Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton joins Michael Schumacher in elite company
By Asher Fair
Lewis Hamilton completed every lap in the 2019 Formula 1 season, becoming the only driver other than Michael Schumacher to pull off the feat.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton capped off his impressive championship-winning 2019 Formula 1 season with a dominant victory in the season’s 21st and final race as Yas Marina Circuit, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton started this race from the pole position, and he led all 55 laps around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to secure his 11th victory of the season, tying his career-high.
The 34-year-old Briton entered this race having completed all 1,207 laps that had been contested throughout the season’s first 20 races. In fact, he entered it having completed 1,913 laps (32-race streak) going back to last season after he was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring with a fuel pressure issue.
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With his dominant performance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton finished the 2019 season having completed all 1,262 laps that were contested.
In the 70-year history of the Formula 1 World Championship, this feat had only been achieved on one occasion by one driver. Michael Schumacher, the only driver who has won more championships (seven to six) and more races (91 to 84) than Hamilton, pulled it off in the 2002 season when he completed all 1,090 laps throughout the 17-race campaign.
Schumacher finished that season with 11 victories and without finishing off the podium, and he secured an all-time record average finish of 1.41, a record that will likely never fall. Hamilton finished the 2019 season with 11 victories and 17 podium finishes as well, albeit with four results off the podium. His average finish was a career-high 2.38.
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With Lewis Hamilton having now completed every lap in 33 consecutive races, will he pull off the same feat in the 2020 Formula 1 season to become the first driver to pull it off more than once? The 2020 season, which is slated to be the first 22-race season in Formula 1 history, is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 15 at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit with the Australian Grand Prix.