It feels as though every race in the last year has thrust Hamilton on the path to breaking a new F1 record, largely those once-unbelievable records set by Michael Schumacher.
We have also included the records Hamilton shares with another driver, some of which he could hold alone in the next few years.
Most wins in Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton: 103
Michael Schumacher: 91
Sebastian Vettel: 53
Alain Prost: 51
Ayrton Senna: 41
Hamilton’s dominance has been so profound over the last seven years that not only does he have the most wins (taking 77 of those during his time at Mercedes), but he has almost double the wins of Sebastian Vettel in third place. His first win came in 2007 at the Canadian Grand Prix, just six races into his rookie season, while his most recent win was the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
Most points in Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton: 4193.5
Sebastian Vettel: 3065
Fernando Alonso: 1982
Kimi Raikkonen: 1873
Valtteri Bottas: 1762
Nico Rosberg: 1594.5
You may be surprised to see the absence of some of the F1 greats of this list, and that is because the current points system of awarding 25 points for a win was only introduced in 2010. Before that, since 1991, drivers received only 10 points for a win.
Prior to 1991, a driver would claim nine points for a win, and eight points between 1950 and 1960. In addition, there were fewer races in season, and up to 2009 only the top eight finishers got points.
Overall, the last 10 years or so have been far more conducive to racking up points, and the modern points system certainly skews the count in favour of drivers over the past decade. Rosberg’s additional half point comes from the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix when the race was stopped due to rain on lap 31 of 56. Half points were awarded as full points are only given after 75% of the race has elapsed.
Most consecutive race starts
Lewis Hamilton: 265
Daniel Ricciardo: 214
Nico Rosberg: 206
Riccardo Patrese: 187
Jenson Button: 179
While Hamilton will have to beat five other drivers before he breaks Raikkonen’s record of F1 races started (a whopping 334 entries and counting) he does hold the record for the most consecutive race starts. After testing positive for COVID-19, Hamilton had to miss the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Before this, Hamilton had never missed a start since his 2007 debut.
Most entries with a single engine manufacturer
Lewis Hamilton: 292 (Mercedes)
Kimi Raikkonen: 209 (Ferrari)
Michael Schumacher: 181 (Ferrari)
David Coulthard: 150 (Mercedes)
Emerson Fittipaldi: 148 (Ford Cosworth)
Hamilton’s cars have only ever been powered by Mercedes, whether with McLaren between 2007 and 2012 and of course now with the Mercedes works team. Thus, he has more than surpassed his competitors in this record.
Most consecutive points finishes
Lewis Hamilton: 48
Kimi Raikkonen: 27
Michael Schumacher: 24
Fernando Alonso: 23
Valtteri Bottas: 22
Hamilton consecutively scored points 48 times between the 2018 British Grand Prix and the 2020 Bahrain GP, missing the following Sakhir Grand Prix after contracting COVID-19. This is somewhat contentious; some may argue that because he did not start, his streak should continue because he did not technically record a non-points scoring finish. Nonetheless, Hamilton safely has this record secured not only thanks to his potency in Mercedes machinery, but also their reliability.
Total pole positions
Lewis Hamilton: 103
Michael Schumacher: 68
Ayrton Senna: 65
Sebastian Vettel: 57
Jim Clark and Alain Prost: 33
Hamilton’s first pole position was at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, one of six achieved in his first F1 season. Hamilton has achieved at least one pole position in every season he has competed in, ranging from one pole position in 2011 and 2012, up to 12 pole positions in 2016.
Most podium finishes
Lewis Hamilton: 183
Michael Schumacher: 155
Sebastian Vettel: 122
Alain Prost: 106
Kimi Raikkonen: 103
The lowest number of podiums Hamilton achieved in a single season was five in 2009 for McLaren, and also in 2013 with Mercedes. He's had one podium so far in 2022.
Total races finished in the points
Lewis Hamilton: 252
Michael Schumacher: 221
Kimi Raikkonen: 219
Fernando Alonso: 218
Sebastian Vettel: 210
This is another record that Hamilton has taken from Schumacher. While the German may have started more races, Hamilton has finished in the points more often, scoring 239 times so far. Such has been the consistency of the Hamilton and Mercedes axis that he scored points in every race of the 2017 season – his worst finish being a ninth place in the Mexican Grand Prix.
Highest average points per race started
Lewis Hamilton: 14.36 points per race started
Max Verstappen: 11.09
Sebastian Vettel: 10.91
Valtteri Bottas: 9.67
Nico Rosberg: 7.74
Again, the modern points system skews in the favour of modern drivers. It is an unusual record in the sense that drivers can knock themselves off the top by scoring fewer points, and therefore reducing your overall average, a reality which might affect Vettel based on his 2020 and 2021 points scoring precedent.
