Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton handed yet another ‘unearned’ victory

After a 2018 Formula 1 season filled with “unearned” victories for Lewis Hamilton, the 2019 season has already featured more of the same.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton secured quite a few “unearned” victories throughout the 2018 Formula 1 season, and that trend continued in the 2019 season’s second race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, at Bahrain International Circuit.

Of course, the term “unearned” is a relative term. Winning any Formula 1 race is no easy task, so to devalue Hamilton’s wins would not be fair. That is certainly not the point of this article.

However, there have been several recent race victories that have appeared to be headed to other drivers, and through circumstances out of the control of these drivers, the 34-year-old Briton has ended up securing these victories.

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There were four notable instances of this taking place throughout the 21-race 2018 season, during which Hamilton earned a total of 11 victories.

The first of these instances took place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On lap 49 of the 51-lap race around the the 20-turn, 3.73-mile (6.003-kilometer) Baku City Circuit temporary street circuit in Azadliq Square, Baku, Azerbaijan, Hamilton was running in second place behind teammate Valtteri Bottas, and he had not led any of the race’s first 48 laps. But Bottas ran over a piece of debris, causing a puncture to his right rear tire. Hamilton took the lead and secured the victory after leading only the race’s final three laps.

The second of these instances took place in the German Grand Prix. Hamilton started the 67-lap race around the 16-turn, 2.842-mile (4.57374428-kilometer) Hockenheimring road course in Am Motodrom, Hockenheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany in 14th place after a disastrous qualifying session, but he had worked his way up to a fourth with 16 laps to go.

Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel appeared to be en route to a dominant victory in his home race, and Hamilton’s chances of earning a podium finish were slim. But with 16 laps remaining, Vettel crashed on his own, bringing out the safety car.

The two drivers ahead of Hamilton, who were Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in first and second place, respectively, came into the pits for new tires, moving Hamilton to the lead. With Bottas in second behind Hamilton and on newer tires after the final restart, Mercedes ordered their drivers to hold their positions, thus securing Hamilton the victory.

The third of these instances took place in the Russian Grand Prix. Mercedes ordered Valtteri Bottas, who had dominated the 53-lap race around the the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, to allow Hamilton to pass him on lap 26. Hamilton went on to win the race with Bottas finishing in second place.

Finally, the fourth of these instances took place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen appeared to be well on his way to earning the victory in front Hamilton in second place, but he collided with Racing Point Force India’s Esteban Ocon when Ocon was attempting to unlap himself. Verstappen fell to second behind Hamilton and nearly caught him by the end of the race, but he ultimately came up short.

That brings us to the 2019 season, which has effectively picked up where the 2018 season left off.

In this past Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc appeared to be well on his way to victory when his engine experienced a major issue with only a handful of laps remaining.

After dominating the 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain and leading it by more than 10 seconds over Hamilton in second place, the 21-year-old Monegasque fell back to third and finished behind Hamilton and Bottas, who ended up finishing the race in first and second, respectively.

Even Hamilton willingly admitted that Leclerc deserved to win the Bahrain Grand Prix, just as anyone who knows anything about Formula 1 has also done, and he has not shied away from making this clear about other drivers when it comes to some of his other victories discussed in this article.

Lewis Hamilton has been in the right place at the right time toward the end of several races that he has won but should not have won since the start of the 2018 Formula 1 season. Will this trend continue for him beyond this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix and the disappointment that it produced for Charles Leclerc?