Lewis Hamilton's top 3 wins in Formula 1

#2 2017 Belgian Grand Prix / Mercedes

After three years of Mercedes' dominance in Formula 1, the 2017 season was a straight fight between Ferrari and the Silver Arrows, with the Italian squad having the upper hand in many races, especially during the first half of the campaign.

After eleven races in the year, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was leading the championship standings with 202 points, 14 ahead of Hamilton's tally of 188. Both drivers had four wins in that point of the year, but Vettel was more consistent than the Briton.

With a 14-point deficit after the summer break, Hamilton needed a win in Belgium to shorten Vettel's lead and increase his chances of a fourth title.

Hamilton snatched Pole Position from the German driver's hands by a couple of tenths and tied Schumacher's tally of 68, the most in F1 history back then. In race day, Hamilton and Vettel battled for the victory with a close fight, Vettel was able to maintain his Ferrari within two seconds of Hamilton's Mercedes through the first half of the Grand Prix.

With both Sahara Force India cars making contact which led to a Safety Car, Mercedes and Ferrari called its drivers to the pits for a tyre change. With fourteen laps remaining, Mercedes' management elected to put the Pirelli soft compound tyre, while Vettel opted for the Ultrasoft tire, which was the faster choice.

AUTO-PRIX-F1-BEL — Sebastian Vettel chasing Lewis Hamilton

Despite Vettel's tire advantage, Hamilton was able to hold the German off after Vettel made his move into the Kemmel straight and earned the 58th Grand Prix victory of his career, in his 200th race in Formula 1.

Hamilton's win left him just seven points behind Vettel in the championship. After the race, Hamilton embraced the fierce competition by Vettel in the race and felt his championship chances had a boost. The Englishman ended up winning his fourth championship at the end of the season.