Lewis Hamilton, seven times Formula 1 world champion

Hamilton wins seventh F1 title and equals Schumacher’s record

2020 Turkish Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton has clinched the 2020 Formula 1 drivers’ championship with three races to spare, winning the world title for the seventh time in his career.

The Mercedes driver’s achievement means he has equalled the record for most world championship victories scored by an F1 driver. His seventh title puts him level with Michael Schumacher, who set the record in 2004.

Hamilton won his first world championship four years after that, in his second season in the sport. He had to wait six years for his second, which came following his move from McLaren to Mercedes.

That move yielded back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. Hamilton lost the 2016 crown to team mate Nico Rosberg by five points, who then retired from the sport, and Hamilton has won the last four titles since.

Schumacher also won his seven titles with two different teams. He scored back-to-back championships with Benetton in 1994 and 1995, then moved to Ferrari. After several near-misses in the late nineties, Schumacher took five consecutive championships between 2000 and 2004, surpassing the former record held by five-times champion Juan Manuel Fangio, which had stood since the fifties.

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List of Formula 1 drivers’ champions as of 2020

RankDriverChampionshipsYears
1Michael Schumacher71994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
1Lewis Hamilton72008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
3Juan Manuel Fangio51951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
4Alain Prost41985, 1986, 1989, 1993
4Sebastian Vettel42010, 2011, 2012, 2013
6Jack Brabham31959, 1960, 1966
6Jackie Stewart31969, 1971, 1973
6Niki Lauda31975, 1977, 1984
6Nelson Piquet31981, 1983, 1987
6Ayrton Senna31988, 1990, 1991
11Alberto Ascari21952, 1953
11Jim Clark21963, 1965
11Graham Hill21962, 1968
11Emerson Fittipaldi21972, 1974
11Mika Hakkinen21998, 1999
11Fernando Alonso22005, 2006
17Giuseppe Farina11950
17Mike Hawthorn11958
17Phil Hill11961
17John Surtees11964
17Denny Hulme11967
17Jochen Rindt11970
17James Hunt11976
17Mario Andretti11978
17Jody Scheckter11979
17Alan Jones11980
17Keke Rosberg11982
17Nigel Mansell11992
17Damon Hill11996
17Jacques Villeneuve11997
17Kimi Raikkonen12007
17Jenson Button12009
17Nico Rosberg12016

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2020 Turkish Grand Prix

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    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    111 comments on “Hamilton wins seventh F1 title and equals Schumacher’s record”

    1. Hats off to the man, as always, incredible achievement. Well done!

      1. “Lost for words” – All i can say is Wow!!

        Fortune favours the experianced…

      2. That post race team radio was something special

      3. Indeed, he showed again today that he’s the class of the field. A fantastic achievement, where will it stop?

      4. Indeed. Coming into the weekend, the championship was almost a certainty and almost an anticlimax, but to do it like this today. Just impressive 👏 👏 👏

    2. Yes yes we all know it is because of the car.

      Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT.

    3. A great achievement.

      1. Has everyone been blocked from the comments aside from the Hamilton die hards? That’s unfortunate.

        1. You’re commenting aren’t you?

      2. Congratulations Lewis Hamilton

    4. Stunning performance by Perez and well done the Ferrari boys! The rest not so much…

      1. Really? How about Sainz and Norris? They definitely gained a lot compared to the quali.

      2. Paul Jones, as pointed out elsewhere, if the Ferrari drivers are to be applauded, the McLaren duo should also be applauded.

        Norris made up 6 places during the race, not far off what the two Ferrari drivers did (8 places each), whilst Sainz arguably outperformed both Ferrari drivers by making up 10 places during the race, two more than they did (and less than 3 seconds behind Perez at the end).

    5. Masterclass from Lewis Hamilton. Take a bow, mister. History created today.
      Thoroughly enjoyed the race. The inters became almost slicks.

    6. I take my hat off for Lewis

      What a great champion

    7. Well deserved.

      Good that Hamilton also got the chance to show again that he can win races when he’s not driving the fastest car for the occasion. While Verstappen shows that driving the fastest car doesn’t make it that easy to win the race either.

