Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes driver’s 10 best wins during his F1 career at Silver Arrows before joining Ferrari in 2025 | F1 News

Sky Sports F1 ranks Lewis Hamilton’s 10 best victories during his time at Mercedes, ahead of his final race with the team at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…

10) Monaco GP 2019: standing up to a new rival

Max Verstappen has emerged as Hamilton’s next superstar rival and their 2019 face-off in Monaco remains one of their most intense battles of the entire race.

Verstappen was in Hamilton’s rearview mirrors for most of the race – evoking Monte Carlo memories of Ayrton Senna versus Nigel Mansell in 1992 – and Hamilton’s task was made all the more difficult by the fact that Mercedes admitted to having given him the “bad” medium tires, which their lead driver had to make last more than 60 laps.

Verstappen tried as hard as he could, even making contact with the Mercedes while diving into the chicane three laps from the finish, but Hamilton always placed his car perfectly. Given that his good friend and mentor Niki Lauda had passed away earlier in the week, Hamilton’s victory was all the more impressive.

9) Hungary 2013: The first of a long series at Mercedes

Eyebrows were raised when Hamilton swapped McLaren for a relatively raw Mercedes team, but, after Nico Rosberg proved the W04’s pace with two wins before round 10 at the Hungaroring, Hamilton delivered his first for the Arrows. Silver with style.

Defying pre-race expectations, scorching heat and two-time world champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton converted pole into what was an unexpected landslide victory in Hungary. These dominant performances were repeated several times over the next decade.

8) 2018 Italian GP: Breaking Ferrari hearts

Hamilton overcame a Ferrari front row to land another big punch against title rival Vettel at Monza in 2018 with a superb drive on the field, indeed, away.

He went around Vettel on the outside at the second chicane, with the two men making contact and the Ferrari driver spinning.

Raikkonen would prove a much tougher challenge though as Hamilton overtook the Finn on an early safety car restart but lost the lead at the next corner.

He spent the next 40 laps staring at the back of the flying Ferrari, which had incredible straight-line speed, before making a big move into the first corner with nine laps to go – this time without giving up first place and while maintaining victory. .

7) 2016 Brazilian GP: A unique masterclass in rainy weather

All the talk about the 2016 F1 race in Sao Paulo was about Verstappen’s superb run to third place as he returned to the field in the pouring rain.

But, up front, Hamilton was in a league of his own in a must-win race to keep his championship hopes alive against Rosberg, who finished 11 seconds behind his Mercedes teammate.

Perhaps not as famous as his victory at Silverstone in 2008 for McLaren, but another performance in the wet that went unnoticed.

6) 2018 German GP: A decisive comeback for the championship

Hockenheim 2018 was certainly one of the most remarkable days of Hamilton’s remarkable career.

The Briton had lost momentum to Vettel before the weekend – and his mood deteriorated further when he suffered a disastrous qualifying failure that left him 14th on the grid. Hamilton had never won below sixth place.

But after crossing the pack, Hamilton then took advantage of the wet and dry conditions to close in on Vettel, before his great rival stranded his car in the gravel. It was an incredible victory and crucial for Hamilton to win his fifth crown.

5) Bahrain GP 2021: Fighting Verstappen in stunning season opener

The first race of the 2021 season set the tone for the rest. Verstappen started on pole, but Hamilton underestimated him and cheekily played with the track limit rules by running wide at turn four for the first half of the race, to gain lap time.

Verstappen had fresher tires for the final stint and set about chasing the Mercedes driver. With five laps to go, Verstappen launched off the outside of turn four but passed Hamilton off the track.

He conceded the position later in the lap and Hamilton held him off in an epic season opener.

4) 2024 British GP: Ninth win at Silverstone ends drought

After losing to Verstappen in a cruel climax to the 2021 season, a rule change saw Hamilton’s Mercedes team fall out of regular competition for race wins.

His teammate George Russell had managed to take a few victories, but Hamilton had competed in 56 Grands Prix without reaching the top step of the podium before Silverstone 2024.

It was a race that lived up to the enormity of Hamilton’s victory, with a dry-wet-dry thriller ending with Verstappen chasing down the Mercedes in the closing laps.

Hamilton managed his tires superbly in the final stint to hold on, claiming a ninth victory at Silverstone to break the tie he shared with Michael Schumacher for the most wins in the same race.

3) Bahrain GP 2014: The duel in the desert

Even after just one race in 2014, it was abundantly clear that Mercedes had complied with the new regulations and that Hamilton and Rosberg would almost certainly be exclusive title contenders.

With that in mind, beating his teammate in an epic race-long duel in Bahrain was of the utmost importance for Hamilton – not just for his second world title, but also for his career at Mercedes.

Time and again Rosberg passed Hamilton on the inside, but time and time again the latter responded, excelling on attack and defense in wheel-to-wheel battles, particularly late in the race when his teammate had a big tire advantage . .

2) Turkish GP 2020: tire heroics to win seventh world title

Hamilton is known for his impressive tire management and the greatest proof he provided of this came at Istanbul 2020.

Stuck in traffic in wet conditions, Hamilton stopped early for intermediates and was forced to play a patient game as overtaking was difficult.

As the track dried out, the drivers in front of him clashed with new intermediates, but Hamilton bravely stayed out of the way, perfectly timing a pass from Racing Point driver Sergio Perez, then remarkably, he didn’t come in the pits for new tires, unlike most of its rivals.

He effectively turned his intermediates into slicks on a near-dry track and won by more than half a minute to also tie Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles.

1) Sao Paulo GP 2021: The return of all returns

Amid the intensity of what would become the sport’s most famous title battle, between Hamilton and Verstappen, a DRS infraction in qualifying would leave Hamilton starting from the back of the grid for Saturday’s Sprint.

He would finish fifth in the Sprint, but a five-place penalty for using a new engine would see him start the full race from 10th place.

A bright start saw Hamilton climb to fifth place within five laps, then overtake Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Perez to take second place on lap 19.

Overtaking Verstappen would prove more difficult as the Dutchman’s fierce defending forced Hamilton off the track at turn four, before the Mercedes driver finally overtook his rival in the closing stages to reduce his championship deficit.

Speaking in 2023, Hamilton described the victory as “the most special race” of his career. In terms of driving, you’ll be hard-pressed to name a better performance over a weekend from a driver in F1 history.

Watch the final race of the 2024 Formula 1 season – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – live next week on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 1pm. Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW