Hamilton wins in Turkey for the seventh F1 title that equals a record | Racing news

ISTANBUL: Great Britain Lewis Hamilton she held back tears when she won a record seventh Formula One world championship on Sunday and became the most successful driver in the history of the sport.
The Mercedes ace took a masterclass in wet and slippery conditions to claim his 94th career victory on a record-breaking roller coaster. Turkish Grand Prix and secures the title with three races to spare.

Only Ferrari great Michael Schumacher He has seven titles to his name, a number once thought never to be equaled, but most of the German’s records have passed to Hamilton.

So complete was Hamilton’s dominance that he surpassed the only rival and teammate Valtteri Bottas with 12 laps to go in a nightmare afternoon for the Finn who finished 14th.

Hamilton already had more race wins, pole positions and podiums than anyone in the history of the sport, but despite starting in sixth place, the season low, the 35-year-old was determined to increase the tally.

“Thank you guys very much … that’s for all the kids who dream of the impossible. You can do it too, I believe in you,” he yelled over the radio after taking the checkered flag.

The Briton finished with a huge 31.6-second lead over Racing Point’s second-placed Sergio Pérez in a race behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Seven is just unimaginable, but when you work with such a great group of people and you really trust each other, what we can do together is infinite,” said Hamilton, who has yet to sign a new deal for 2021.
“I feel like I’m just getting started.”
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Hamilton was congratulated after parking by Pérez, who still has no seat for 2021, and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who completed the podium in a race filled with twists and turns of the lead.
“I told him it was very special for us because today we can witness history,” said Vettel, a four-time world champion with Red Bull and on the podium for the first time this year.
“There is no question that Lewis is the best in terms of what he has accomplished.”
Bottas, who radioed four laps from the end that he wished the race was over, also came over to extend his hand.
Mercedes had already won the constructors’ championship for the seventh year in a row, an unprecedented feat.
While Perez started third and was struggling on his tires, Canadian teammate Lance Stroll saw his dreams of a first win disappear after leading from his first pole position.
He finished ninth, the drop in order started when he pitted on lap 37.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, after passing Perez on the final lap, but then slipped widely, with Spaniard Carlos Sainz fifth for McLaren and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sixth.
Red Bull’s Alexander Albon was seventh with Lando Norris eighth for McLaren and earned an extra point for the fastest lap. Australian Daniel Ricciardo was tenth for Renault.
Hamilton said there was a point where he thought the race was slipping away, and the leaden skies and the constant threat of rain added to the sense of uncertainty, but he continued to believe.
When the team suggested he pit for new tires towards the end, given the assurance of his lead and the number of laps made at worn intermediates, he canceled them out.
“I lost a world championship in the pits, I learned the lesson of 2007, that’s for sure. I felt like I really had it under control and that I was going to deal with the rain if it fell,” said the former McLaren. driver.