Lewis Hamilton is coming close to registering 100 wins in Formula One and this feat will put him in the league of extraordinary sporting persons in the world.
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100 pole positions. On the cusp of winning 100 F1 races. An eighth world championship on the horizon. These are not numbers accumulated overnight. These numbers reflect the determination, brilliance and ruthlessness of a driver who is redefining the F1 landscape every single time he races. Lewis Hamilton was destined for greatness when he entered the big league of Formula One. No one would have imagined that the lad from Stevenage would set new benchmarks.
Britain had always produced great drivers in Jack Brabham, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. All have put the country on the F1 map. However, Lewis Hamilton has given the sport such a rich legacy that it would perhaps take generations to overhaul the mark. When Juan Manuel Fangio set the original gold standard with five F1 titles in the 1950s, it took over 50 years for Michael Schumacher to overhaul the mark.
In just 17 years, Hamilton has not just equaled Schumacher but he is on the cusp of breaking his tally of seven world championship titles. From being the first Black driver in sport to creating records, Hamilton is on a league of his own. In 14 years of his racing, Hamilton has won world titles in half of them. Already, Hamilton has 98 Grand Prix wins. By the middle of the season, he could potentially have more than 100 wins and an unprecedented eighth world championship.
In past interviews, Hamilton has often said that he considered Damon Hill as his idol. Hill was the 1996 F1 champion and was involved in a bitter tussle with Michael Schumacher in the 90s. Hill summed up the dominance of Hamilton’s talent when he spoke with the F1 Nation podcast. In that, he mentioned, “In a racing car, he is. Who can deny that? It’s unbelievable. He’s in his majesty at the moment. I think we’re seeing Lewis totally in command of his art.”
The fact that Hamilton’s background has made him a vocal advocate in support of activism to combat racism and push for increased diversity in motorsport. His support for the entire Black Lives Matter vocally and symbolically makes him a larger-than-life person. His records on the track are simply unmatched. Off the track, it is his advocacy and vocalness on several issues that endears him to a lot of fans.
2021 is the culmination of the greatness Hamilton symbolizes. The wins and numbers are a mere statistic to the giant of Hamilton’s caliber. By the end of 2021, Sir Lewis Hamilton would have redefined greatness in the sport in more ways than one.
