Formula One: Lewis Hamilton officially crowned 2017 champion
By Asher Fair
With the 2017 Formula One season not officially complete, Lewis Hamilton is officially a four-time champion and the reigning champion heading into 2018.
Lewis Hamilton, 32, knew that there was no possible scenario by which he could be passed in the final drivers standings in either of the last two races of the 2017 Formula One season, the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton had secured the 2017 championship with a 9th place finish in the 18th race of the 20-race season, the Mexican Grand Prix, as there was a maximum of 50 points available for drivers in the final two races of the season, and Hamilton led 2nd place Sebastian Vettel in the standings by 56.
But now that the 2017 season has officially come to a close, the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is officially in the rearview mirror, and Hamilton has taken the checkered flag one final time in 2017, he is officially the 2017 champion, and he will be the reigning champion of the sport heading into next season when he is set to return to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in the final year of his current contract.
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Hamilton’s championship is his fourth over the course of his 11-year career as a full-time Formula One driver. His first title came back in the 2008 season, and he has now won titles in three of the last four seasons, only failing to win the 2016 championship when he was beaten by his teammate Nico Rosberg, who proceeded to retire after being crowned champion in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
With four career Formula One championships to his name now, Hamilton shoots up from a 5th place tie with Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna to a 3rd place tie with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on the all-time titles list. He trails only Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio on that list now. Schumacher holds the record with seven titles, and Fangio is ahead of the 3rd place tie by one title with five of his own.
Hamilton will be looking to add at least one more Formula One championship to his resume before he retires, as he is definitely coming back to the sport in 2018. Will he stay in the sport long enough to win seven or eight titles to tie or pass Michael Schumacher for the all-time record?
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See if Lewis Hamilton can get the job done and win his fifth career Formula One championship in the 2018 season by watching the season unfold from start to finish. The 21-race season is set to begin on Sunday, March 25th with the Australian Grand Prix in just under four months, and it is set to last exactly eight months, with the season finale being the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, November 25th.