Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton did something he hadn’t done since 2008

In addition securing a record-tying seventh Formula 1 world championship, Lewis Hamilton did something in the Turkish Grand Prix that he hadn’t done since 2008.

Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park was anything but a typical dominant Formula 1 race for Lewis Hamilton, who qualified his Mercedes in a disappointing sixth place in a wet qualifying session on Saturday.

The race appeared to be headed for another upset result, as Racing Point ran 1-2 with Lance Stroll, who took a shocking pole position, and Sergio Perez for much of the race.

The pink duo dominated, with Stroll leading 32 of the first 35 laps and only relinquishing that lead during pit stops.

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However, as tire wear became a factor on the intermediates, it was Hamilton who rose from more than 20 seconds off the lead to the front of the field.

He made his tires last while the others struggled and/or pitted, and while Perez still managed a career-high second place finish, it was Hamilton who took the checkered flag by a whopping 31.633 seconds over Perez despite only leading the final 22 laps of the 58-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.317-mile (5.338-kilometer) road course in Tuzla, Turkey.

Hamilton has driven many dominant races over the years. After all, he is now a seven-time world champion who has won a record 94 races, including 10 of the last 13 and 72 of the 135 which have been contested since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in 2014.

But despite it not coming as a result of a dominant effort, Hamilton’s 31.633-second margin of victory in this race was the second best of his Formula 1 career.

He hadn’t topped that mark since the 2008 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, when he was driving for McLaren and won by 68.577 seconds over BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, at which point he was not a world champion.

So the last time that happened, he was not yet driving for Mercedes, and he had not yet won a world championship.

By doing so this time around, he secured a record-tying seventh world title and a record seventh in a row for the Silver Arrows (his sixth with the team in the last seven years; Nico Rosberg won in 2016).

This margin of victory was also the largest in all of Formula 1 since Rosberg beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 37.776 seconds to win the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit. It was Hamilton’s first win of more than 30 seconds since he beat Williams’ Valtteri Bottas by 30.135 seconds in the 2014 British Grand Prix.

Additionally, this was only the fifth margin of victory of more than 30 seconds since Hamilton’s 2008 British Grand Prix domination.

In addition to the races discussed above, Red Bull’s Vettel beat Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by 32.627 seconds to win the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit before going on to beat teammate Mark Webber by 30.829 seconds to win the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.