[ad_1]
ISTANBUL – Britain’s Lewis Hamilton shed tears of joy as he won a seventh Formula One world championship in Turkey on Sunday and became the most successful driver in the history of the sport.
The Mercedes ace conducted a masterclass in wet and slippery conditions to achieve a record 94th win his race at the Istanbul Park circuit and secure the title with three races to spare.
Ferrari’s great driver Michael Schumacher is the only other driver with seven titles to his name, a number that was once thought to be unmatched, but most of the German’s records have passed to Hamilton.
So overwhelming was the victory that Hamilton edged out his only rival and teammate, Valtteri Bottas, with 12 laps remaining. The Finn, who had to finish at least sixth, spun repeatedly and 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.
“That is for all children who dream of the impossible. You can do it too, man, I believe in you, ”he yelled over the radio after taking the checkered flag.
The Briton finished 31.6 seconds ahead of Mexican Sergio Pérez, second classified at Racing Point, after overtaking him with 22 laps to go, in a race behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Seven is just unimaginable, but when you work with such a large group of people and you really trust each other, what we can do together is endless,” said Hamilton, who has yet to sign a new deal for 2021 but is ready to stay.
“I feel like I’m just getting started.”
Hamilton 10th The 2020 victory, and the fourth in a row, brought his points tally to an unbeatable 307 with Bottas at 197.
THE BIGGEST
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 to go that he wished the race was over, also stepped up to shake hands with a man who won his first title with McLaren in 2008 and then with Mercedes in 2014, 2015, 2017. 2018 and 2019.
Mercedes had already won the constructors’ championship for the seventh year in a row, an unprecedented feat.
While Perez started third and lost his intermediate tires for 48 laps, Canadian teammate Lance Stroll saw his dreams of a first win disappear after leading from his first pole position.
He finished ninth, the fall of order started when he pitted on lap 36, but the team moved up to third in the constructors’ standings.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, after passing Perez on the final lap for second, 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, after also leading from the start, with Lando Norris eighth for McLaren and earning an extra point for the fastest lap.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was 10 years oldth for Renault, which fell from third to fifth.
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 I was going to deal with the rain if it fell, ”he said. – Reuters
[ad_2]
