A seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, is one of the best drivers to ever step into a race car.
Born in Stevenage and living in Tewin, the local lad has written his name into history - but which of his record 103 wins is his best, as his 15th season in the sport comes to a close?
10. Canadian Grand Prix 2007
Where better to start than Lewis’ first ever F1 win?
Canada 2007 🇨🇦
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 18, 2022
Lewis Hamilton gets his first win in F1 👏 pic.twitter.com/J0C4Pp5XVw
Starting on pole ahead of McLaren teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, Hamilton dominated the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for his maiden victory.
“If he can do this after six races, what might he achieve in the future,” said commentator James Allen.
“Surely the first of many for Lewis Hamilton. The world is at his feet.”
He wasn’t wrong.
9. German Grand Prix 2018
One of Lewis’ more controversial wins came at Hockenheim in 2018.
Locked in an intense battle for the Drivers’ Championship, hydraulic issues for Hamilton and his Mercedes saw him start 14th on the grid, while title rival Sebastian Vettel took pole position.
It took just 14 laps for the Brit to climb to fifth as Vettel led the race, but then the rain came, Formula One’s great equaliser.
With just 15 laps to go, Vettel went off, locking the rear brakes and hitting the barrier. His race was over and Lewis had the chance to turn the title battle in his favour.
The drama wasn’t over though, as a now infamous botched pitstop saw Hamilton left out on old tyres, while fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was on fresher rubber.
Lewis somehow held him off until the chequered flag, with a little help from team orders, in a superb drive.
Some believe he should have been given a five second penalty for cutting the last corner on that pitstop, but he was reprimanded instead and kept his win.
8. Monaco Grand Prix 2019
“We're going to lose this race Bono. I can’t look after these tyres anymore. They’re dead.”
Those words uttered by Lewis on lap 56 of 78 at Monaco in 2019 have become famous amongst F1 fans.
Whether or not the tyres were actually ‘dead’ remains a mystery, but what is clear is that Hamilton put on a defensive driving masterclass to keep Red Bull’s Max Verstappen behind and take the chequered flag.
A fitting tribute to his mentor Niki Lauda, who passed away just days before the race.
7. Monaco Grand Prix 2008
More than a decade earlier and driving for McLaren, Hamilton won his first Monaco race in another tribute to one of F1’s greats.
Starting third on the grid in the pouring rain, he looked to be in trouble, when on lap six he made contact with the barrier and suffered a rear right punctured.
The quick-thinking McLaren garage fuelled up the car for a long stint, and with the weather causing problems for the frontrunners, including Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, on top of some safety car chaos, it gave Lewis a chance.
And that was all he needed.
Going from fifth to first, his win in Monaco saw him replicate his hero Ayrton Senna in a wet weather drive reminiscent of the brilliant Brazilian.
6. Bahrain Grand Prix 2014
In a race that acted as a prelude for their feisty 2016 title battle, Hamilton went at it with Mercedes teammate and close friend Nico Rosberg.
Fighting for the lead throughout, Lewis drove superbly, especially in the later laps with Rosberg on fresher tyres, to win in Bahrain.
A win worthy of his eventual world driver’s championship come the end of the season.
5. Chinese Grand Prix 2011
A win that nearly never was.
Suffering with major car issues, he looked to be out of the race before it even started, but with just seconds to spare, the McLaren mechanics somehow got him to the grid.
Starting third behind title rivals Vettel and Jenson Button, his three-stop strategy worked to perfection, pulling off overtake after overtake to secure victory, more than five seconds clear of second place.
4. German Grand Prix 2008
The brilliance of Lewis Hamilton was truly on show in his last-gasp win in Germany.
Leading by almost 12 seconds after 35 laps, a safety car and poor McLaren strategy left him out on old rubber while the rest of the field had fresh tyres.
No problem for Lewis though, who in just nine laps pulled clear enough of the field he came out in fifth after his pit stop, before climbing back up to second in just 15 laps.
With two laps to go and Nelson Piquet Jr. ahead of him, he passed the Brazilian to secure a late and unlikely victory.
3. Japanese Grand Prix 2007
A wet weather drive for the ages, and not his last on this list.
Qualifying on pole, Lewis and the rest of the grid started under the safety car in heavy rain and fog, with conditions among the most treacherous F1 has ever seen.
Despite contact with Robert Kubica, Hamilton would go on to win the race comfortably in a difficult drive he made look easy.
“It was so tricky out there. I couldn’t see in my mirrors, my visor was all fogged up so I could see very little and it was so foggy,” he admitted after the race.
2. Turkish Grand Prix 2020
A drive so brilliant Sebastian Vettel went to congratulate Lewis before he even got out of the car.
Qualifying sixth and struggling in the first half of the race, his Mercedes just couldn’t grip the damp and newly laid track.
But then, the rain stopped, the track began to dry and Hamilton came into his own, increasing his pace and moving through the leaders to claim not just the win, but by 30 seconds too.
Oh, and this was all on a battered set of intermediate tyres while everyone else was on fresh rubber.
1. British Grand Prix 2008
It doesn’t get better than this.
After turning heads during his debut season in 2007, he truly made the world stand up and take notice at Silverstone in 2008.
Starting second in the pouring British rain, he found grip that no else could, passing leader and McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen on lap five and setting off into the distance.
By the time he reached the chequered flag to take the win, Hamilton was more than a minute ahead of second-place Nick Heidfeld and had lapped every driver up to third.
A truly astonishing drive.
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