Formula 1: The subtle implication of Lewis Hamilton’s new deal

Lewis Hamilton’s new two-year deal effectively guarantees that he will break yet another all-time Formula 1 record held by Michael Schumacher.

Entering 2021, seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton did not have a contract to compete with Mercedes for a ninth year this season. In fact, at one point, he was no longer technically a member of the team, due to the expiration of his previous contract, a deal he had signed back in July 2018.

But following a long negotiation period filled with all sorts of rumors and speculation about their future — or lack thereof — together, Hamilton and the Silver Arrows were able to come to terms on a new deal.

However, this new deal was only a one-year agreement that tied the 36-year-old Briton to the Brackley-based team through 2021.

Both sides maintained that they wanted to have a new deal signed by this summer, and they actually were able to get it done without the drama that we saw unfold last season, into the offseason, and all the way up to the month before the 2021 season began.

Hamilton and Mercedes agreed to a two-year contract that runs through the 2023 season.

But this contract goes beyond a deal to keep the sport’s all-time most successful partnership together.

Hamilton already holds the record for most world championships (six) and most race wins (77) with a single constructor. Both records had been held by fellow seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who won five world championships and 72 races with Ferrari.

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Hamilton’s new deal effectively guarantees that he will break another one of Schumacher’s all-time records: most starts with a single constructor.

The most successful team/driver partnership in Formula 1 history is also slated to become the longest. Hamilton has competed in 165 races with Mercedes since joining the team ahead of the 2013 season. There are 14 races remaining on this year’s schedule, which would bring his career total to 179 by the time the season ends. Schumacher competed in 180 races for Ferrari from 1996 to 2006.

With Hamilton now under contract through 2023, he is slated to tie this record in the 2022 season opener and break it in the following race.

Hamilton is the all-time winningest driver in Formula 1 history with 98 victories after breaking this record, which had also been held by Schumacher (91), last year. How many wins will he have to his name when he eventually retires?