Lewis Hamilton: Centurion

[Quite Possibly Raving]

I thought Lewis reaching the remarkable milestone of 100 race wins deserved its own thread. I don't pretend to hide that I'm a huge LH fan. I watched F1 on and off before 2007, but not religiously. I remember being completely captivated by this young driver taking on a world champion in McClaren; loving his raw pace, confidence and aggression. I've hardly missed a race since.

But love him, like me, loathe him, like much of Reddit, or just plain indifferent, I hope we can all agree that he's firmly within the company of the BOATs. (Best Of All Time, to move away from the silly debate about who is the greatest.)

I thought it would be fun to perhaps share your favourite LH race win (or wins). To help jog your memory, here is a full list of the 100 wins from Autosport:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/l...h-gp-2020-turkish-gp-and-more/6636777/?nrt=54

To start the balling rolling, two I loved:

2012 Canadian GP, Montreal - Helps that I just love the Montreal GP. Really enjoyed the battle between Ham, Vettel and Alonso. Continued a really interesting start to the season.

2008 British GP, Silverstone (Do I need to explain?)

 

[eddie_squidd]

Good thread! It's an amazing achievement but strangely muted yesterday due to Lando's disappointment. A shame really, since his turning round of his fortunes in the race showed his maturity and experience so well, especially in contrast to Lando's slight naivety.

Many favourite Lewis wins, but my favourite of his races remains Spa 2008. Even though he was robbed of the win in the stewards room after the race, as with Lewis himself I still regard this as a race he won. It's my favourite because I was there at Spa, as the rain started to fall, watching him hunt down Raikkonen in the closing stages, and having that great scrap that ended with Kimi sticking it in the wall.

Congratulations Lewis.

 

[moreinjuredthanowen]

hamilton has consistently delivery on two key things.

he's dominated team mates and teams in general. Russell be warned.

and

He's delivered more than ought to be possible, be it fast laps, hot laps, rain etc.

Yesterday he chose to ignore his team twice. earlier in race the tyres were out and he saw his opponent pit and he continued. He followed norris to pressurise him and ignored the pit twice until they told him more rain was coming and he dived in. he makes the decisions!

He could have been caught behind people and seen max win. he could have planked it but he got it perfect.

He is not the GOAT though he's had the fastest car consistently so he's one of the top 5. He lives in an era where there are more races and more opportunities to be safe so his records stand to him in that context.

To be in a top 5 with Senna, Schumacher, Fangio and probably Jim clark. is a phenomenal achievement.

IMo he dusts prost, Stewart, Lauda and vettel etc.

 

[Quite Possibly Raving]

hamilton has consistently delivery on two key things.

he's dominated team mates and teams in general. Russell be warned.

and

He's delivered more than ought to be possible, be it fast laps, hot laps, rain etc.

Yesterday he chose to ignore his team twice. earlier in race the tyres were out and he saw his opponent pit and he continued. He followed norris to pressurise him and ignored the pit twice until they told him more rain was coming and he dived in. he makes the decisions!

He could have been caught behind people and seen max win. he could have planked it but he got it perfect.

He is not the GOAT though he's had the fastest car consistently so he's one of the top 5. He lives in an era where there are more races and more opportunities to be safe so his records stand to him in that context.

To be in a top 5 with Senna, Schumacher, Fangio and probably Jim clark. is a phenomenal achievement.

IMo he dusts prost, Stewart, Lauda and vettel etc.

Great post. I was keen to avoid this turning into a GOAT debate, perhaps for another thread. I think it's a bit of a waste arguing over such different eras.

 

[moreinjuredthanowen]

Great post. I was keen to avoid this turning into a GOAT debate, perhaps for another thread. I think it's a bit of a waste arguing over such different eras.

The capacity to think seems lacking in bottas. he does as told, might whine when it goes wrong but hamilton delivers the aggression, pace, ability to sense conditions and also the ability to think. following i think Riccardo or Perez into the pits would have ruined his race. he did the exact opposite and it opened up for him to ump in faster laps and that in the end positioned him to take advantage of the rain. there's many examples of this thinking as well as Mercedes feeding him the info and encouraging more out of him.

the big difference is when they encourage him he can find more. the others can't

 

[SgtBhaji]

It's an unbelievable achievement. One that may never be bested.

Regardless of people's opinions of him, he's certainly among the very best that I have seen grace the sport in my lifetime, and it does annoy me when people play down or dismiss his ability, because they are just plain wrong. And although he may not be at the peak of his powers any longer, he's adapted and evolved as a driver to keep himself at the very top.

