The F1 world champion proved his hunger remains while Ferrari fought back but Valtteri Bottas, the quality of racing and the future of the Brazilian Grand Prix are a concernAfter making his only major error of the season with a crash in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he wanted to redeem himself in the race. Finishing in fourth place after starting from the pit lane was better than he expected. It was a performance acknowledged by the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, who said: “It was the best fourth place I’ve ever seen. If you consider starting from the pit lane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it’s quite an astonishing drive.” In doing...
The Mercedes driver’s fourth title after a thrilling duel with Sebastian Vettel suggests the Briton can go on to match Juan Manuel Fangio at the very leastFour Formula One world championships, by any yardstick, is a remarkable achievement. Lewis Hamilton’s accomplishment in Mexico might simply be measured by the company he now keeps in the record books. He has one more title than Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Jack Brabham – a breathtaking array of talent. He shares four with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel and only two drivers have more – Juan Manuel Fangio on five and Michael Schumacher’s seven. Yet perhaps what is most striking is that he has joined their company with his...
Mercedes driver’s fourth F1 world title takes him beyond arguments even of the romantics who venerate Jim Clark and Sir Stirling Moss above allLewis Hamilton, by winning his fourth world championship, one more than Sir Jackie Stewart, has established himself as the greatest British racing driver of all time. Such a sweeping claim will always be open to dispute and to inspection in different lights but the only light that really counts is the one that shines on the bare statistics.Hamilton’s latest milestone – and he is only 32, so his journey is far from over – marks his arrival at the pinnacle of a line of British heroes that began between the wars with Sir Henry Segrave and Richard...
Damon Hill joins other experts in paying tribute to his fellow Briton who is celebrating 10 years at the top of his sportA decade ago, the opening to what was to be a dramatic season heralded the arrival of an exceptional talent in Formula One. Back then, as the sport came to terms with the remarkable start made by the 22-year-old Lewis Hamilton, no one could quite foresee the impact this precocious and fearless youngster would make. Ten years on, the jury is in and the verdict is unanimous: Hamilton is now within a race of securing his fourth world championship, that early promise more than fulfilled. The Briton is not the same man, nor the same driver, but his...
The Briton knows how to play the game and stay out of trouble as he progresses to the threshold of another drivers’ crown with his triumph in AustinDespite being beaten off the line by Sebastian Vettel Lewis Hamilton once again displayed the composure and race craft that has all but secured his fourth Formula One world championship. There was no problem with the British driver’s start but Vettel had it hooked up exceptionally well and had the inside line going into turn one. Hamilton went to squeeze him but recognised he could not hold the place and avoided any potentially race-ending contact. The contrast with Vettel’s reaction to being jumped by Max Verstappen in Singapore could not be clearer. The...