this result, Hamilton was the most successful driver in terms of Formula One victories. In the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton missed out the pole position to Bottas by 0.097 seconds, In the race, Bottas had a good start, while Hamilton had to concede second place to Max Verstappen. Mercedes opted for the longer first stint strategy for Hamilton, and the gamble paid off thanks to a virtual safety car caused by Esteban Ocon, which allowed Hamilton to safely pit and retain the lead. Hamilton managed to hold on to win this race ahead of Bottas, this Mercedes' fifth 1–2 finish of the season, Mercedes claimed their 7th consecutive World Constructors' Championship title.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Mercedes had a poor qualifying session at the Turkish Grand Prix, with Hamilton managing to qualify sixth, while Bottas qualified ninth. This marked the first time in the 2020 season where the pole position was not achieved by a Mercedes driver. On the first lap of the race, Hamilton managed to make the most of Riccardo's and Ocon's incident to move into third place. Vettel overtook Hamilton to gain third place after Hamilton slid off at the turn 9, Hamilton returned into sixth position. Hamilton made his pit stop on lap 8. On lap 18, Verstappen spun at high speed, allowing Hamilton to pass him. Midway through the race, teams were hoping to switch to dry weather tyres, although this was quickly ruled out. On lap 36, Hamilton overtook Sergio Pérez for the lead using the DRS which had been enabled since lap 30. With five laps to go, there was a lot of chatter among the teams about possible rain coming on the last lap, this was shown by Verstappen who spun at turn 4. Hamilton took a gamble by deciding not to pit after Mercedes offered to pit him for new intermediates. Hamilton chose against changing his tyres. Near the end of the race, most of the tread on his tyres was worn off, leaving the intermediate tyres nearly as slick tyres. Lack of safety car periods and the slow drying of the track aided Hamilton in managing his tyre wear and tyre temperatures. Hamilton managed to win over second-placed Pérez by a margin of half a minute. This was the second time Hamilton had won in Turkey, having done in 2010, with this result, Hamilton secured his seventh world driver's championship, became the most accomplished Formula One driver of all time, equalling Schumacher's record. This was the seventh consecutive time that a Mercedes driver had won the world championship.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton qualified on pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, he led the race from the start, despite his two-stop race strategy, he was able to pull away from the rest of the grid to claim his eleventh win of the season. The week before the Sakhir Grand Prix, Hamilton tested positive for Coronavirus, and was thus declared unfit for the race. Williams driver and Mercedes protégé, George Russell replaced Hamilton for the race. In the last race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen took pole position and this was the only pole position of the season achieved by a car which wasn't powered by a Mercedes engine and the first time since 2013 that Mercedes have not taken pole at the Yas Marina Circuit, Hamilton qualified and finished in third place behind race winner, Verstappen and teammate Bottas. After the race it was reported that Hamilton wasn't feeling "100%" after recovering from the Coronavirus. He finished the season with 347 career points, 124 points ahead of second-placed Bottas and with 11 wins, 10 pole positions and 14 podium finishes out of 17 races. He was awarded with the DHL Fastest Lap Award, the FIA Pole Position Award and the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton was once again partnered with Valtteri Bottas for the 2021 season, both drove the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance, a car which was based on the previous season's car. The car albeit still highly competitive, as a result of the ban of DAS system, made it not as dominant as its predecessor as in the pre-season testing. During those testings, Red Bull proved to be the strongest among Mercedes, as Verstappen topped out in the time tables.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In the season opener at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified in second place behind Verstappen. When the race got underway, Verstappen managed to stay ahead of Hamilton. After a rolling restart on lap 3 (after a safety car), Verstappen was able to hold off both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. Mercedes decided to undercut Verstappen by pitting Hamilton for hard tyres at the end of lap 14, Red Bull decided not to pit Verstappen, favouring a strategy that would see their driver on fresher tyres at the end of the race. Four laps later, Hamilton was the leader of the race when Verstappen pitted. The undercut strategy worked as Verstappen was now in second place, seven seconds behind Hamilton. Verstappen regained the lead on lap 28 as Hamilton pitted to get rid of the underperforming hard tyres. Hamilton was later informed by his team that he had exceeded track limits at turn 4 on lap 38; he had committed this offence 29 times. Verstappen pitted on lap 39, emerging nine seconds behind Hamilton, but on fresher tyres. Verstappen overtook him on lap 52. Verstappen was instructed by