      1. Or stick it on pole for that matter.

    8. Jonathan Parkin
      15th November 2020, 12:02

      Was building myself up for a Racing Point 1-2 there. That was a bit of a heartbreaker. Not saying that because I’m a Lewis hater btw

    9. Lewis Hamilton!!! Oh my you’re are great! Very very Great!!!!!!!!!

    10. What a way to do it. I reckon that’s his best drive. I have no idea how he made that stint work. What a faultless drive. Made just about everyone else look a little ordinary!

    11. What a brilliant way to clinch the title.

      1. Yeah, totally agree. Hamilton turned this so so track into a stage for one of his greatest drives.
        Patience and experiance a very telling combination.

        Shame for Stroll whose team gambled on new tyres, whilst keeping Perez out.

        1. Totally agree

        2. Perez learned his lesson after imola

        3. Yeah, it sucked.

    12. Brilliant race. I think Hamilton has had it easy in F1 for most races this season (before anybody says anything, I’m not saying he’s bad), but today that was genuinely exceptional. That wasn’t down to the car, that was all him. Brilliant from Perez as well, Leclerc blew it at the end, but I can’t blame him for risking it 3 corners from the end for a 2nd place.

      1. The Merc has had 11/14 front row lockouts this season. Bottas is not top tier and is one of the worst on the grid in the wet.

        1. Canada 2013 Qualifying

        2. He is bad in the wet, but the Mercedes was not the best car out there today. Hamilton is a considerably better driver than Bottas, which is why I think he isn’t really challenged most races and can cruise to victories. However, today he couldn’t do that. He actually had competition and he blew them away. Verstappen bottled it today, and I’m a huge fan of his. Hamilton didn’t.

        3. Again without crying?

          1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
            15th November 2020, 13:28

            Emotional men make you uncomfortable?

            1. @timeslides it’s more that “Darren Moore” is yet another sockpuppet account by the same individual who constantly posts anti-Hamilton posts – this being at least the fourth different account by the same poster.

              Much as it doesn’t help that you have others provoking him, most posters here are getting rather fed up that the same individual is allowed to break the rules of this site and to continue a malicious spam campaign that is introducing more toxicity to this site.

        4. Well I guess someone should compare Bottas, Barrichello, Fisichella, Irvine and Herbert to their dominant team-mates.

    13. As soon as the conditions were effectively dry on virtual slicks the Mercedes came to the fore.

      As soon as the conditions became dry the Mercedes with 11/14 front row lockouts this season were always going to be the team to beat.

      Driver of the day Seb Vettel. Unbelievable performance in the 5th best car.

      1. I think during free practice the red bull was fastest in the dry, can’t you remember a couple of days ago?

        1. The speed was always there. A team that has had 11/14 front row lockouts (missed out on two front row lockouts because of rain) doesn’t suddenly become slow. Other drivers just adapted to the conditions quicker.

          1. You can be the fastest on lap 1 but that’s not where the points are earned. So it doesn’t matter who adapts fastest; it’s who finishes first. So troll on.

          2. Darren, keep trying lol

          3. Can you tell us again, how many front row lockouts does Mercedes have this season? I forgot

      2. Bottas was out of the points? Not sure that really checks out!

        1. Bottas routinely one of the worst drivers on the grid when it rains. A Mercedes that has 11/14 front row lockouts being the quickest in defacto dry conditions is no surprise. It’s expected.

          1. Canada 2013 Qualifying

          2. Red bull should’ve won this race, no excuses. Today we saw the driver (Goat actually) make the difference, so I don’t care how many lockouts, how good the car is, etc you still need to get in the car and drive it. Let’s not forget he made 1 pit stop, and built a 26 second lead on worn inters, in tricky conditions where having the fastest car in the end didn’t matter.

            1. Worn inters were effectively the fastest tyres. It’s how Perez finished second.

            2. To DM: Worn inters were the fastest tyres – if you could make them last. Worn inters were the fastest tyres – if you didn’t spin and flat spot them. Worn inters were the fastest tyres – if you overruled your team and stayed out. Perez was also great but he gave up a 20 second lead and ended 25 seconds behind at the end, effectively losing 45 seconds in about 40 laps. Only 1 driver had the speed and kept the tyres in working condition to get to the end.

          3. Are you trying to say that Bottas is Barrichello+Irvine+Herbert+Fisichella+Dumfries combined together?

      3. @Darren Moore – We know who you are. Go and watch free practice again, then tell us who had the fastest car at the Instabul track.

