Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton broke a ton of records in Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton broke numerous all-time Formula 1 records with his dominant performance in the 2019 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth Formula 1 world championship back in early November in the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, but that didn’t keep him from fighting hard throughout the season’s final three races.

Entering the 21st and final race of the season at Yas Marina Circuit, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton had a chance to tie and/or break several all-time Formula 1 records.

This was the case even after his penalty following the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace had historic implications as far as potentially hindering from tying and/or breaking several of these records.

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The 34-year-old Briton originally finished this race in third place but dropped to seventh after he was issued a five-second time penalty for making contact with Red Bull Racing rookie Alexander Albon and spinning him out on the race’s penultimate lap.

Hamilton responded by dominating the 55-lap season finale around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and he was still able to tie and break several all-time Formula 1 records as a result of it.

Here is a quick rundown.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the 19th race of the season that Hamilton led. This tied the record set by Sebastian Vettel, who led laps in all 19 races throughout the 2013 season en route to winning his fourth championship.

Hamilton’s victory was also his 17th podium finish of the season, which also tied an all-time record. Michael Schumacher set this record in the 17-race 2002 season before Vettel tied it in the 19-race 2011 season. Hamilton himself had already tied it in the 19-race 2015 season, the 21-race 2016 season and the 21-race 2018 season.

Hamilton winning the season finale and recording the fastest lap in it netted him 26 points, bringing his point total to 413 for the season. This is a new all-time record outright; he had just broken the record last year with his 408-point performances. He needed to win this race to break this record, and that’s exactly what he did.

It is worth noting that 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.

By scoring points in every race in the 2019 season, Hamilton became the first driver to score points in every race in multiple seasons. He also scored points in every race on the 20-race 2017 schedule. Schumacher scored points in every race on the 17-race 2002 schedule, but that was the only season in which he pulled off this feat.

Hamilton’s victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also marked his 33rd consecutive point-scoring finish, which tied the all-time record that he himself recently set. He has scored points in every race since a fuel pressure issue forced him to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring last July.

Ironically, it was this race that ended his previous record-breaking 33-race point-scoring streak, which he recorded 2016 Japanese Grand Prix after his mechanical retirement from the Malaysian Grand Prix to last year’s French Grand Prix.

Finally, Hamilton completed all 1,262 laps throughout the 2019 season. Only Schumacher had ever completed every lap in a season, and he pulled it off in the 2002 season, which featured 1,090 laps.

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How many more all-time Formula 1 records will Lewis Hamilton tie and/or break throughout the remainder of his career?

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