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Lewis Hamilton was ten years old when he told the former McLaren team principal, Ron Dennis, “one day I want to be driving your race cars.” Fast forward twelve years and Lewis was living his own words. In the years leading up to his debut with McLaren, the British driver won the Formula 3 Euro Series, GP2, and British Formula Renault, among other championships.
He spent most of his early years racing for Manor Motorsport and then started his Formula One journey with McLaren. He spent six years with the British constructors before making a shock decision to move to the other UK based team, Mercedes AMG Petronas. Committing to Mercedes proved to, possibly, be the most important decision of his racing career.
It was revealed by Williams that they had been on the verge of signing the Briton in 2004, but BMW, their engine supplier at the time, had deterred them from doing so by refusing to fund him. At the time, Lewis must have felt disappointed, but everything fell into place for the 33-year-old eventually.
Lewis Hamilton currently lays claim to four F1 world championship titles, three of which he won with the Silver Arrows. In his almost 12 years long run in the pinnacle of motorsport, he has attained numerous laurels and etched several records to his name.
Let us have a look at the reasons which make Lewis the most successful British driver of all time, and perhaps, one of the greatest ever:
#5 Great thinking to move to Mercedes
During the six years that Lewis raced for McLaren, he won a driver’s title once and was in the mix for the championship for most of the other years. At the time, deciding to move to Mercedes was nothing short of a risk, seeing how ahead McLaren were of the Silver Arrows in the constructor’s standings for the previous few years.
However, Lewis made a hard but correct judgement of switching ships and he has to be appreciated for his tactical thinking as much as his race craft. If he had chosen the safer option to atleast remain afloat in the sport rather than challenge for championship titles, he might have never achieved what he has now.
#4 Coming close to winning a Championship title in his rookie year
Lewis Hamilton made the world sit up and take notice in only his first year in Formula One. Starting in the shadow of a double world champion and one of the most renowned Formula One drivers, Fernando Alonso, would have been a daunting affair. One might have accepted Lewis to only slowly come into his element and take time before making his name at the taxing sport that is F1. Though, the Briton impressed from the get-go.
Hamilton secured his first pole as well as a maiden win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a circuit he has shown immense preference to by winning a Grand Prix there six times. He was a championship contender from the beginning and went into the last race of the season holding the lead over rivals, Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen. However, in the end, the title eluded him by only a single point.
#3 Winning a race every season
Lewis Hamilton has triumphed at least one circuit per year. 2013 remains the only year where he secured only one race win, at the Hungarian Grand Prix. For a career that has lasted 12 years, this is an admirable feat.
The British driver’s knack for turning up the heat for a single lap during qualifying has indeed helped him in becoming the pole sitter. This, in turn, gives him a slight, albeit important, advantage for securing the race win over the weekend.
His stronghold over the sport can be emphasized by the fact that the 33-year-old is only second to Michael Schumacher when it comes to most overall wins as well as most laps led.
#2 Breaking numerous F1 Records
Lewis has either broken or is well on his way to breaking Formula One records that have been in place for decades. From scoring the most points in his debut season to notching up most wins at distinct circuits, the 33-year-old has a lot of accolades to his name.
After breaking the record for achieving the most pole positions in Canada, 2017, Lewis was presented by a replica of his idol, Ayrton Senna’s helmet to commemorate the accomplishment.
If Hamilton wishes to continue racing for a few more years, he might emerge as a strong contender for the greatest of all time.
#1 Four World Championships
Lewis is tied in third place for most successful drivers of all time by championship titles, with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. He is also, currently, locked in battle with Vettel for a fifth world championship.
The tenacity which the 33-year-old has shown over the years is remarkable. Winning his maiden title on the last corner of the last lap in the last race of the season shows exceptional composure from him.
The British driver’s second title saw the battle between him and teammate, Nico Rosberg, go down to the wire too. While the other two were decided well before the season had run its course, the pressure remained immense to clinch the championships.
Lewis has shown that he still has hunger for a fifth title and winning the race at his home Grand Prix might propel him to achieve that.