He'll be remembered among the greats for the rest of F1s future and quite rightly so.

Massive achievement hitting a century of wins... I never thought anybody would touch Schumacher's record. It totally deserves acknowledgement.

As for favorite win.... That's going to take some thought.

 

[Big Ern]

He was a great driver before Rosberg beat him, but that made him raise his game and now he clearly has to be regarded as the best of his generation (Alonso fans may disagree).
It's a shame he's a bit of a dick, though has seemed more likable since the arrival of Max.

 

[Quite Possibly Raving]

It's an unbelievable achievement. One that may never be bested.

Regardless of people's opinions of him, he's certainly among the very best that I have seen grace the sport in my lifetime, and it does annoy me when people play down or dismiss his ability, because they are just plain wrong. And although he may not be at the peak of his powers any longer, he's adapted and evolved as a driver to keep himself at the very top.

He'll be remembered among the greats for the rest of F1s future and quite rightly so.

Massive achievement hitting a century of wins... I never thought anybody would touch Schumacher's record. It totally deserves acknowledgement.

As for favorite win.... That's going to take some thought.

If you're not a massive LH fan, you're allowed to re-phrase the question to, "win that impressed me the most, it was bloody annoying!"

 

[SgtBhaji]

If you're not a massive LH fan, you're allowed to re-phrase the question to, "win that impressed me the most, it was bloody annoying!"

Oh, I'm a Hamelot...

There's a lot to chose from, especially in the McLaren years, but Bahrain 2014 and the battle with Rosberg always sticks out for some reason.

 

[TopClass]

German GP 2018 always stands out - he came from a long way back and yes the timing of rain was perfect, but he was sublime on his ultra softs and of course homing in on Seb at a few seconds a lap then saw Seb bin it in the gravel - presumably under the pressure.

He held Bottas off in a duel for a few corners before (annoyingly) Merc told Bottas to hold position but it was a heck of a win and was the moment he defeated Seb and Ferrari once and for all in my eyes.

He was also tremendous at times for McLaren when they weren’t the best car and also for Merc in 2013 before Pirelli changed tyres.

I might have to watch some of those early years back again!

Just wish Lady Luck would have given us more Hamilton and Alonso duels as I believe they bring the best out of one another, but that’s racing!

 

[Justjazz]

I agree there is no such thing as a GOAT, only a GOTT, Greatest Of Their Time (generation).

Winning a GP (a race, not the title) is about having the right car that is capable, 95% of the time, the other 5% is fluke. That is true of all of the greats. It is then about the driver. In every generation there has been at least two manufacturers capable of winning. For some seasons Mercedes has not had a competitor constructor but Ferrari where able for many seasons, just not their drivers. Lewis has not had a Number 1 status in his contract. Jenson Button beat Lewis in the same machinery, as did Nico. Bottas, was held back by his own personality. Nico managed only once and there were other forces at play.
I think what can be said about Lewis is his ability to adapt to the circumstances. This is the quality a champion has to have, including those who have come and gone. Max has had some bad luck this season but Lewis has clear signs of long Covid and i would suggest there are at least two races Lewis would have won or been in the top two this season had he not had this and we would be staring at a Lewis lead of about 30 points even if Max hadn't had the blow out. The season is not yet decided. Max is certainly capable this season but may yet shoot himself in the foot. Lewis is strong mentally.

 

[moreinjuredthanowen]

I agree there is no such thing as a GOAT, only a GOTT, Greatest Of Their Time (generation).

Winning a GP (a race, not the title) is about having the right car that is capable, 95% of the time, the other 5% is fluke. That is true of all of the greats. It is then about the driver. In every generation there has been at least two manufacturers capable of winning. For some seasons Mercedes has not had a competitor constructor but Ferrari where able for many seasons, just not their drivers. Lewis has not had a Number 1 status in his contract. Jenson Button beat Lewis in the same machinery, as did Nico. Bottas, was held back by his own personality. Nico managed only once and there were other forces at play.
I think what can be said about Lewis is his ability to adapt to the circumstances. This is the quality a champion has to have, including those who have come and gone. Max has had some bad luck this season but Lewis has clear signs of long Covid and i would suggest there are at least two races Lewis would have won or been in the top two this season had he not had this and we would be staring at a Lewis lead of about 30 points even if Max hadn't had the blow out. The season is not yet decided. Max is certainly capable this season but may yet shoot himself in the foot. Lewis is strong mentally.