his team to hand the position back, as the overtake occurred off the track. Hamilton managed to pull away and the rapidly-closing Verstappen was not able to overtake him before the end of the race. Hamilton finished in first place, ahead of Verstappen and Bottas, who set a fastest lap for an additional point. At the podium interview, Hamilton expressed delight in seeing the return of the fans at the circuit, and also praised Red Bull who "had an amazing performance tonight." In the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton achieved his 99th pole position, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Verstappen. In the race, Verstappen started well and overtook Hamilton for first place, Hamilton briefly regained the lead only to lose it again to Verstappen after Hamilton pitted. On lap 31, Hamilton went off-track and through the gravel trap, rejoining in eighth position. A red flag soon followed after a crash between Bottas and George Russell. After a rolling start, Hamilton made a lot of overtakes to finish in second position, over 20 seconds behind the eventual race winner, Verstappen.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton seemed to have struggling with the car's comfort during free practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix, qualified second position just 0.007 seconds behind Bottas. Bottas kept the lead of the race onto turn 1, Later both Hamilton and Verstappen overtook Bottas, Hamilton maintained the lead to win the race over 29 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton achieved century of poles positions at the Spanish Grand Prix, at the start of the race, Verstappen took the lead from him onto turn 1. Verstappen's first pit stop was slower and Red Bull decided to stay on a one-stop strategy. On lap 59, Hamilton got passed Verstappen for the lead and went onto win the sixth Spanish Grand Prix. In the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton experienced the worst qualifying session since the 2018 German Grand Prix because of a tyre temperature issue, only managed to qualify seventh position. Issues continued onto the race, couldn't get passed anyone in the front. But made a late pit stop to set a fastest lap and finished the race seventh. Verstappen took the win and the championship lead for the first time of his career. the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, saw both Mercedes' were struggling during the free practice session, Hamilton only set the seventh and eleventh fastest lap times during FP1 and FP2 respectively. During qualifying, Hamilton qualified second ahead of third-placed Verstappen, Hamilton hailed his qualifying placement a "monumental effort". In the race, Hamilton remained second behind Charles Leclerc during the opening lap, but on lap 3, Hamilton made a move on Leclerc and took the lead of the race. He was the first to pit from the top three, as doing so he lost few seconds because of had to let go Gasly to avoid an unsafe pit release penalty. It cost Hamilton two race positions as both Red Bull's were able to undercut him. Later, Hamilton tried to overtake Pérez for second position, but was unsuccessful. On lap 44, Verstappen suffered a tyre failure while driving on the main straight, crashed straight onto the wall. In doing so, red flags were bought out and the race was temporarily suspended. The race was restarted after 34 minutes on lap 50, Hamilton had a better start over Pérez and overtook from the inside line at turn 1, but despite inadvertently selecting the wrong brake mode, was unable to brake sufficiently and caused him to lock up the brakes at high speed and forced him onto the escape road. As a result, Hamilton dropped to last, finished the race fifteenth, which was the worst finish from over twelve years, also marked his first race finish out of the points since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: At the French Grand Prix, Mercedes were seemed to be slower than Red Bulls, despite of tyre overheating issues, Hamilton qualified behind Verstappen for the race. In the opening lap, Hamilton took the lead as Verstappen made a mistake, Hamilton made his first pit stop on lap 19, one lap later than Verstappen. In doing so, Hamilton lost the lead to Verstappen, because of Verstappen's undercut performed with those newer tyres. On lap 32, Verstappen pitted for the second time, but Mercedes decided to keep Hamilton out in a one-stop strategy. Verstappen was given a significant speed advantage over Hamilton, because of the two-stop strategy, with five laps remaining, Verstappen took the lead went onto win the race just 3 seconds ahead of Hamilton. This was Hamilton's 170th podium finish in Formula One. Hamilton claimed his tyres were badly worn by the end of the race. Heading into the Styrian Grand Prix, where Red Bull seemed have to been dominant over the years, as it was their home grand prix, Verstappen again took pole position. As Mercedes' tyre temperature issues continued, Hamilton had to overtake lot of cars during the out lap, which resulted his tyres getting dirty. Despite those dirt on tyres, Hamilton was slowed down and only managed to qualify third. Hamilton was promoted to second position because of Bottas received a three-place grid penalty. Verstappen led the race from the start, on lap 25 his gap between Hamilton significantly increased as Hamilton almost lost control of the car following a tyre vibration. Later, Hamilton