Hamilton equals Schumacher, but “lost” wins could leave English with an isolated record | Formula 1

Will we remember Lewis Hamilton’s “lost” victories in Formula 1?

Hamilton reached the penultimate race of 2007, in China, with 107 points, against 95 for Fernando Alonso and 90 for Kimi Raikkonen. Four points out of 20 possible in the last two races were enough for the Englishman to be champion. That was equivalent to a fifth or two-seventh place, and until then, taking an isolated ninth place at the Nurburgring, Hamilton’s worst result had been precisely a fifth place in Turkey, where he had a puncture. Until China, the rookie had 12 podium finishes in 15 GP, with four wins. Hamilton took pole and led on the wet track until the rain stopped and the asphalt dried. Lewis was stubborn and followed the track with the tires “on the canvas.” When he finally decided to stop, he missed the pit entrance … Kimi won in China and Brazil, where Hamilton finished seventh, and took the title.

Winner in Montreal in 2007, Hamilton had it all to repeat the shot in 2008. The Englishman started well from pole and soon opened up to others. On lap 15, the lead was already seven seconds over Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen, when the safety car entered the track. The leaders decided to pit for the first pit stop, under a yellow flag. Raikkonen and Kubica pit stops were quicker and the two went side by side until the exit of the pit lane, which, by regulation, was closed with a red light. Angered by the loss of the point, Hamilton forgot the rule and filled the back of Kimi, who was standing. Kubica escaped the accident and was back on the track when the green light came on and he won the race. A monumental mess for Hamilton.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps was mostly dry. But we are talking about Spa, and the rain is always a ghost for the drivers … In the end, the water started to fall, and Hamilton attacked the leader Raikkonen, who fought back. The Englishman cut the chicane of Bus Stop and, on the way back, coming out more thrown, he went ahead. Kimi crashed on the next lap and Lewis won on the track, but the sports commissioners understood that he had the upper hand by cutting the chicane and punished him for 25 seconds. Hamilton fell to third place and the victory went to Felipe Massa.

In a season where McLaren started badly and only got better in the second half, Hamilton won in Hungary and Singapore. In Abu Dhabi, which debuted on the calendar to end the season, the Englishman secured pole position and dominated the first third of the race without being threatened. But the brakes were in trouble and Lewis had to quit.

McLaren had the fastest car of the season in most races, but the package lacked reliability. It is no exaggeration to say that this prevented Hamilton from fighting Sebastian Vettel (RBR) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) for the title until the final race. In Singapore, an example of the car’s fragility: Lewis took pole and dominated the race with authority until the gearbox opened the gap and left the Englishman on foot.

As in Singapore, Hamilton took pole position and overwhelmingly led the first part of the competition. When he had a controlled lead over Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), a petrol pressure problem caused the car to stall again. Interestingly, Lewis’s breakup provided a fun moment, in which the engineer warned Raikkonen about the advantage over his opponents and only heard the following: “LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW WHAT TO DO!” (“LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW WHAT TO DO!”).

In his first season with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton took pole position at Silverstone. After a very strong start, in which he was already building a good lead over his opponents, the Englishman’s left rear tire went flat. Despite losing a lot of time and dragging himself to the pits, Hamilton again finished fourth. Another great possibility of a lost victory.

Perhaps the most suffered abandonment of Lewis Hamilton’s career. In a battle with his teammate Nico Rosberg, the Englishman had been winning races in the final part of the season, while the German held the lead, invariably finishing the races in second place. In Malaysia, however, Nico was left behind, while Lewis largely dominated the race. But with 15 laps to go, Mercedes’s almost always infallible power unit exploded. The lost points were decisive for Hamilton not taking the title from Rosberg.

Everything was ready for another Mercedes party. At Hockenheim, the automaker celebrated 125 years of involvement in motorsport and its 200th F1 GP. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas ‘cars were even painted white, in reference to Mercedes’ initial design in motorsports, and all the members hit the race track in vintage clothing. On the track, Lewis took pole position, but it rained in the race, which always makes things unpredictable. So unpredictable, that Hamilton even made a mistake when leading comfortably. The Englishman damaged the front wing, the team engaged in endless tire changes and Hamilton finished ninth after the two Alfa Romeo drivers were punished.

Lewis Hamilton had dominated the Italian Grand Prix when the safety car entered to remove Kevin Magnussen’s car. Dane’s Haas was close to the pit entrance and the race management was closing the pit lane. Only Mercedes called Hamilton to the pit stop just when he couldn’t. After exiting the safety car, Charles Leclerc was in a serious accident and the red flag was flown. Just at this point, a punishment with a ten-second pit stop was announced to Hamilton. The Englishman fell to the end of the pack and was still seventh, but it was another “lost” victory.