Cant agree with above. Simply not true.

All I need do is play the Schumacher at Barcelona in the rain card to disprove that rubbish about winning is 95% car.

Great drivers are great drivers.

 

[SgtBhaji]

Sadly, with Hamilton being in the all conquering Merc for so long, people will always question his achievements. But if you go through the years, the championship is usually won by a combination of great car and great driver. We'd have to scratch a lot from the history books if we take having a brilliant car out of the equation.

 

[Justjazz]

Cant agree with above. Simply not true.

All I need do is play the Schumacher at Barcelona in the rain card to disprove that rubbish about winning is 95% car.

Great drivers are great drivers.

I don't dismiss the skill but to win does require first a great car, second a skilled driver. Percentages may have been wrong but George would be accepted by most as a skilled driver but he needed the Merc to show his capability to win, but for that pit stop. I do accept that rain can be a great leveller too. Stroll in the rain for example.

 

[moreinjuredthanowen]

I don't dismiss the skill but to win does require first a great car, second a skilled driver. Percentages may have been wrong but George would be accepted by most as a skilled driver but he needed the Merc to show his capability to win, but for that pit stop. I do accept that rain can be a great leveller too. Stroll in the rain for example.

That ferrari was a pig though.

Yes the best car wins most of the time but hill had the best car for 2 years v Schumacher and then haikkonen had the best car for 2 years v Schumacher but was Schumacher worse?

Vettel kind of shows what best car and favouritism can do but you have to be both best car and best driver to win.

 

[SgtBhaji]

Yes the best car wins most of the time but hill had the best car for 2 years v Schumacher and then haikkonen had the best car for 2 years v Schumacher but was Schumacher worse?

Don't dismiss how good that Benetton was. It's still one of the most advanced F1 cars ever built. That and it's questionable traction control.

The 94 Williams was a handful. Even Senna was having problems taming it. It doesn't take away from Schumacher's skill, but he had a great car underneath him there.

 

[ched999uk]

It doesn't take away from Schumacher's skill, but he had a great car underneath him there.

I wonder how much work Schumacher put into the car development thought. i.e. he helped to create the car he wanted. So maybe it's also about how well a driver can communicate with the engineers?

 

[SgtBhaji]

I wonder how much work Schumacher put into the car development thought. i.e. he helped to create the car he wanted. So maybe it's also about how well a driver can communicate with the engineers?

There's some input there for sure... Same at Ferrari. Both instances getting a car moulded around him and his style.

Same with Hill though. Brilliant development driver. A lot of credit goes his way for pounding out the miles in the development of the FW14.

 

[DHCanary]

I wonder how much work Schumacher put into the car development thought. i.e. he helped to create the car he wanted. So maybe it's also about how well a driver can communicate with the engineers?

Mattia Binotto made an interesting observation about Schumacher's feedback on the Beyond the Grid podcast. Michael perhaps wasn't the greatest ever at knowing what was wrong with the car and diagnosing how to fix it, although his technical knowledge was very, very good, but he was exceptional at driving consistent lap times. Make a change to the car, Schumacher drives a lap, and you know whether the car is better/worse by the next lap time, every single time. In an era with unlimited testing, that was exceptionally useful.

Michael was also widely credited for changing the culture at Ferrari, and whilst at Benetton, there's a fantastic story about him wanting three speedometers visible to him in the cockpit, at a time where most drivers didn't have a speedometer at all (they'd use the revs to indicate speed).

You must log in or register to see images

You can read the story here: https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/g9tnm3/michael_schumacher_wanted_three_digital/

 

[ched999uk]

Mattia Binotto made an interesting observation about Schumacher's feedback on the Beyond the Grid podcast. Michael perhaps wasn't the greatest ever at knowing what was wrong with the car and diagnosing how to fix it, although his technical knowledge was very, very good, but he was exceptional at driving consistent lap times. Make a change to the car, Schumacher drives a lap, and you know whether the car is better/worse by the next lap time, every single time. In an era with unlimited testing, that was exceptionally useful.

Michael was also widely credited for changing the culture at Ferrari, and whilst at Benetton, there's a fantastic story about him wanting three speedometers visible to him in the cockpit, at a time where most drivers didn't have a speedometer at all (they'd use the revs to indicate speed).

You must log in or register to see images

You can read the story here: https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/g9tnm3/michael_schumacher_wanted_three_digital/

Very interesting, thanks for posting that.