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Formula One: Will Lewis Hamilton catch Michael Schumacher’s championship record?

By Asher Fair

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 11: Michael Schumacher (R) of Germany and Mercedes GP and Lewis Hamilton (L) of Great Britain and McLaren drive side by side during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on September 11, 2011 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 11: Michael Schumacher (R) of Germany and Mercedes GP and Lewis Hamilton (L) of Great Britain and McLaren drive side by side during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on September 11, 2011 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) /
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Will Lewis Hamilton be able to catch and then pass Michael Schumacher’s Formula One championship total of seven?

2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button recently made headlines by saying he feels that three-time (and likely soon-to-be four-time) Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton can reach Michael Schumacher’s record mark of seven career championships in the sport.

But will he do so?

Here are Button’s comments about the subject.

"“When you look at the facts and the stats, [Lewis Hamilton]’s out-qualified Michael [Schumacher], but in terms of world championships, he’s got a little way to go. We can honestly say he’s got a very good chance of winning this year and I hope he does because last year was a very tough year for him in terms of being very unlucky.”“Michael is still the greatest when you look at the outright results, but if Lewis stays in the sport and if Mercedes stay as competitive, you could see him getting close to winning seven world championships, but only time will tell.”"

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Hamilton, 32, leads the drivers standings by 59 points over four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel with four races to go this season, meaning it would take a miracle for Hamilton not to win this year’s title as there are only a maximum of 100 points left on the table for each driver with the winner of each race receiving 25.

So Hamilton is, in fact, on pace to win his fourth career Formula One championship this season, which would bring him into a 3rd place tie from a 5th place tie on the all-time list. He would be tied with both Vettel and Alain Prost, and he would trail just Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio, who won seven and five championships, respectively.

Lewis Hamilton catching Michael Schumacher’s championship record: SELL

Catching Schumacher’s championship total like Jenson Button predicted will be hard for Hamilton. Even if he wins this year’s championship, he will still trail Schumacher by three titles, which was his total coming into this season through the first 10 years of his career despite the fact that he has always driven in a winning car and has never finished outside of the top 5 in the drivers standings.

Next: Which drivers will drive for Mercedes and Ferrari in 2019?

Plus, Lewis Hamilton’s future in Formula One is uncertain. His contract extension runs through the end of the 2018 season, but there have even been rumors that he might actually retire before then. With plenty of young drivers out there who deserve top-tier rides with a team like Mercedes such as Max Verstappen, it’s hard to stick to a prediction about Hamilton, who will be 33 at the end of next season, catching Michael Schumacher’s championship mark when he isn’t even halfway there yet as it stand right now, much less passing it.

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