ISTANBUL, Nov 15: Britain’s Lewis Hamilton took a record-equalling seventh world championship and became Formula One’s most successful driver of all time after winning a wet and slippery Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Mercedes driver matched Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s seven titles in style, lapping sole rival and team mate Valtteri Bottas on a nightmare afternoon for the spinning Finn.
Hamilton already had more race wins, pole positions and podium finishes than any other driver in the history of the sport.“Thank you so much guys…that’s for all the kids out there who dream the impossible. You can do it too man, I believe in you guys,” he whooped over the radio after taking the chequered flag.
Hamilton was congratulated after parking up by second-placed finisher Sergio Perez, for Racing Point, and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who completed the podium in a race full of spins and changes of lead.
The victory was the 94th of Hamilton’s career, three more than Schumacher managed, and came after he started in sixth place and then delivered a masterclass of skill and tyre management. Bottas, who came home 14th after saying four laps from the end that he wished the race was over already, also offered his congratulations as Hamilton celebrated with his ecstatic team mates.
Mercedes had already won the constructors’ championship for a seventh year in a row.Lewis Hamilton’s sole Formula One championship rival and Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas spun twice on the opening lap of what could be a title-deciding Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday and dropped to the back of the field. Bottas has to beat Hamilton by eight points to prevent the Briton from securing a record-equalling seventh world championship. The Finn had climbed back to 16th place — but 43 seconds off the lead — after four of 58 laps on a wet and slippery track, with Hamilton sixth.
Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers on the grid.
The all-time record holder for most pole positions, Hamilton is considered one of the fastest qualifiers in the history of the sport, and has received praise for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments.Also a tenacious racer, he excels across a wide range of areas. He has been described as having an aggressive driving style, with a natural aptitude for identifying the limits of the car; Mark Hughes, writing for the official Formula One website, described how Hamilton is “super-hard on the brakes … but has a fantastic ability to match how quickly the downforce is bleeding off with his modulation of the pressure so that there’s no wasted grip but no locked wheels either.” (Reuters)
