“503 Days”: Lewis Hamilton Now Has Bigger Winless Streak Than Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen saw an end to Lewis Hamilton’s 8 years of dominance in the sport in the 2021 season after the Dutchman clinched his maiden F1 title at the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ever since then, the 7x world champion has been meaning to claim his record eighth title.

But the Mercedes F1 team has failed to provide him with a competitive car. For the past two seasons, the Briton has been fighting his way into the mid-field as both W13 and W14 have brought nothing but disappointment for the Brackley-based team.

While racing to win his record 8th title, the poor-performing Mercedes has served Hamilton with multiple unwanted records. In one of these unwanted records, the 38-year-old even emulated his rival, Verstappen.

The unwanted records of Lewis Hamilton

In his illustrious F1 career, the British racing star has bagged many records. In 2020, he won his 7th championship title becoming the only one to share the position of most titles with F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

Although the poor performing Mercedes have forced him into claiming an unwanted record. According to statistics, Hamilton now has a bigger winless streak than his rival Verstappen. The Briton has gone 503 days without a race victory, which is longer than Verstappen’s longest win drought in Formula 1 – 502 days.

The 103 GP winner, recorded his last victory at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix bringing him to a longest win drought of 503 days. Verstappen suffered 502 days of winless days between the 2016 Spanish GP – the 2017 Malaysian GP.

The 2022 campaign also led the Mercedes star into another heartbreaking record. For the first time in his career in F1, Hamilton did not score a single win in a championship season. The 38-year-old even labeled his last campaign as the worst ever of his career.

Lewis Hamilton has now gone 5⃣0⃣3⃣ days without a race victory, which is longer than Max Verstappen’s longest win drought in Formula 1.#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/qZvrtvZ8dp

— F1 StatsGuru (@f1statsguru) April 23, 2023

Lewis Hamilton – “A spoiled little boy”

After being out-performed by his young teammate George Russell on multiple occasions, the questions about Hamilton’s racing talents have risen. In the 2022 season, while Hamilton struggled to adjust to the car, Russell was able to push the car to its limit.

Russell even outranked Hamilton in the championship standings and won Mercedes only and his maiden race at the Brazillian GP in 2022. Even in 2023, Russell has come out as a strong driver against his teammate. Last time out at the Australian GP, the young Briton led the race for quite many laps until disaster struck for Russell and he had to retire.

Reflecting on the trajectory of the current Mercedes duo against each other, former F1 team manager Joan Villadelprat labeled Hamilton as a ‘spoiled little boy.’ Villadelprat, who has worked with McLaren and Ferrari as well as Benetton, Tyrrell, and Prost explained that Hamilton is ‘whiny.’

The Spaniard commented that Hamilton is fed up and that if he doesn’t win, he’s like a “spoiled little boy.” “You either win or you break the toys,” he further added.

“He’s a whiner, you know. The tires, the strategy, he questions everything, and he has screwed up. When you have a [teammate] who is faster than you, it is normal to be quiet and put your head under your wing. “I think he hasn’t lost but, after seven titles… What motivates you?

Villadelprat believes that it is evident that Hamilton is not the same as his first or second championship titles.