Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton steadily catching Michael Schumacher’s wins record

With another Formula 1 season in the books, Lewis Hamilton is ever so closer to catching Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula 1 wins record.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton capped off yet another Formula 1 season with a championship in 2018. The 33-year-old Briton has now won five career championships, including both of the last two and four of the last five.

Hamilton entered the 21-race 2018 season with 62 career victories, but he also entered it on a three-race win drought, which is something that he has not had to deal with too often since the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era in the 2014 season.

This win drought became a six-race win drought after Hamilton failed to win any of the season’s first three races, and as a result of this, many fans questioned whether or not he still had what it takes to compete for race wins and championships on a regular basis.

Nine victories in a single season is certainly nothing to scoff at, but Hamilton’s win total in the 2017 season of nine was his lowest since the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era, so the fact that he entered the fourth race of the 2018 season on a six-race win drought was justifiably alarming.

However, Hamilton proved the critics wrong by reeling off 11 victories over the course of the season’s final 18 races. Over that 18-race span, he only barely failed to win as many races as he failed to win during the previous six-race span.

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Hamilton’s win total of 11 in the 2018 season tied his career-high win total, as he also earned 11 victories in the 2014 season. It also gave him an all-time record of four seasons with at least 10 victories. There have only been four other seasons of that variety in the sport’s history.

In addition, it gave Hamilton an all-time record of 51 victories in a five-year span, breaking the previous record of 48 victories in a five-year span, which was held by Michael Schumacher, although there were fewer races (2000 season through 2004 season) during the five-year span when Schumacher earned 48 victories.

Now all eyes are on Hamilton potentially tying if not breaking the all-time wins record, which is currently held by Schumacher. The sport’s lone seven-time champion earned 91 victories over the course of his 19-year career in the sport. Hamilton now sits in second place on the all-time wins list, and he trails Schumacher by 18 victories with 73 of his own.

After signing a two-year contract extension this past summer to remain with Mercedes through the 2020 season, Hamilton appears to be in a prime position to have a chance to at least tie Schumacher’s wins record.

During the V6 turbo hybrid era, Hamilton has never earned fewer than 19 victories in a two-year span. Another 19 victories would put him at 92 career victories, which would break Schumacher’s record.

It is true that Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the other two teams aside of Mercedes that have combined to win the last 118 races dating back to the 2013 season, have made gains on the Silver Arrows, and they are expected to continue to do so. Ferrari’s addition of Charles Leclerc as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement and Red Bull Racing’s switch from Renault engines to Honda engines could definitely threaten Mercedes in the 2019 season.

That said, Hamilton’s 2018 season was arguably the strongest of his career despite the fact that Mercedes’ winning margin over second place Ferrari in the constructor standings, 84 points (655 to 571), was their lowest winning margin of the V6 turbo hybrid era and Ferrari and Red Bull Racing seemed to make gains on the Brackley-based team throughout the season.

In addition to tying his career-high single-season win total of 11 in the 2018 season, Hamilton also set an all-time record for points scored in a single season with his 408 points. Keep in mind, he did so even after a rocky start left him on a six-race win drought heading into the season’s fourth race.

With Hamilton clearly in his prime, it would not be surprising to see him continue to creep closer to Schumacher’s all-time wins record. If he keeps doing what he has been doing for the next two seasons, this record could very well end up being his before long.

Will Lewis Hamilton eventually surpass Michael Schumacher’s record-setting mark of 91 career victories in Formula 1 to become the new all-time Formula 1 wins leader? If so, when will he earn his 92nd career victory? If not, will he tie this mark, and if so, when will he tie it? How many career victories will he end up with when he retires?