let Sainz to unlap himself despite those issues. As the Red Bull domination continued for this year at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton decided to pit for Soft tyres to gain an extra point from setting the fastest lap. Hamilton finished on second position, 35 seconds behind Verstappen and this was his 43rd second position finish of his career. Equalled the record for most second position finishes of Micheal Schumacher. Before the race, as Verstappen received significant upgrades for his car, Hamilton claimed "made some big improvements over the last couple of races and it's impossible to keep up [with Verstappen's car]". The Austrian Grand Prix, which was also took place at the Red Bull Ring, saw Mercedes struggling again. Hamilton qualified fourth behind both Red Bull drivers and ahead of Bottas. In the race, Hamilton overtook Pérez and Lando Norris to take second position, but on lap 10 he surprisingly went wide at turn 1 as it wasn't a driving mistake of him. This resulted an underbody damage of his car, which cost him 0.6 to 0.7 seconds per lap and the car was unstable throughout the race. Verstappen won the race, archived his first Grand Slam (grand chelem) and extended his championship lead by 32 points, while Hamilton finished in fourth position.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The British Grand Prix, Hamilton's home race of the season saw him qualifying in first position for the sprint race. At start of the sprint race, Hamilton lost his lead to Verstappen despite getting a slower launch, he finished the sprint race in second position, just 1.4 seconds behind Verstappen and did set the fastest lap. In the race, Hamilton made a better start over Verstappen and both contested each other for the lead during the first half of the opening lap. Both repeatedly swapped positions until the Copse corner, where Hamilton's car understeered and collided with Verstappen, who hit the wall by going sideways across the gravel, while Hamilton was slowed down and allowed Leclerc to take the lead of the race. Due to Verstappen's crash, the race was red flagged. The race was resumed after fifteen minutes as Hamilton was given a ten-second time penalty, with stewards ruling that Hamilton was predominantly, but not fully, at fault in the collision. Hamilton remained at second position after the restart, pitted and served his time penalty to rejoin fourth. Hamilton immediately overtook Norris and Bottas to claim back second position, took the lead of the race on lap 50, as Leclerc struggled with an engine issue of his car. Hamilton won his record equalling eighth British Grand Prix. After the race, Red Bull criticized Hamilton for the collision, but most of the drivers and officials claimed Hamilton's move on Verstappen was fair. Following the race, Hamilton became a target of racial abuse via online platforms. Fellow competitors and Formula One, including the members of Formula One community condemned those who were racist against Hamilton. Hamilton qualified on pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix, it was first Mercedes front row lockout of the season. The race started on damp conditions, at turn 1 some drivers collided on each other. Safety car was bought out, after two laps behind the safety car, the race was red-flagged. The restart was quiet unusual, As Hamilton was the only driver in the grid at the restart while rest of the grid pitted for slick tyres and was forced to start from the pit lane. Hamilton made his first pit stop by the end of the lap 4, letting Estaban Ocon to lead of the race. Hamilton made his made his second pit stop on lap 19 for Hard compound tyres, which allowed to undercut Verstappen and Daniel Riccardo, Hamilton fought his way up to fourth position and then pitted on lap 48 to come out behind Fernando Alonso. Hamilton was held behind Alonso for twelve laps, on 53rd lap Hamilton finally got passed Alonso as he locked up his brakes and ran wide at turn 1. Hamilton caught up Sainz and overtook him to take third position on lap 67 and finished race behind Ocon and Sebastian Vettel. after the race, Vettel was disqualified from the race, due to an issue of his car's fuel sample, as a result Hamilton was promoted to second position in the race. Both Hamilton and Mercedes took the championship lead from Verstappen and Red Bull respectively.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The qualifying session of the Belgian Grand Prix, was delayed for about twelve minutes due to a heavy rain fall. Hamilton qualified third on those wet conditions. After multiple race start tries behind the safety car, stewards decided to suspend the race due to poor rain conditions. Stewards decided two give half points according to the respective driver's starting grid position, as a result Hamilton was rewarded with 7.5 points as he qualified in third position for the race. Hamilton qualified in second position for the Dutch Grand Prix, just 0.038 seconds behind Verstappen. Hamilton set the fastest lap and finished race in second position behind the home race winner, Verstappen and again lost the championship lead. The Italian Grand Prix, saw both championship rivals colliding each other again. Hamilton qualified in second position for the sprint race, just 0.096 seconds behind Bottas. Hamilton seemed to have struggling during the sprint race, already lost four positions at turn 2, but made up one place to