Most consecutive race finishes
Lewis Hamilton: 48 (2018 British Grand Prix-2020 Bahrain Grand Prix)
Daniel Ricciardo: 34 (2020 Styrian GP-2021 Mexico City GP)
Nick Heidfeld: 33 (2007 Chinese Grand Prix-2009 Italian Grand Prix)
Carlos Sainz: 31 (2020 Eifel Grand Prix - 2022 Saudi Arabian GP)
Kimi Raikkonen: 30 (2012 Australian Grand Prix-2013 Hungarian Grand Prix)
Fernando Alonso: 29 (2013 Chinese Grand Prix-2014 Belgian Grand Prix)
Nico Rosberg and Esteban Ocon: 27 (2008 Canadian Grand Prix-2009 Japanese Grand Prix and 2016 Belgian Grand Prix-2017 Mexican Grand Prix)
This is another record halted by Hamilton’s positive COVID test in 2020. Again, this is a testament to both Hamilton’s abilities and the reliability of the cars provided by Mercedes.
Total laps led
Lewis Hamilton: 5396
Michael Schumacher: 5111
Sebastian Vettel: 3499
Ayrton Senna: 2987
Alain Prost: 2684
Hamilton has led more laps than Michael Schumacher, though crucially he's yet to add a lap to that tally in 2022.
Total races leading every lap
Lewis Hamilton: 23
Ayrton Senna: 19
Sebastian Vettel: 15
Jim Clark: 13
Jackie Stewart and Michael Schumacher: 11
Hamilton first led every lap in a race in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix in his McLaren MP4–22, with a very close Raikkonen behind him.
Total pole and wins in the same race
Lewis Hamilton: 61
Michael Schumacher: 40
Sebastian Vettel: 31
Ayrton Senna: 29
Alain Prost: 18
The vast majority of Hamilton’s poles have been with Mercedes - with Melbourne being his most successful circuit for pole positions, where he has secured pole eight times.
Only driver to win a race in every season completed
Hamilton has won as little as one race in a season (2013), all the way up to 11 wins which he has achieved in multiple seasons since joining Mercedes. Though only three races in, he is yet to win in 2022 - failing to do so will mean his record run comes to an end.
Records Hamilton shares with others
Most world championships
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton: 7
Juan Manuel Fangio: 5
Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel: 4
An eighth world championship in 2021 was on Hamilton's radar until the last race of the season, when he lost both the lead of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the championship, to Verstappen on the final lap.
He clinched his first world title in a particularly nail-biting manner in 2008 with McLaren, beating Ferrari rival Felipe Massa on the final corner of the last lap of the last race of the season. Each of his other six world championships were won with Mercedes. He is also the current world champion, after cruising to the 2020 driver’s championship in the dominant Mercedes W11.
Most wins in first championship season
Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton: 4
Juan Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina: 3
Johnnie Parsons, Giancarlo Baghetti, Jackie Stewart, Clay Regazzoni, Emerson Fittipaldi and Juan Pablo Montoya: 1
This is obviously not a record that Hamilton can work on beating, so he will have to settle with sharing this record with 1997 world champion Villeneuve - who broke out of the traps in impressive fashion the previous year with Williams.
Only Hamilton and Montoya have achieved a win in their first championship season since the turn of the century (Hamilton in 2007 and Montoya in 2001) which is likely a reflection of increased use of junior teams - and drivers graduating from junior categories into cars that are unfortunately not capable of winning a race. Pierre Gasly’s win at the 2020 Italian GP may serve to prove that point wrong though, after taking victory in an AlphaTauri.
Most wins at the same grand prix
Michael Schumacher (French GP) and Lewis Hamilton (British GP and Hungarian GP): 8
Alain Prost (Brazilian GP and French GP) and Ayrton Senna (Monaco GP): 6
While Hamilton shares this record with Schumacher like many of his other records, this one is slightly difficult to rank because while Schumacher and Hamilton have each won eight times at their respective GPs, Hamilton has achieved the feat at two different GPs.
They have also each won seven times at other grands prix each (Schumacher on two occasions to Hamilton's one), and then six times at seven more GPs between them.
While Prost and Senna are also ranked, Hamilton and Schumacher would still cover the top five easily between them if repeating drivers.
Most consecutive wins at the same grand prix
Ayrton Senna (Monaco GP) and Lewis Hamilton (Spanish Grand Prix): 5
Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentine GP), Jim Clark (Belgian and British GP), Ayrton Senna (Belgian GP) and Michael Schumacher (Spanish GP and United States GP): 4
Hamilton’s record for most consecutive wins at the same grand prix is still ongoing, as he has won the Spanish GP every year since 2017 - including 2021.
Most consecutive seasons with at least one grand prix win
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton: 15
Alain Prost: 10
Ayrton Senna: 9
Nelson Piquet: 8
Having won a race in every season he has competed in (2007–2021), Hamilton’s streak is still ongoing.
Most podium finishes in a season
Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton: 17
Nico Rosberg: 16
Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas: 15
Hamilton achieved 17 podium finishes in a single season four times, in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Remarkably, Schumacher’s 17 podiums were the result of only 17 entries that season, so that could be a feat Hamilton could aim for, although it is no longer possible in 2021 after a tough weekend in Monaco.
Fewest world championship seasons before first title
Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton: 2 seasons
Denny Hulme and Emerson Fittipaldi: 3 seasons
Another record that Hamilton shares that he cannot work towards holding alone. However, the nature of contemporary F1 means that junior drivers seldom step up into race-winning cars, so he may have this record for a fair while.
