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Formula 1: Ranking Lewis Hamilton’s 4 gift-wrapped victories of 2018

By Asher Fair

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 11: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 11, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 11: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 11, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 11: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer is crashed into by Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM11 Mercedes (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 11: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer is crashed into by Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM11 Mercedes (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) /

#1 – Brazilian Grand Prix

By lap 44 of the 71-lap Brazilian Grand Prix around the 15-turn, 2.677-mile (4.309-kilometer) Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace road course in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Max Verstappen appeared to be well on his way to what would have been his second consecutive victory and his third victory of the season.

Verstappen entered the race, which was the 20th and penultimate race of the season, having just won the Mexican Grand Prix, and he won the Austrian Grand Prix earlier in the season.

A win in the Brazilian Grand Prix would have given Verstappen six career Formula 1 victories at the age of 21 years and 42 days, an age at which no other driver in Formula 1 history had ever earned one victory.

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Verstappen started the race in fifth place and quickly worked his way up to second behind Lewis Hamilton, who started it from the pole position. Hamilton made his pit stop before Verstappen did, allowing Verstappen to take the lead. Several laps later, Verstappen came into the pits. He came out behind Hamilton. Verstappen’s teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, had not yet made his pit stop and led these two drivers.

Right after Ricciardo came into the pits a few laps later, Verstappen passed Hamilton for the lead. He had been running him down at a rapid pace ever since making his pit stop. He immediately began to pull away, and it appeared as though he would win the race quite handily.

Then lap 44 came around.

Racing Point Force India’s Esteban Ocon, who was running in 16th place at the time, attempted to unlap himself on new tires by passing Verstappen in turns one and two, and he made contact with Verstappen’s car, sending both drivers spinning.

Here is a video of this incident.

Hamilton made his way past Verstappen and opened up a lead of over five seconds. Verstappen got back on the track and brought this margin down to under one and a half seconds even with his car having sustained floor damage as a result of his collision with Ocon, but he simply ran out of laps to catch and pass Hamilton, allowing Hamilton to earn yet another unlikely victory.

dark. Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time

Which of these four victories that Lewis Hamilton has earned so far in the 2018 Formula 1 season do you believe was the most “gift-wrapped”? Do you agree with these rankings?

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