finish fifth at the end of the race. Hamilton was promoted to the fourth position, as Bottas had to start the race from back of the grid due to exceeding the quota of power unit components. At the race start, Hamilton immediately overtook Norris to take third position with great start. Hamilton made an overtake attempt on Verstappen at turn 4, but was pushed wide by him to lose third position to Norris. On lap 23, Hamilton took his position back from Norris, on next lap Hamilton pitted for Medium compound tyres, it was a slower stop, which allowed Norris to get ahead of him and side-by-side with Verstappen onto turn 1. Verstappen tried to get passed Hamilton into turn 2, but ended up bouncing over a sausage kerb and made contact with Hamilton's left rear tyre, launched Verstappen's car into the air and over the top of Hamilton's car. As a result, both drivers were forced to retire from the race. This was Hamilton's first race retirement since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix. Both Hamilton and Verstappen were summoned to the stewards after the race, the stewards ruled out Verstappen was predominantly at fault and awarded with a three-place grid penalty for the following race, as well as two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence. Hamilton praised the stewards for willing to give a penalty for Verstappen following the incident.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton was the fastest in Q1 and Q2 during qualifying at the Russian Grand Prix, but wasn't unable to set a faster lap time in Q3, due to making contact with the pit wall while on the way to change his tyres to slicks. Resulting a front wing damage and he couldn't get his tyres up to temperature as he was forced to slow down to let go those cars which were on flying laps. Also, lack of time left until the end of the session saw Hamilton qualifying fourth for the race. Hamilton had a bad start, lost six positions before heading into turn 1, Hamilton overtook Alonso in the following lap. On lap 48, rain began to fall as Hamilton immediately pitted for Intermediate tyres while the race leader, Norris stayed out in racing. On lap 51, despite stayed out in racing on slick tyres, Norris ran wide at turn 5, allowing Hamilton to take the lead of the and achieve a century of wins in Formula One, as well as the championship lead from Verstappen. Two-time Formula One world champion Mika Häkkinen felt patience was the key of Hamilton's 100th Grand Prix victory, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff praised Hamilton's 100 race wins as "mind-blowing". Hamilton qualified on pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix, but was given a ten-place grid penalty because of receiving a new engine for the car. In the race, Hamilton easily got passed Vettel, but stood behind Yuki Tsunoda for the next eight laps, after the race Tsunoda claimed he wanted Verstappen to win over Hamilton, which was the reason for Tsunoda's defensive driving. Later, Hamilton was forced to make a late pit stop by Mercedes, which cost him couple of places to finish the race in fifth position. In doing so Hamilton was frustrated and lost his championship lead again to Verstappen.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Before the qualifying session at the United States Grand Prix, Red Bull reportedly made few changes to their rear wing of the cars. Hamilton qualified in second position, just behind Verstappen for the race. Hamilton took lead from him onto turn 1, but lost it after the pit stops, Hamilton finished race in second position, just 1.3 seconds behind Verstappen, also set the fastest lap of the race. Hamilton qualified in second position again for the Mexico City Grand Prix, but this time Bottas was on pole position. Verstappen immediately took the lead of the race onto turn 1 from Bottas. Hamilton stood behind him for the entire race, managed to secure the second position from Pérez, who was chasing close behind him.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Hamilton was dominant in the rest of the remaining races. In the São Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified on pole position, half a second ahead of second-placed Verstappen. After the session, stewards claimed his car's DRS opening slot was larger than the permitted 85 millimeters. As a result, Hamilton was forced to start from the back of the grid for the sprint race. Verstappen was found to have touched his car's rear wing at parc férme, Verstappen was fined €50,000 for it. In the sprint race, Hamilton started from back of the grid as ordered, made up fifteen places to finish the race fifth just from 24 laps. But he was dropped to the tenth position for the race start, due to taking another new engine for the race. In the race, Hamilton caught up race-leading Verstappen by lap 48, Hamilton tried to get passed Verstappen, but was pushed wide by Verstappen and stewards claimed no investigation necessary for his aggressive move. On lap 59, Hamilton finally got passed Verstappen to win the race. Hamilton qualified on pole position, more than a half second ahead of Verstappen, for the Qatar Grand Prix, which took place for the first time in the Formula One calendar. Hamilton led every single lap in the race, won 25 seconds ahead of second-placed Verstappen. This was Hamilton's 30th different circuit where he has won a Grand Prix. