Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton can break several records in 2019 season finale

Lewis Hamilton has already locked up the 2019 Formula 1 world championship, but he can still break several records in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

It has been over three weeks since Lewis Hamilton officially become crowned Formula 1 world champion for the sixth time and for the fifth time in seven seasons as a Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport driver.

Hamilton has now won five of the last six and each of the last three world championships, only losing out to teammate Nico Rosberg by five points (385 to 380) in the driver standings in the 2016 season.

He is set to entered the season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina Circuit with a 73-point lead (387 to 314) in the driver standings over teammate Valtteri Bottas, who has already locked up second place in the standings as well.

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But there is still a lot on the line for the 34-year-old Briton in this 55-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Hamilton can break the records for most races led in a season and most points scored in a season, and he can tie the record for most podium finishes in a season and most consecutive races scoring points. He can also become the first driver to score points in each race in more than one season, and he can become the second driver in Formula 1 history to finish every race of the season on the lead lap.

Hamilton has led laps in 18 of the season’s first 20 races. The record is 19, which was set by Sebastian Vettel in the 19-race 2013 season en route to his fourth championship. Because Vettel’s rate of races led in this season was 100%, it will still be higher than Hamilton’s no matter what happens in the season finale.

Hamilton has taken 16 podium finishes this season, and the record is 17, set by Michael Schumacher in the 2002 season and tied by Vettel in the 2011 season as well as Hamilton in the 2015, 2016 and 2018 seasons. Schumacher, however, set this record in a 17-race season. Vettel tied it in a 19-race season while Hamilton tied it in a 19-race season and two 21-race seasons.

Again, his podium finish rate won’t be the highest of all-time in a single season if he does tie the record, but he can still tie the record.

Last season, Hamilton set the all-time record with 408 points. The 2018 season was a 21-race season, so his average was 19.43 points per race. Through the first 20 races of the 2019 season, his average is 19.35 points per race, as he has scored 387 points.

He cannot score 21 points to tie the record or 22 points to break it in the season finale without winning (25 points plus a possible additional point for recording the fastest race lap), but a win would guarantee a new record in this category as well. He is a four-time winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, most recently winning it last year. He also won it in the 2011, 2014 and 2016 seasons.

The current scoring format was introduced ahead of the 2010 season, although the additional point for the fastest race lap was added ahead of the 2019 season.

Hamilton scored points in each of the 20 races on the 2017 schedule, just as Schumacher did in the 2002 season. Hamilton’s worst finish in the 2017 season was his ninth place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix, which netted him two points.

Under a different scoring system in which only the top six drivers scored points, Schumacher’s worst finish of the 2002 season was his third place finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix, which netted him four points.

Hamilton is currently on a streak of 32 consecutive point-scoring finishes, a streak that began in last year’s British Grand Prix following his retirement from the Austrian Grand Prix. The all-time record is 33, which Hamilton recorded from the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix after his retirement from the Malaysian Grand Prix to last year’s French Grand Prix prior to his retirement from the Austrian Grand Prix.

Finally, Hamilton has completed all 1,207 laps that have been run so far this year. Schumacher is the only driver to complete every lap in a season, and he pulled it off in the 2002 season when he completed all 1,090 laps on the calendar.

Hamilton has just 55 laps to complete at Yas Marina Circuit in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to join the seven-time champion and 91-time race winner in this exclusive group.

How many of these Formula 1 records will Lewis Hamilton tie or break in the 2019 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit? This race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 8:05 a.m. ET this Sunday, December 1.