Formula 1: Little-known Lewis Hamilton fact puts things into perspective

A little-known Lewis Hamilton statistic from his first 15 years in Formula 1 puts the seven-time world champion’s dominance into an even greater perspective.

Lewis Hamilton still hasn’t made any public comments since his heartbreaking defeat in the 2021 Formula 1 world championship battle, aside from his post-race interview with Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath of the controversial ending to the hard-fought 22-race season at Yas Marina Circuit.

While Hamilton is under contract with Mercedes through the 2023 season after signing a two-year extension over the summer, there have been rumors that he might step away from Formula 1 before the 2022 season begins, given the nature by which he fell shy of the 2021 world title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

But let’s forget all of that drama for a moment and instead focus on one statistic Hamilton owns that is absolutely bizarre.

We could spend all day talking about the many wins and the many championships, among many other notable statistical categories in which Hamilton sits atop the all-time list.

But in honor of his 37th birthday today, here’s a little-known statistic that shows his dominance to an even greater extent.

Hamilton has won almost as many world championships (seven) as the total number of drivers who have beaten him in the standings (eight) throughout his 15-year career.

Entering the 2021 season, those two numbers were actually sitting tied at seven, but Verstappen prevailed to win the world championship after having never beaten Hamilton over the course of a season before, becoming just the eighth driver to do so.

With seven world titles (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) in 15 seasons, Hamilton has only finished behind anybody else on eight occasions. On five of those eight occasions, he finished behind multiple drivers, but only eight different drivers have ever managed to finish ahead of him in points.

Hamilton’s eight non-championship seasons have come in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2021. He finished no lower than fifth place in the driver standings in these eight seasons.

Let’s take a look at who he finished behind in each of these seasons.

• 2007 (2nd): Kimi Raikkonen
• 2009 (5th): Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber
• 2010 (4th): Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber
• 2011 (5th): Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso
• 2012 (4th): Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen
• 2013 (4th): Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber
• 2016 (2nd): Nico Rosberg
• 2021 (2nd): Max Verstappen

Sebastian Vettel leads the way, having beaten Hamilton on five occasions, while Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber have done so four times. Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen each did so twice, while Rubens Barrichello, Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen have each done so once.

Now let’s put this statistic into an even greater perspective.

While Hamilton has only ever finished behind eight different drivers over the course of his first 15 seasons in Formula 1, every other driver currently competing in the sport has finished behind at least 10 drivers in a single season at least once.

Sure, the Briton has never driven for a weak team like most have at some point throughout their careers, but that argument against him only holds so much water when you start talking about a decade and a half of performing at such a high level where only eight drivers have beaten him at any point in time.

Will Hamilton win a record-breaking eighth world championship in the 2022 Formula 1 season to match the number of drivers who have ever managed to beat him over the course of a year? The season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 20 with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.