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was another rookie Grand Prix for the Formula One calendar. Hamilton set the pole position lap in his first attempt, in the second one he was unable to improve his time as he had a slide, forcing him to abort his flying lap. But his effort was enough to qualify on pole position, as Verstappen also aborted his second flying lap due to a mistake. The race was interrupted with incidents that resulted in one safety car period, two red flags, and four virtual safety car periods. On lap 10, while Hamilton was leading, Mick Schumacher crashed onto a wall, as doing so safety car was bought out. Hamilton pitted for newer tyres, while Verstappen stayed out, but then the race was red-flagged allowing Verstappen to change onto newer tyres. In the first restart, Hamilton and Verstappen made contact at turn 1, Verstappen overtook him by going off the track at turn 2. Following another big crash, the race got suspended again and Verstappen forced to start behind Hamilton at the restart, as well as a five-second time penalty due to gaining a position by going off the track. In the second restart, Hamilton stood behind Verstappen and Ocon in third position, but got passed Ocon on lap 17. On lap 37, Hamilton cought up Verstappen and tried to overtake him at turn 1, Verstappen defended by going of the track, almost crashing onto Hamilton. In the same lap, Verstappen was told to give back his position to Hamilton, but Hamilton wasn't informed and as soon as Verstappen slowed down to let him go, Hamilton crashed onto the back of Verstappen's car, as a result Hamilton slightly damaged his front wing of the car. Verstappen was given a ten-second time penalty for slowing down in the middle of the track. On lap 42, Verstappen finally let Hamilton to get passed, but immediately overtook Hamilton in the following corner, which wasn't allowed. On lap 43, Hamilton got passed Verstappen to win the first ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, also set the fastest lap of the race. This result allowed both championship contenders level on points to head onto the final race of the season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the title decider of the season, which ended up in controversy. Hamilton qualified in second position, behind Verstappen, who was slipstreamed by his teammate to snatch pole position. In the race, Hamilton overtook Verstappen with a better start at turn 1, but Verstappen tried to take back his position at turn 6, in doing so pushed Hamilton wide and forced him cut the chicane. Red Bull immediately reported as Hamilton has gained an advantage from it, but the steward refused it and claimed no investigation necessary. Hamilton made his first pit stop to change onto Hard compound tyres on lap 14, one lap later than Verstappen, which let Pérez in the lead. Red Bull informed Pérez to hold up Hamilton, to allow Verstappen to close the gap, in doing so the gap between the championship rivals has become down onto 1.3 seconds from 11 seconds. But Verstappen was unable to make advantage of it, as Hamilton took the lead from Pérez and extended the gap between Verstappen. On lap 35, Antonio Giovinazzi retired from the race, which caused a virtual safety car period, Verstappen gained advantage from it, as pitted for newer tyres. Mercedes decided to keep Hamilton racing, to prevent losing the lead to his rival. Hamilton comfortably led the race with a significant gap between Verstappen, on lap 53, Nicholas Latifi crashed onto the wall at turn 14, despite battling with Schumacher. As a result, the safety car was bought out, Mercedes decided again to keep Hamilton in racing, while Verstappen pitted for fresh Soft compound tyres, in doing so five of the lapped cars stood between the title contenders. Race director, Michael Masi decided to prevent all of the lapped cars from overtaking the race leader, Hamilton. But as soon as Red Bull boss, Christian Horner told Masi "one more lap of racing" via radio, Masi decided to restart the race, after only letting five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves, instead of finishing the race behind the safety car or red-flaging for a restart. In doing so, Verstappen was just close behind Hamilton with better and fresher tyres to go on racing only for the final lap. As a result, Verstappen got passed Hamilton at turn 5, almost collided with Hamilton, Hamilton tried to gain his position back but was unsuccessful due to Verstappen's tyre advantage. Hamilton crossed the finish line in second position, losing his record breaking eighth World Driver's Championship. Mercedes won their eighth consecutive World Constructor's Championship. Hamilton claimed the race result was "manipulated" via team radio to his senior race engineer, Peter Bonnington, most of the drivers claimed Masi's decision "made for TV" and criticised him for the safety car controversy and not following the rules properly. Masi's decisions were criticised on social media as unusual and to contrive excitement, former Formula One world champions Damon Hill and Nico Rosberg claimed, "a new way of running the sport, where the Race Director can make these "ad hoc" decisions" and "did not follow the rules" respectively. Hamilton claimed he lost "faith" on the sport, after congratulating Verstappen and his family for winning the championship. David Croft stated that Hamilton would have won the race and the championship had "the rules been adhered to as they are written".


