Lewis Hamilton once won 50 points in one race after winning 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2014 F1 season marked the rise of a new era with turbo-hybrid V6 engines, perfected by Mercedes, assisting Lewis Hamilton in his era of domination. These engine regulations set a completely new benchmark of performance in the sport and the degree of competition was unprecedented.

Prior to this, there was an era of domination by Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, who had won both Drivers' and Constructors' titles in the past four seasons. While this was a part of the sport, it brought down the level of entertainment.

To counter it, the FIA implemented a new rule that was seen only once in the 2014 season. It was decided that every team and driver be awarded double the number of points in the final race of the season than usual to keep the competition alive till the end.

After the implication of this rule, Lewis Hamilton, who had a dominating season, won the final race and scored a whopping 50 points. He won his second world championship and Mercedes' first.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his win with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Williams' Felipe Massa in the 2013 Abu Dhabi GP (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Although Mercedes won the race, it was Williams' Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas who shared the podium with the Brit. The two scored 66 points together; which still remains the most number of points a team has scored in a race.

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Lewis Hamilton would be 'happy' to race Max Verstappen as his teammate

A saga recently broke out in the F1 paddock after Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that a representative of the seven-time world champion had reached out to him earlier in the season possibly to find a spot in the team. This was when Lewis Hamilton's contract extension with Mercedes had not been signed earlier this season.

Although the Brit has had great success with the team, he has been short of a victory in the past two seasons. This led to speculations of him switching teams and possibly moving to either Red Bull or Ferrari. However, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Italian team until the end of the 2025 season.

While Horner hinted that Hamilton could have been in RBR racing against Verstappen, Hamilton himself and Mercedes have denied it. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda in Abu Dhabi, he revealed that it was Horner who reached out to him first.

"I didn’t approach them. I got a text from Christian."

He further mentioned that he would be 'more than happy' to race against Verstappen as his teammate, but insisted that the latter wouldn't want to be on his team.

"I don’t know if it would be a bond, but I’d be more than happy to race against Max in the same car. That would be wonderful. I don’t think he wants me to be his teammate."

Hamilton and Verstappen shared a brilliant rivalry in the 2021 season, which was ultimately won by the Dutchman in Abu Dhabi. This marked the end of Mercedes' domination era and Red Bull has remained at the top ever since.