Lewis Hamilton Joins List of Elites by Surpassing This Michael Schumacher Record

Lewis Hamilton has gotten off to a poor start in the 2023 season following a disappointing 2022 campaign. But things now might start looking bright for the 7x world champion as he has bagged a podium in the 3rd race of the current season.

Mercedes pipped its rival Ferrari and Aston Martin at the Australian Grand Prix last week. Driving the Silver Arrows, Hamilton cruised to a P2 finish behind his rival Max Verstappen and ahead of old nemesis Fernando Alonso.

With this long-awaited podium, Hamilton also set a new record in the list of elites. For 17 years in a row, Hamilton has now led at least one lap of an F1 race. In doing so, Hamilton has passed the F1 legend, Michael Schumacher who led at least one lap in an F1 race for 16 years.

17 years in @F1 = 17 consecutive years of finishing on the podium. 💪

Just @LewisHamilton things. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/vZOpE0KhXs

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 4, 2023

Which lap did Lewis Hamilton lead?

At the Albert Park Circuit, Hamilton had started his race from P3 behind his teammate George Russell. As the lights went out, the goal for the Mercedes duo was clear – to overtake Max Verstappen in P2. They successfully succeeded in doing so.

Soon Russell, who was leading the race decided to take a pit stop which allowed Hamilton in the second position to lead the race for a few laps. Furthermore, he even started the first restart of the Australian GP from the pole position.

While Hamilton was able to break the ‘most numbers of laps led’ record from Schumacher, there is one that he won’t be able to surpass. For the first time in his career, in 2022, Hamilton went through an entire season without scoring even a single race win.

This left him on par with the German legend in terms of years in a row with at least one win. Going ahead, Hamilton won’t be able to break this record.

Max Verstappen equals Ayrton Senna

Red Bull star Max Verstappen is on a spree of breaking and making new records in the modern era of F1. The Dutchman has already won 2 back-to-back world championship titles and holds the record for the most number of wins in a championship year.

With his new accolades and impressive drive, the 25-year-old has already made space for himself in the list of elites. To add more to his shelf, Verstappen equaled F1 legend Ayrton Senna last weekend at the Australian GP by clinching 80 podiums.

But this is surely not where it all stops. The dominant Red Bull is set to bring more fortune, wins, and accolades to the young star as the season progresses.