It will be the most anomalous World Championship of seventy years of history to put Lewis Hamilton on top of the world, together with Michael sSchumacher, with the possibility of trying to do even better? Mercedes, absolute master of the hybrid era, starts once again with the favors of the prediction and the hunting for the seventh title it is the obligatory mission of Lewis who, among the pilots, is the only one capable of touching up the most significant statistics. With one exception.
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Hamilton’s chances of making a tie with are quite high Michael sSchumacher in the history of Formula 1. Seventh title as a mandatory mission: nothing less can be enough for the Mercedes “star” who – should hit the center – will succeed in a longer time frame than Schumi. The German has in fact scored his seven seals over eleven seasons (from the first with Benetton in 1994 to the seventh with Ferrari in 2004). Lewis instead will do it (in his best … intentions) over thirteen seasons, given that the first title of the British champion dates back to 2008 (with McLaren). However, taking into account that – in return – it was only his second year in the World Cup, while Schumacher inaugurated his series in his third full year (after his debut in the second half of 1991).
Mission to mission, Hamilton can take a step forward this year also in the hunt for one of the other firm records in the hands of Schumacher. At the wheel of Ferrari, in fact, the unfortunate German champion holds the record of consecutive titles: five, between 2000 and 2004. Hamilton (world champion from 2017 to 2019) can rise to an altitude of four, drawing Juan Manuel Fangio and the Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. “Fault” of … Nico Rosberg which, by completing the feat of winning the 2016 title, broke the “streak” that Hamilton had started in 2014, at the dawn of the hybrid era of the World Championship, so far dominated by Mercedes.
The remote duel between Hamilton and Schumacher (on the track they found themselves together only from 2010 to 2012, interlocutors years for both, even if with very divergent perspectives), it also continues on the field of records in the Grand Prix. Lewis are missing seven wins to reach Schumacher (84 versus 91). You need a Mercedes up to that of the last six seasons and above all you need a season … complete which, at the moment, is far from certain. Third in the absolute ranking is Vettel, but very detached, with his exceptional “score” of 53 hits, two more than Alain Prost.
Also in the account of the placements on the podium (155 to 151) and above all of the fastest laps in the race (77 against 47), Schumacher still towers above Hamilton. The latter, however, has long since put his seal at the top of the ranking of the number of pole positions scored: 88, against Schumi’s 68 who, in turn, had knocked down the historic “wall during his Ferrari epic “of the 65 pole of Ayrton Senna.
Only one, among the most significant records to beat, is not yet within Hamilton’s reach and, at the same time, it is instead of one of the drivers at the start this season. It is that of the most Grand Prix races. The point of reference is that of the 323 GP in which he took part during his career Rubens Barrichello. On the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix, in fact, Hamilton just entered the top ten (ninth with 250 races run – Vettel is 240, Perez is 176, Ricciardo is 171). To overcome the Brazilian can instead succeed Kimi Raikkonen which, with 313 world championship entries, has just come up behind it Fernando Alonso (312) and is therefore only ten “red traffic lights” from Barrichello … Mission possible, the one that Kimi (among other things third in the fast laps ranking, only one length from Hamilton: 47 to 46) has now ahead, with all the “if” and “but” of a calendar with a perspective that is not yet fully defined.
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