      4. Don’t feed him, he’s just a bit salty his favourite driver got schooled today.

        1. he is partly right. it’s the same with LEC. he improved with the dry track. with the rain at the end LEC lost time and eventually the podium to VET. still, top drive from HAM

          1. It wasn’t rain that cost Leclerc the podium @naylamp

          2. He’s not right that Mercedes had the fastest car at all. In fact the fastest car was the Mclaren in the drying conditions it would seem. It’s pretty arguable to say Hamilton may not have had the fastest car for anything more than 10 laps but the damage he did in those laps won him the race.

      5. Lol no look how leclerc went from like 14th to infront of vettel, Ferrari probably had the second fastest car on race day

    14. Hamilton proves beyond any doubt he is the GOAT of F1 racing
      Perez proves he deserves that RBR seat over Albon
      Vettel proves he is still someone to reckon with
      Leclerc drove a fantastic race but made a mistake at the end
      Verstappen completely blows it under pressure
      Albon… well, enough said.

      1. And Ferrari proves they don’t need Binotto

    15. Congratulations Lewis Hamilton on number 7! Driver of a generation, unbelievable drive today, he had no right to win that but used all of he experience to find a way.

      What a great race, so many changes and potential winners. Even with the resurfacing, still a great circuit. So happy for Seb Vettel and Perez as well, a great Sunday morning!

      1. “he had no right to win that but used all of he experience to find a way.”

        I think this is what makes Lewis so special. He pulls wins from seemingly nowhere. Sure he maximises his performance when he’s got the best equipment but he sure makes it happen when the chips are down. Drives like this will be what people remember when he retires.

    16. It was inevitable that Hamilton would wrap up the championship, it was the way he did it…wow.

    17. The Mercedes in the hands of Bottas finished where? Give Hamilton the credit he deserves. Incredible performance, making the right decisions at the right time, managing the tyres and flawless drive. He is up there with the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.

      1. Meant as a reply to Darren Moore above

    18. Good drive by Hamilton, don’t know how he kept the tires alive for so long.

      His intermediets literally converted into slicks by the end.

      Vettel too did great to be in place to take advantage of LeClare mistake at the end.

    19. Congratulations to Lewis. A knighthood by the Christmas should be the logical outcome of this season.

      Also, no joking or disrespect, but I would leave Mercedes if were Bottas. This was a total KO and quite humiliating.

      1. Perez to Mercedes…?

        1. Perez is also great day looking after tyres. Would be interesting.

      2. To be fair Bottas damaged his car early through contact which wasn’t his fault. He was nursing the car on an already poor track in mercyless conditions. At least he didn’t DNF.

        1. Yeah, i read his front wing gor damaged so makes sense he struggled as he did so I wont beat on him here.

    20. Lewis Hamilton is the best driver in Formula1. A weekend and a race like today really seperated the talented but young pretenders from the experienced but the complete driver. For those of us who have followed Hamilton since he broke through in GP2 and signed by Dennis, it was always clear the boy had talent. His debut season was stunning against a formidable Alonso, and while there were low points in 2011 and 2016- he bounced back stronger from each defeat. More importantly Hamilton hasn’t resorted to the sort of nasty tactics that can attributed to other greats and he has always been a hard but fair racer. It was touching to see Seb and Lewis in parc ferme- from one champion to another. What a weekend, what a race!

      1. Totally agree. Huge admiration for his talent and attitude both on and off the track. Like you, I have enjoyed watching him since his frist F1 race.
        The cream always rises.
        Fantastic Lewis.

    21. I can’t wait for the alternative Trumptard like rendition of truth comments from the “its the car brigade” on this one.

      They must be weeping into their stuffed toys this very moment!

      1. The Earth is still flat, Covid is transmitted by 5G and Bill Gates has microchips ready for your vaccine. Lol @kbdavies

      2. They insisted it was the driver not the car yesterday when he qualified sixth. It’ll be fun seeing them do a complete U-turn and claim it was actually the car all along.

    22. So good that you won it with a display of top quality driving in mixed conditions Lewis.

      Congratulations Sir.

    23. Amazing achievement and all done with humility and respect for his opponents and no dirty tricks. You don’t have to like him but he has earned the plaudits he receives and today proved even when he doesn’t have the fastest car he finds a way to win.

