Sky Sports activities F1 Lewis Hamilton ranks his 10 finest wins throughout his time with Mercedes forward of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…
10) Monaco Grand Prix 2019: Warding off new opponents
Max Verstappen emerged as Hamilton’s subsequent celebrity rival, with their head-to-head assembly in Monaco in 2019 remaining one in all their most intense battles of your entire sequence.
For a lot of the race, Verstappen was in Hamilton’s rearview mirror – harking back to Ayrton Senna’s 1992 encounter with Nigel Mansell in Monte Carlo – whereas Hamilton His activity was made harder after Mercedes admitted it had given him the “incorrect” medium tyres.
Verstappen gave it his all, even making contact with the Mercedes heading into a decent nook with three laps remaining, however Hamilton stored his automobile excellent all through. Hamilton’s victory was all of the extra spectacular given the loss of life of his good good friend and mentor Niki Lauda earlier within the week.
9) Hungary 2013: first of many occasions for Mercedes
Eyes had been raised when Hamilton rotated McLaren into a comparatively pristine Mercedes, however the W04 proved itself with two wins from Nico Rosberg in Spherical 10 on the Hungaroring. Hamilton gained the primary sport for the Silver Arrows in type after the tempo.
Hamilton overcame pre-race expectations, hovering temperatures and two world champions in Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen to take an unexpectedly emphatic victory in Hungary, ending on pole place. These dominant performances had been replicated repeatedly over the subsequent decade.
8) 2018 Italian Grand Prix: Heartbreak for Ferrari
In 2018, Hamilton used his excellent driving expertise to defeat Ferrari’s entrance row away from dwelling at Monza and as soon as once more launched a critical assault on championship rival Vettel.
He went across the exterior of Vettel on the second chicane and the 2 made contact, sending the Ferrari driver spinning.
Raikkonen can be a more durable problem as Hamilton overtook the Finn on the early security automobile restart however misplaced the lead on the subsequent nook.
He spent the subsequent 40 laps staring behind that flying Ferrari with unbelievable straight-line velocity, then entered the primary nook with 9 laps to go at breakneck velocity – this time with out relinquishing first place. , and continued to win.
7) 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix: An unprecedented wet-weather masterclass
All of the speak in regards to the 2016 F1 race in Sao Paulo centered on Verstappen’s gorgeous third place end as he braved heavy rain to return to the observe.
However, up entrance, Hamilton was in a league of his personal in a must-win race to maintain his title hopes life like towards Rosberg, who was 11 seconds adrift of his Mercedes team-mate.
Maybe not as well-known as his Silverstone win for McLaren in 2008, however his rainy-day efficiency flew underneath the radar.
6) 2018 German Grand Prix: a title-deciding comeback
Hockenheim 2018 was undoubtedly one of the extraordinary days in Hamilton’s extraordinary profession.
The Briton had already misplaced out to Vettel heading into the weekend, and his temper grew to become even worse when he suffered a catastrophic failure in qualifying that left him in 14th. Hamilton has by no means gained a race ending decrease than sixth.
However after sprinting throughout the observe, Hamilton took benefit of the moist and dry situations to shut in on Vettel earlier than his archrival crashed the automobile onto the gravel. It was a surprising win and essential for Hamilton to win his fifth title.
5) Bahrain Grand Prix 2021: Beat Verstappen in gorgeous season opener
The primary sport of the 2021 season units the tone for the rest of the season. Verstappen began from pole place however Hamilton bought the higher of him and shamelessly breached observe restrictions by going extensive at Flip 4 within the first half of the race to realize lap time.
Verstappen ran on brisker tires for the ultimate cease and began chasing the Mercedes driver. With 5 laps remaining, Verstappen went off the surface at Flip 4 however handed Hamilton on the observe.
He gave means after the lap and Hamilton held him off in an epic season opener.
4) British Grand Prix 2024: Ninth Silverstone victory ends drought
Rule modifications have knocked Hamilton’s Mercedes out of rivalry for normal race victory after shedding to Verstappen within the brutal climax of the 2021 season.
His team-mate George Russell already has just a few wins underneath his belt, however Hamilton has competed in 56 grands prix and not using a podium end at Silverstone in 2024.
It was a race befitting Hamilton’s monumental victory, a dry-wet-dry thriller that ended with Verstappen chasing the Mercedes within the closing laps.
Hamilton managed his tires brilliantly within the ultimate cease to take his ninth win at Silverstone, breaking his joint document with Michael Schumacher for many wins in the identical race.
3) Bahrain Grand Prix 2014: Duel within the Desert
Even after only one race in 2014, it was clear that Mercedes had taken the lead underneath the brand new guidelines, with Hamilton and Rosberg virtually sure to emerge as unique title challengers.
With that in thoughts, beating his team-mates in an epic full race in Bahrain was essential for Hamilton – not only for his second world title, however for his Mercedes profession.
Time and time once more Rosberg handed Hamilton on the within, however Hamilton responded time and time once more, each offensively and defensively within the wheel-to-wheel battle, particularly late within the race when his teammate had an enormous tire benefit.
2) Turkish Grand Prix 2020: Tire heroes declare seventh world title
Hamilton is thought for his spectacular tire administration and he offered the strongest proof of that on the 2020 Istanbul Olympics.
Hamilton, who was caught in visitors attributable to moist climate, pitted early into the intermediates and was compelled to race patiently as overtaking was troublesome.
Because the observe dried out, drivers forward of him pitted for contemporary rubber, however Hamilton bravely stayed on, passing Racing Level driver Sergio Perez completely after which, not like most of his rivals, did not Pit in for brand spanking new rubber.
He successfully turned the intermediate tires into slicks on a near-dry observe and gained by greater than half a minute, additionally equaling Michael Schumacher’s document of seven world championships in excessive style.
1) 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix: the return of all returns
A DRS infringement in qualifying will see Hamilton begin from the again of the grid in Saturday’s dash race in what’s going to change into the game’s most well-known title race in a decent battle between Hamilton and Verstappen.
He completed fifth within the dash race however was penalized 5 spots again as a result of new engine and would begin your entire race in tenth.
Hamilton made an excellent begin and climbed to fifth inside 5 laps earlier than passing Verstappen’s Crimson Bull teammate Perez on lap 19 for second.
Overtaking Verstappen would show to be harder because the Dutchman’s fierce defending compelled Hamilton off the observe at Flip 4, with the Mercedes driver finally passing his rival within the closing levels to slender the hole. Championship hole.
Hamilton described the victory as “essentially the most particular race” of his profession in his 2023 speech. When it comes to driving, you would be hard-pressed to discover a higher weekend driver in F1 historical past.
Watch the ultimate race of the 2024 System 1 season – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – reside on Sky Sports activities F1 this week, with racing going down at 1pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports F1 or live stream with NOW