Mercedes' top gun in Lewis Hamilton has etched his name in Formula One history books once again. He has now tied legend Michael Schumacher's record of 91 Formula One wins with a recent victory at the Eifel Grand Prix in Nurburg, Germany.
Coincidentally, Hamilton achieved the feat in Schumacher's country of Germany. The retired driver primarily starred for Ferrari and also drove for Mercedes before retiring in 2012, when the young Hamilton took over his seat.
The British driver comfortably cruised to first place and maintained a safe distance with second-placer in Red Bull's Max Verstappen and third-placer in Renault's Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton's Mercedes teammate in Valtteri Bottas also suffered a race-ending engine issue. The win now increases Hamilton's lead to 69 points in the championship.
After the race, the 35-year old was presented with one of Schumacher's iconic red race helmets by his son, Mick. Hamilton was speechless when asked what the moment meant to him, according to ESPN:
“When you grow up watching someone, generally idolised them, in terms of the quality of driver they are but also what they're able to continuously do year on year, race on race, week on week, with their team,” Lewis Hamilton said.
“I don't think anyone, especially me, thought I'd be anywhere near Michael in terms of records. It's an incredible honour and it's going to take some time to get used to. Honestly as I came into the pit lane that's only when I realised, I hadn't even computed it when I crossed the line. I couldn't have done it without this incredible team pushing behind me and giving it their everything.”
“A very big thank you and a huge respect to Michael.”
Aside from the record, he also holds the top spot in for total career points with 3661, pole positions with 96, podium finishes with 160, and the most championship points in a single season with 413.
After Hamilton and Schumacher, the next drivers on the all-time winners list are Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with 53, the retired Alain Prost with 51, Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna with 41, and the returning Fernando Alonso with 32.
Hamilton and the rest of the Formula One drivers will next see action in the Portuguese Grand Prix slated on October 24 at the Algarve International Circuit.
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