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Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers Formula 1 has ever seen. His achievements on track as well as off it are exemplary. Although tied with Michael Schumacher for the most title triumphs (7 titles), Lewis Hamilton is the winningest driver in the history of the sport with the most wins in the history of the sport (103 career wins).
In a career that spans more than a decade, Hamilton has had to fight for his fair share of championships, sometimes coming back from significant deficits. In this piece, we rank his top three championship triumphs in F1 considering the competition, the stage of his career, the circumstances, and the machinery at his disposal.
#3 Lewis Hamilton's flawless display in 2018
Points: 408
Poles: 11
Wins: 11
The 2018 championship triumph, more often than not, has been one of the more underrated seasons of Lewis Hamilton's career. By the end of the season, it might be fair to say he held an advantage in terms of the machinery at his disposal. It is, however, hard to look at that season and not be amazed at how brilliant he was even when Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel were in contention for the title.
That was one of the first seasons where we saw the Briton maturing into a legend. He'd already had multiple championships in the bag but the 2018 season saw him maximize the results at every race. Even when his back was against the wall, he produced results like the ones at Monza, or the blistering qualifying lap out of nowhere in Singapore, to set himself apart from the rest of the grid.
At that stage, both Vettel and Hamilton were considered two of the best drivers on the grid. The way the Briton distanced himself from the Ferrari driver in terms of pure driving performance, however, was a huge surprise. Although the machinery played a role in Hamilton wrapping up the title early in the season, it's fair to say that he was performing a few levels higher than the German throughout the season.
#2 His comeback win against Nico Rosberg in 2014
Points: 384
Poles: 7
Wins: 11
The 2014 triumph was pivotal to Lewis Hamilton's career in so many respects. The importance of that season does get understated because Hamilton was able to beat Nico Rosberg and win the title rather comfortably in the end.
Not many remember, however, that the season was not as straightforward of a championship for the Briton as he would have liked. Plagued by reliability issues and incidents, Hamilton had been on his back foot in the championship fight, having lost points at Albert Park and at Spa amongst other races.
The turnaround that Lewis Hamilton had from the Italian GP onwards was something of an indication of how good he was as compared to Rosberg. He overtook Rosberg on track at Monza and then did the same at the US and the Japanese GPs to establish his superiority over Rosberg, within the team and in the championship.
By the last race of the season, although the championship had still not been decided, it was clear who was the better driver of the two.
#1 The last lap overtake to clinch the title in 2008
Points: 98
Poles: 7
Wins: 5
The significance of the 2008 championship for Lewis Hamilton cannot be stated enough. He was the new British hope for a country with motorsport in its DNA. The country had not seen a champion for more than a decade — the last was Damon Hill in 1996 — and desperately wanted one.
Hamilton, in only his rookie year in 2007, had come perilously close, losing out in the last race. In 2008, however, he left no margin for error. The defending champion Kimi Raikkonen appeared to have lost motivation at Ferrari, while his other arch-rival Fernando Alonso was driving an uncompetitive Renault. This left Hamilton with an unlikely challenger in Felipe Massa in a Ferrari that was as competitive as the McLaren the former had at his disposal.
The championship battle was intense as Hamilton, still inexperienced in F1, made mistakes just like his rival did at crucial stages of the season. When it was all said and done, however, with Hamilton winning the title, the kind of pressure he was under became apparent.
When the royal family made it a point to reach out and congratulate Hamilton on his title, it showed just how many influential people were rooting for him in the background, and the pressure the young driver must have been under.
