Formula 1, Hamilton wins: Michael Schumacher has finally broken the record

Stand: 25.10.2020 | Reading time: 3 minutes

ALewis Hamilton made Formula 1 history on the Portimão Algarve roller coaster. The six-time world champion raced on Sunday at the premiere of the premier class on the hilly course to his 92nd career success and is now the sole record holder with the most Grand Prix victories ahead of Michael Schumacher (91).

Hamilton relegated his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to second place with a huge margin in an initially nervous Portuguese Grand Prix with many overtaking maneuvers.

Third place went to the Dutchman Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel’s trip to the Algarve was not very enjoyable either, as the Ferrari star managed to save a World Championship point in tenth place.

First race in the Algarve

Hamilton, meanwhile, should soon reach the next Schumacher record after his eighth win in the twelfth round of the season, the seventh world title is within reach with five races to go. The 35-year-old is already 77 points ahead of World Cup runner-up Bottas, who can only be helped by a motorsport miracle in the final sprint. After his successes in Mugello and at the Nürburgring, Hamilton also won on the third track, which only slipped into the calendar because of the corona pandemic and the cancellation of many races on other continents.

The Autodromo do Algarve in the south of Portugal, which hosted Formula 1 for the first time, offered the expected spectacle at the start. A small downpour had moistened the already slippery asphalt, which caused a lot of confusion over the first few kilometers.

Verstappen, who started third, passed Bottas on the demanding track, but then collided with Sergio Perez’s Racing Point. Shortly afterwards, Bottas overtook the leading Hamilton, before all of a sudden McLaren driver Carlos Sainz took advantage of his softer tires and took the lead. Veteran Kimi Räikkönen got off to a turbo start, moving up from 16th to sixth.

But after six rounds the usual order gradually came into the hustle and bustle. The medium-hard tires of the two Mercedes came up to operating temperature, the Silver Arrow drivers were able to demonstrate the superiority of their cars again. First Bottas grabbed the stumbling Sainz, shortly afterwards Hamilton pushed past. Verstappen regained third place, but couldn’t follow the Mercedes duo.

Vettel worked his way forward

Behind them, Charles Leclerc led the rest of the field. The Monegasse once again got significantly more out of the apparently improved Ferrari than team-mate Vettel. Hesse, who started from 15th place, benefited from the pit stops and a few small incidents with the competition and gradually worked his way up to the points.

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At the top, World Cup leader Hamilton made serious after 20 laps. Within a short time, the Brit pulled himself up to his stable rival Bottas and easily took the lead on the home straight. The defending champion quickly pulled out a comforting cushion and outclassed the Finn in phases. It all boiled down to the superstar’s record victory.

The strategists at the command post continued to worry about the heavy rain clouds from which drops fell from time to time. This is probably one of the reasons why the leading Mercedes drivers hesitated for a long time before changing tires. Halfway through the race, Hamilton had therefore lapped his old rival Vettel, who had picked up fresh tires from the garage on lap 28.

After 40 laps, Mercedes finally called Hamilton to the pits, the pursuers had long since disappeared from his rearview mirror. Bottas also stopped his resistance early. So the race dawned on a rather tired end after the exciting start phase. It was the same for Hamilton, after all he had provided further masterly evidence of his exceptional talent.