Lewis Hamilton is undeniably one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, and every victory or strong finish pushes him closer to being in a category of his own. And Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was no exception.
A 156th top-three finish sets a new Formula 1 milestone for Hamilton, who is now also within three of Schumacher’s race victory milestone.
The six-time F1 world champion absolutely dominated, leading every single lap after starting from the pole position to win his fourth race of the season and his fifth Spanish Grand Prix overall.
And with the checkered flag, Hamilton now has a record-breaking 156 career podiums finishes, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s 155 for the most in F1 history.
Schumacher’s milestone had stood since 2012, when he had claimed the final podium of his career with a third place in Valencia.
Hamilton’s 156 podiums have come from 256 appearances – a stunning ratio of 61 per cent. Schumacher achieved 155 podiums in 306 starts across two stints in F1.
He is also now just three wins away from matching Schumacher’s record tally of 91 race victories in a year.
That means the 35-year-old Mercedes driver could become the winningest F1 racer by the end of September — though that would require him to win the next four races in a challenging but not impossible idea considering he’s won four of the last five.
Afterward, Hamilton said, via the BBC:
“I was in a daze out there,” he says. “It felt really good. It was a fantastic effort from the team.
“It was a surprise because we had that problem with the tyres last weekend, but we seem to have understood it.
“I didn’t even know it was the last lap I was so zoned in. I thought for a little bit about going for a one-stop strategy.”
An outstanding feat from the British racer who will definitely proceed to breaking and creating more records for himself.
Formula 1 has next weekend off before picking back up at the end of the month with the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 30.
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