Formula 1: Michael Schumacher record stays alive

For the second year in a row, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit kept an all-time Michael Schumacher Formula 1 record alive.

Entering the 2022 Formula 1 season, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had just been denied what would have been a record-breaking eighth championship in last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, having been passed by eventual champion Max Verstappen following a restart with one lap remaining.

But Hamilton, still level with Michael Schumacher at seven titles, had a chance to break another one of Schumacher’s records in 2022, whether he won an eighth title or not.

In each of his first 15 seasons in Formula 1, Hamilton won at least one race. Schumacher won at least one race in each of his first 15 full seasons in the sport as well, and never had any driver in Formula 1 history managed to win a race in 16 consecutive seasons.

But Hamilton went winless for the first time in the 2022 season.

The Mercedes driver scored a best finish of second place on five occasions throughout the 22-race season, and he finished in a career-worst sixth in the driver standings in what was the Silver Arrows’ first season without winning the constructor championship since 2013.

Five drivers won at least one race in the 2022 season, including first-time winners Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari and George Russell of Mercedes. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also won for the first time since 2019 and finished the year with a career-high three wins.

Entering the 2023 season, just two drivers have won races in consecutive seasons. Verstappen has won at least one race in each of the last seven seasons, while Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has won at least one race in each of the last three. Verstappen won a record 15 races in 2022, while Perez won a career-high two.

Schumacher initially retired at the end of his 15th consecutive winning season in 2006. He returned for three more seasons from 2010 to 2012 but never won another race.

The Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled to get the 2023 Formula 1 season underway on Sunday, March 5. The season is set to consist of a record 24 races and last for a record 266 days (38 weeks).