Where do the numbers place Lewis Hamilton in the pantheon of F1’s greats?
He’s in the hall of fame, but where?
Lewis Hamilton’s 2017 world drivers’ championship lifts him into the next level of Formula One greatness, joining Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost on four, with just two other drivers having won more.
But after another season of dominance, where do the numbers put Lewis in the all-time list of the sport’s legends? Looking at podiums, race wins, pole positions and titles, what sort of company is the Briton keeping?
World drivers’ championships
Level 3rd
Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio sets the bar in second place with five world titles, impressively earned in just seven full seasons.
Fangio also claimed the runner-up spot twice, and won the last of his titles at the grand old age of 46 – if Hamilton is still racing in his forties, you can expect him to have surpassed Fangio’s tally of five.
Race wins
2nd
The Brit moved past Prost into second in the all-time list during the 2016 season and has since gone clear of the Frenchman with nine more race wins so far this year.
His current total of 62 victories, over half of which have come with Mercedes in the last four seasons, leaves Vettel (fourth) and Ayrton Senna (fifth) in his dust.
Hamilton is still a mammoth 29 race wins off Schumacher’s total, but three more dominant seasons would take him into the German’s ballpark.
Pole positions
1st
The Briton took his eighth pole of the season at this year’s Italian Grand Prix to reach 69 (now on 72), surpassing the former Ferrari man’s tally of 68.
Hamilton then crucially took the championship lead for the first time in 2017 with victory over third-placed Vettel on race day, completing a memorable weekend for the 32-year-old.
Podiums
2nd
Lewis has made his way up for the national anthems 116 times, more than anyone else except Schumacher, whose total of 155 gives the Mercedes driver something to aim for.
Hamilton’s podium percentage is better than Schumacher’s, but when it comes to totals he’s not in the same league – yet.
What the numbers don’t say
For example, how can you measure someone like Senna, whose racing career was cut short?
How can you categorise Fernando Alonso’s quality when his car has been so poor recently?
Hamilton’s numbers are mightily impressive, but fortunately they are not the be-all and end-all of sporting measurement.