      No point with the GOAT talk, but he’s in that group of very special drivers

      1. Well said. +1

      2. CotD right there.

    24. What do u expect? Most of time merc leads 1+ second faster than other rival. So obviously all because of car. Let MV drive the merc he too will clinch the WDC.

    25. Brilliant Lewis, just brilliant. A genius drive. I don’t think he spun once, even on tyres that had turned into worn slicks. Drove superbly, called the decisions (overrriding the team) superbly. Well done.

    26. What a way to do it! If anyone doubts Lewis’ greatness then today should be an end to that doubt.

      If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
      If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
      But make allowance for their doubting too;
      If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
      Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
      Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
      And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

      If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
      If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
      If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
      And treat those two impostors just the same;
      If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
      Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
      Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
      And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

      If you can make one heap of all your winnings
      And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
      And lose, and start again at your beginnings
      And never breathe a word about your loss;
      If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
      To serve your turn long after they are gone,
      And so hold on when there is nothing in you
      Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

      If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
      Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
      If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
      If all men count with you, but none too much;
      If you can fill the unforgiving minute
      With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
      Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
      And—which is more—you’ll be a 7 x WDC my son!

      1. One of the finest poems ever, from Kipling, who was quite a racist Man it is said.
        Interesting choice ;)

        1. That’s why it’s not fair to define someone and all off their work by a single facet of their personality, or a single one of their opinions from one time in their life, particularly now we are becoming aware just how much people will massage the truth for selfish reasons – people have always been people, but the information era has proven how little we can trust the word of anyone.

        2. I don’t think Kipling was a racist. He represented the Empire whose policies were dependent on racial subjugation in all “its colonies” around the world. Racist back in London wrote those policies and profited from them. Civil servants did what they were instructed to do.

    27. Great way to even that record. Sure, the car finally was solid once the inters started turning into slicks. But the track was slippery, many lost it on track. Hamilton pushed when it was possible, bided his time when he had to. Made the calls from the cockpit when he was the guy out there feeling the tyres and the car.

      This truely was a drive that would have been as worthy of a Schumacher the Rainmaster as it is of the current Rainmaster Lewis Hamilton.

      Also shows hope that Vettel really can be up there when given the chance, racing in the rain, doing things right to end up on the podium. And Perez another one to be able to do miracles with tyres.

      1. @bascb they both deserve credit for the pressure they withstood to hold onto those positions – and, in the case of Vettel, it might be rather fortunate to have a strong race at this point to potentially give him a confidence boost as he heads to Racing Point. It’ll be interesting to see if that greater confidence does translate into better results in the handful of races that remains in this season.

        As others have said, at a time when Perez might well be out of the sport, he is showing exactly why he deserves to be in it (that said, I do feel a little sorry for Stroll given that, in retrospect, switching to new intermediates looks like it was a strategic mistake by the team).

    28. Nice to see Marc Hynes finally being given a namecheck by Sky. Been with Lewis from day one.

    29. Lewis is the greatest of all time, period.
      Mainly because he didn’t need to crash into his opponents to get his way to this record.

      1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
        15th November 2020, 13:13

        +1

    30. Congrats to Lewis for equaling Michael’s record. He drove a great race today. Ferrari had a great race today, nailing the strategy and taking the maximum from their weekend.
      Verstappen choked the whole weekend, as he was the fastest driver on the grid.
      Racing Point will be unhappy with the outing,but their call on Stroll was justifiable. Solid race by McLaren, especially Sainz while Ocon was unlucky to get involved in the first lap incidents, as he was pretty quick.

      Latifis race might have been one of the worst drivers performance in the 21th century.
      As for Bottas,he had his Massa Silverstone 2008 race, although this might be even worse that Massa’s.. .

    31. I hope he wins another one to finally dethrone Schumacher.
      I actually do not particularly care for Hamilton, as I do not particularly care for any driver, but although Hamilton may have been tough and perhaps a bit dirty a few times, overall he seems to be about as decent as drivers can get, and can show humbleness that seems sincere. I prefer to see him on the top of stats rather than a man who several times forgot that he was engaged in a sport, not in a war. For all the Schumacher’s skill and legacy, I believe that Hamilton will definitely be a better role model for aspiring drivers.

    32. For those that said Max is faster than Lewis should go back and watch this race. Today was about that Driver and not the car. Legends don’t make continuous mistakes, that’s the difference.

