Formula One: Dominant Lewis Hamilton setting record pace
Mercedes driver could overtake Michael Schumacher mark in Abu Dhabi
Le Castellet: Lewis Hamilton could overtake Michael Schumacher’s record haul of 91 wins by the end of the season, however surreal that may sound.
The Mercedes driver is accelerating towards a sixth title with an air of inevitability after Sunday’s French Grand Prix took his tally to 79 career wins with six victories in eight races so far this season.
“It’s crazy to think that we are where we are right now,” he said at Le Castellet after his fourth win in a row sent him 36 points clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas, and 76 ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
“I definitely didn’t expect to have six wins at this point and it doesn’t feel real.”
With 13 races remaining, Hamilton has a mathematical chance of celebrating win No. 92 in Abu Dhabi if he continues to steamroller all rivals in a fashion reminiscent of Schumacher in his pomp.
To do that he would have to obliterate more records, however.
No driver in the history of the sport dating back to 1950 has won more than 13 races in a season or conjured up a run of more than nine triumphs in a row. France was Hamilton’s fourth on the trot.
No team has won more than 11 in a row in the modern era. Mercedes are on 10.