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: Three days later, FIA announced an investigation regarding the race result, with reviewing to begin in January 2022 and set to be concluded in February 2022. On March 19, 2022, FIA published their official report of the investigation, stating "a human [Masi's] error" caused controversy in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, also claimed the race results were valid and cannot be changed, Masi was replaced as the race director for the 2022 season.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: The season saw significant changes in technical regulations. During pre-season testing at Bahrain, Mercedes introduced a new sidepod design of the car, dubbed the "Zero Sidepod design", a unique interpretation of the regulations. The Mercedes W13 showed extreme porpoising due to ground effect during testings, which made them to struggle with unlocking the full potential of the car. Hamilton partnered with George Russell for the new season, as Valtteri Bottas departed the team for Alfa Romeo Racing.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: In the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified in fifth because of the porpoising issues and finished the race in third due to the retirements of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, this podium finish broke the record for most consecutive seasons with at least one podium finish, he scored podiums for sixteen consecutive seasons since his debut year, 2007. In the following rounds, Hamilton struggled with the car's new experimental upgrades. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton claimed the car was "undrivable" after being unable to make it into Q2 for the first time since 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished the race in tenth position, he broke the record for most races with a single constructor, this race was his 181st race started with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, he qualified and finished the race in thirteenth, struggled in wet conditions and also got lapped by the race winner, Verstappen. For the first ever Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified in sixth position for the race. Hamilton remained in sixth for the most part of the race, in the closing laps after the virtual safety car, Hamilton moved up to fifth by overtaking Bottas, but lost position to Russell despite his fresher tyres. Hamilton finished the race in sixth position.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: For the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes came up with some major performance upgrades for the car, Hamilton said he was "super happy" after setting the third fastest time during free practice. Porpoising issues remained after qualifying sixth on the grid, in the race he was involved in a collision with Kevin Magnussen during the opening lap, causing a tyre puncture and Hamilton re-joined the race in nineteenth after a pit stop. Hamilton made comeback throughout the race, charging himself up to fourth position before he was told to slow down in final few laps due to engine overheating, causing him to finish the race in fifth. At the Monaco Grand Prix, the struggle continued with the car's extreme porpoising around the slow corners of the track, he qualified and finished the race in eighth position after being unable to overtake the slower Alpine A522 of Fernando Alonso. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified seventh on the grid, in the race he was able to finish fourth. After the race it was revealed he had back pain due to almost 6g of porpoising and claimed he was praying for the race to end as soon as possible. Hamilton qualified in fourth position for the Canadian Grand Prix. In the race, Hamilton and Magnussen went side-by-side onto turn 1, slightly made contact without making damages to the car. Later in the race, Hamilton overtook Alonso and finished in third position.


title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton

text: This caused the FIA to make a regulation change to prevent porpoising. Mercedes claimed to have solved the porpoising issues following the new regulation change. Over the following rounds Hamilton secured five consecutive podiums. He led a Grand Prix for the first time in the season at the 2022 British Grand Prix, breaking the records for most consecutive seasons with leading at least one lap and most podium finishes at a home Grand Prix; he led laps for sixteen consecutive seasons and finished on the podium twelve times at the British Grand Prix since his debut year. He qualified fifth on the grid. In the race he was able to battle with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. for the lead before the safety car deployment, which closed the gap between him and the faster Red Bull Racing RB18 of Pérez. Hamilton managed to finish the race in third ahead of Leclerc. In the third qualifying session at the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton spun while on a flying lap, hit the barrier and bought out the red flags. Hamilton claimed he had no answer for what may have caused his crash, believed a top three finish in qualifying had been possible. After qualifying, some criticised the fans, as they cheered after Hamilton's crash. He started the sprint race in ninth position, heading into turn 1, Pierre Gasly made contact with Hamilton, sending the latter into a spin. Both cars carried on. Hamilton caught up Mick Schumacher, after a long battle between the both drivers, Hamilton took eighth position from Schumacher with just two laps to go. Hamilton gained two positions in the opening lap, despite Russell's and Pérez's collision, managed to overtake Magnussen, Esteban Ocon to finish third and secure the third consecutive podium finish. The French Grand Prix was the 300th race of Hamilton's Formula One career, being the sixth driver to start three hundred races in Formula One. He managed to finish second ahead of Russell, after qualifying fourth on the grid, after the race it was reported that the car's drinking system didn't work during the race, which resulted in a of weight loss. The last race before the summer break, the Hungarian Grand Prix was a similar race as the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton made up several positions throughout the race. He qualified seventh due to a DRS issue in his final flying lap, while his teammate took the first pole position of his career. Hamilton again charged himself up to the second position. Hamilton claimed he would have been in a position to win the race, had it not been for the DRS issue.