    33. Greatest of all time! Wipes the floor with anyone in any era in the wet and changing conditions. Premature musings of max as a ‘Rain Master’ were laid bare today. The cream always rises, lapped the sister car for good measure. GOAT

    34. Never been a fan of Hamilton, never will. But hats off to his performance today, drove like a champ. 7 titles is enough though ;)

      very happy for Seb, had luck on his side in the last corners but kept it safe during the whole race. and of course, the biggest sportsman in the whole field..

    35. True masterclass drive to win the championship and equal the original rain master. Taught all the others how to manage these conditions. Max and Charles take note.

    36. Lewis Hamilton just showed a masterclass! What a way to clinch a 7th world title. Unbelievably thoroughly deserved

    37. Congrats to Mr. Hamilton! Nice message to the young fans at the end :)
      And there were many amazing moments during the race.

    38. Yeah, i read his front wing gor damaged so makes sense he struggled as he did so I wont beat on him here.

    39. There was a really near miss with that pit call. If Hamilton had come in I think he would have lost to Perez through Sainz on cold inters. That was a stroke of instinct and experience to reject that stop.

    40. As if they were ever gonna let Bottas win, 7 and 7 was their goal for the year and the story will be the same next year, if Hamilton signs on. Good driver in the best car, aided by the best supporting driver that gets secondary treatment and never complains. Let’s not discuss the sabotage Bottas got all year long from the team… Including his own failures after not having any confidence left, after being treated like a support driver…

    41. Congratulations to Lewis

    42. He drove like a champion today, his only competition would’ve been Max had he not lost it.

      1. He has no competition out there, today proved that. Had Max been up to it he wouldn’t have lost it!

    43. Quite a big yawn comparing this “achievement” comparing to Checo’s heroics.

    44. Congrats to the All Mighty Lewis Hamilton!!! SUPREME Race Being! We are blessed and privileged to witness his abilities. Today was a Perfect example of driver talent amd race craft mastery by Lewis, Perez, Vettel and a few others. Simply brilliant.

    45. Jackie Stewart will be steaming and stewing… Can’t wait for his next comments on Lewis!

    46. Lewis is one of the all-time F1 greats, no doubt. The comments section on the Daily Mail website is quite a sight:

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-8942479/Lewis-Hamilton-makes-history-seven-time-world-champion-winning-Turkish-Grand-Prix.html#reader-comments

      According to some idiot readers, he “abandoned” his country. It’s strange that they never say the same thing about the 2009 F1 Champion, who lives in Monaco, or the 1992 F1 Champion, who lives in Jersey. I wonder why the Daily Wail readers focus on his lack of “Britishness” … ?

    47. Get in there, Lewis!

    48. 7 titles! Wow! This achievement is not to be scoffed at. It is evident by observing the emotions of many a world champion when they have just won the title, how much it takes out of them. It was certainly evident today. To be able to have the stamina to sustain the focus through 7 successful title challenges is truly remarkable (not to mention the other close but unsuccessful title challenges).

      It obviously takes a significant amount of time to win this number of titles. Time over which Formula 1 can change significantly. For me, one of the things that makes Lewis Hamilton so great, is how he’s evolved as F1 has changed over the years. Think of how much F1 has changed since Hamilton joined the sport; from the sprint racing in small, light cars with grooved tyres during the refuelling era; through the 2009 aero changes, with slick tyres, double diffusers and KERS. F-ducts, blown diffusers, coanda exhausts and FRIC have come and gone. Designed to degrade tyres, DRS, long, heavy, wide cars with turbo-hybrid engines remain.

      He’s come a long way since we saw the blindingly quick, fearless young charger burst onto the scene. Great champions learn a lot from the times when they have been unsuccessful. I think that he’s really taken on board the lessons from 2010, 2011 and 2016 in particular, and I think those lessons have significantly contributed to his polished performances of recent times. Today’s performance was the epitome of skilful race management from the cockpit, essentially a demonstration of how much Hamilton has grown as a driver, and such a fitting way to see an exceptional talent win the title for a 7th time. A champion that I feel truly privileged to see. Congratulations Lewis

    49. When Schumacher set his record I thought we’d never see this dominance again, but when Vettel racked up 4 titles I realized this is F1 and nothing really changes so not really surprised when Mercedes started dominating. In fact it was even easier without Mosley.

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